vette54728702

My '75 is draining my battery terribly. A week and a half ago I put a brand new battery in the car. The old battery 5 months old wouldn't hold a charge. The new battery worked great when installed, but 10 days later it was completely dead. I made a test light and connected one end of the light to the negative battery cable (disconnected from battery) and the other wire from the test light to the negative battery terminal. The light bulb was lit up. I pulled all the glass fuses (1 at a time) from the fuse box above the dimmer switch. The only fuse that caused the light to go out was the clock. Surely the clock won't cause a new battery to drain that fast.... what do I do now?

Lee H

Unplug the clock for a while and see if that solves the drain issue?

...Roger...

Thats the CLOCK,courtesy lights circuit. There's lots of stuff on that circuit and yes the clock if stuck while rewinding can run the battery down very fast.

...Roger...

Does the clock run ?

vette54728702

Yes, the clock does run. I replaced the clock last summer with a correct one I found on ebay. So, it shouldn't be the problem.

I have the clock fuse pulled now.

Any other ideas? I greatly appreciate all the tips / thoughts / advise !!!

hnkajnk

Check the courtesy light delay module. It is under the dash by the glove box in 1978, but I believe earlier models it was near the center area. Do a search for delay module. There are several posts about this.

billcarson

get a little more scientific and use an ammeter in series with the removed battery cable.this will test the parisitic draw of your system while at rest.modern cars vary greatly and will take a few minutes to wind down from computer functions to give the final lowest read.this draw is usually under 1 amp and your reading should be in milliamperes.at least then you will find out what is normal for your car going foward. good luck.