sounds like a short is draining the battery...did you do any wiring recently ? also when you shut the door look inside to make sure the interior light is in fact going off..

 

Haven't done any wiring unless you consider my father changing the battery :-D.... sat in it for a good couple of minutes after the battery was installed, and didn't see any lights remaining on. I'm just stumped

I'm going to take it to a local mechanic tomorrow, guess I'll jump it (since my parents are in NJ, I am in PA for college and am pretty much stuck here).

 

... I am in PA for college and am pretty much stuck here).

Where in PA?

 

New replacement battery going dead in a week

Original battery was 5+ years old. It was weak and not recharging right. So we
had battery replaced with a sears diehard equivalent. Believe it or not, the new battery turned out to be a defective one. Battery was replaced with another one and works like a charm.

 

yes...unfortunately defective new batteries (and other parts) are becoming increasingly common.

 

Did you by any chance charge the new battery when you put it in, or take it for a long drive?
New batteries do loose their charge sitting on a shelf, so it's always a good idea to fully charge it, or at the very least go on a fairly long trip (running for at least an hour...).
I understand you started it up a couple of times after installing, but how long did it run?

It's possible that it didn't charge enough, and the 3 starts, actually depleted the charge that was there, and it was dead the next morning. Subsequent boosting and running has given it enough time to charge up, or at least enough that it's able to start...

The fact that it's holding a charge between starts now is a good thing (but every time you start it, without running it, depletes the charge - remember it uses more power to start the car, then run it...)
It probably needs a good charge now, and it will be fine...

 

Batteries

When the electrolyte is poured into the cells of a lead acid battery to bring it to life the battery technician often fails to affix the date somewhere on the battery. What happens then is the battery is placed on a shelf for storage and no one is able to tell when the battery was put into service. It is possible to purchase a battery several years old thinking it is new. Also, as has been mentioned, the battery can be defective from jump street.