I had a battery die last year, and it would still run the basic electrics. I think that turning the engine to start it takes more power than anything else a car battery needs to do, so it's the first thing to fail when a battery is somewhat flat.
Unfortunately, though, it sounds like if it is a battery issue it's either the battery or the alternator needing replacing, and not just the battery being run down, for precisely the reasons you mention: if the car automagically turns off electric systems then it can't run the battery down unless something's broken, and when a battery gets run down through accidentally leaving stuff switched on it usually runs all the way down.
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Date: 2007-06-14 02:32 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, though, it sounds like if it is a battery issue it's either the battery or the alternator needing replacing, and not just the battery being run down, for precisely the reasons you mention: if the car automagically turns off electric systems then it can't run the battery down unless something's broken, and when a battery gets run down through accidentally leaving stuff switched on it usually runs all the way down.