Plus I've got one in each of my Vettes as a safety precaution.
Finding a short
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,330
Likes: 1
From: Kerrville Texas
Finding a short
I defintely have a dead short somewhere. New battery fully charged and within about five hours of sitting it is completely dead. Did the Bubba thing and installed a cutoff at the battery.
Can anyone tell me how to find a short in the system? Is there a good technique?
Kona 1980
Can anyone tell me how to find a short in the system? Is there a good technique?
Kona 1980
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
I defintely have a dead short somewhere. New battery fully charged and within about five hours of sitting it is completely dead. Did the Bubba thing and installed a cutoff at the battery.
Can anyone tell me how to find a short in the system? Is there a good technique?
Kona 1980
Can anyone tell me how to find a short in the system? Is there a good technique?
Kona 1980
Yes. A fellow member wrote this paper to help deal with this same kind of problem.
Thank you DWncchs !
http://photos.imageevent.com/durango...%20Testing.pdf
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,047
Likes: 12
From: SoCal
The battery is dead within 5 hours? 
Please - do yourself a favor and don't drive it until you find the problem, and make sure to leave the battery disconnected except while you're troubleshooting the draw. Electrical fires and fiberglass don't mix too well...
Have you checked the starter?
Please - do yourself a favor and don't drive it until you find the problem, and make sure to leave the battery disconnected except while you're troubleshooting the draw. Electrical fires and fiberglass don't mix too well...
Have you checked the starter?
Last edited by VCuomo; Sep 26, 2007 at 10:27 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 8,918
Likes: 27
From: New Hill NC
I defintely have a dead short somewhere. New battery fully charged and within about five hours of sitting it is completely dead. Did the Bubba thing and installed a cutoff at the battery.
Can anyone tell me how to find a short in the system? Is there a good technique?
Kona 1980
Can anyone tell me how to find a short in the system? Is there a good technique?
Kona 1980
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,047
Likes: 12
From: SoCal
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Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,112
From: Crossville TN
Having the disconnect in place makes it really easy to determine the magnitude of the current drain and to connect up for diagnosing it. Just connect your ammeter across the disconnect [with it in OFF position]. Start with the 10a. scale so you don't burn up the meter.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,063
Likes: 1
From: Beverly Massachusetts
the first thing you want to do is remove all the fuses and see if the battery still dies. if the battery stays charged then the problem is in the accesories. start replacing the fuses one at a time till you can isolate which circuit is grounding. If it still dies with all the fuses out then disconnect the positive lead at the starter and see if it dies again. if it dies then replace the cable that goes from the battery to the starter if it doesnt then its somewhere between the starter and the charging system. at that point i would replace the starter first and see if it still dies or removeit and take it in to your local auto parts store and see if they can test the starter and your alt. to see if both are good or if one or both are bad.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,112
From: Crossville TN
the Dragon's strategy is good, but seeing if the battery goes dead is a pretty slow way to check. Hook up your ammeter (10 amp scale) across the battery disconnect to see how much current is being drawn when everything is "off" (remember to close the doors so the interior lights are not "on"). If you have more than a .1 amp draw, start pulling fuses--one at a time--until the current draw disappears; that will be the "offending" circuit. Then you just need to search that circuit until you find it. {Note: If you pull a fuse and there is no change in the current draw, just put the fuse back it...it isn't the problem.}
