Thanks Don. Wasn't sure how the motor worked. Haven't found the need to figure out the "How". Thanks for the explanation.

 

Okay, I brought it to get load tested and they said there were no issues. They did a system test on it and found no issues either. I drove the car to get it load tested, and the battery voltage stayed above 14.5v the entire drive, so I have no idea what's going on.

I noticed that on the dash, the rear left tire pressure reading was blank until I drove it for a little bit. I don't think that would cause the battery to drain, but I guess it's worth noting. I'm assuming it had no reading because it was still learning the tire pressure after the battery was removed.

Should I still check the water in the battery?

 

At this point no, but keep it in mind for later , if the battery tested good you should be ok.

Here are some threads about battery drain

https://www.google.ca/search?q=hhr+p...&bih=796&dpr=2

 

You have ground issues. Clean all the grounds.

 

Okay, thanks for the info! Are there any certain ground locations that seem to be the most problematic? I've taken quite a few grounds off in the engine bay, so I'll double-check and clean them.

I'll test the battery draw sometime this week and see if it's drawing too many amps.

 

Ground issue as in "short to ground"? In that case cleaning grounds would only alert to green corrosion. I don't see how a bad ground connection would cause a drain.

If there is a real drain it is usually caused by a faulty OnStar module trying to "call home" or a EVAP code causing the EVAP testing to go on longer than it should or poorly installed after market equipment.
There are plenty of "how to find current drain" vids on youtube.

 

That ground issue is not for this post. Sorry. To many irons in the fire. One iron at a time is all I can handle these days.

 

Okay, I tried to check the parasitic draw and I wasn't getting any readings. I let it sit for 5 hours with the battery disconnected, then I put the red lead of the multimeter in 10a, black in com, set it to 10a in the multimeter, and hooked it in line with negative. The multimeter would start with a 1.5a reading and then drop to 0.000a. I hear something turn on near the driver's seat when I connect the multimeter and battery. What's it turning on when it gets connected?

 

Computers. Closest one to the driver seat is the "airbag brain", SDM, just behind the gear shifter.

 

You test for draw and there was 0ma. There should always be some draw.
What scale do you have your meter set. Should be ma-miliamps.