Hot wire is draining my new battery?

2008 HYUNDAI ELANTRA
138,000 MILES • 2.0L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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SHAUN MOON
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I went to the doctor Friday and serpentine belt broke. Put a new one on, then crank it up and came home. Problem solved, right? Wrong answer! It sits overnight and won't even make a click the next morning.So I go get a new battery cause it's time anyway.It fires up and I drove it around for 2 hours while shutting it off and cranking it 3 to 4 times. Next morning, new battery drained. I put my charger on it, while watching my voltmeter. At 11.74v, I snugged the hot wire and not a sound as I turned the key. The hot wire is draining my new battery. Has anyone ever come across this one. Help me!
Feb 7, 2025 at 11:52 PM
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STRAILER
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The question is what is a "hot wire", do you have a radio amp? Is there something in the power port? We need more information; maybe an image of the wire you are talking about? Here is a guide to help as well:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-dead-overnight

Please go over this guide and get back to us.
Feb 8, 2025 at 5:19 PM
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SHAUN MOON
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My bad. Hot wire is just slang for the positive cable. So, it has a new fully charged battery. I can hook up ground wire fine. When I put on positive clamp, the car has zero power and nothing in the power port.
Feb 8, 2025 at 10:40 PM
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STRAILER
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You must have a bad connection in the power distribution, here is a guide to help test for where you are losing it, and I included the wiring diagrams for the system to help.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-test-light-circuit-tester

Check out the images (below). Let us know how it goes.

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Feb 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
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SHAUN MOON
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Thanks for your time and knowledge. My mechanic actually made a service call to my house and figured it out in around 15 minutes. When I put the new battery in, the car went into lock down. I guess it thought someone was trying to steal it. Once he reset the theft device, it fired right up. It only cost me $35 so I caught a break as long as it cranks this morning.
Feb 12, 2025 at 3:35 AM
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STRAILER
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Glad you could get it fixed, thanks for letting us know. Please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.
Feb 12, 2025 at 9:41 AM