I have alot of problems with my battery dying for the past few months. The voltage goes down to about 3 volts if i leave it sitting for about 3 or more days. The alternator is charging it up when i boost it and runs fine after that but if it's sitting it looses its charge from what i think is a slow drain from the radio wiring. It's been a problem for a few years but has gotten worse. THe fuse for the radio/horn/interior lights blows frequently and i'm not sure how to diagnose it? ANy help? I have a multimeter, would i be able to do it wiht that or should i just take it to some shop?

 

:lurk:

 

It depends on your multimeter. If you have one that is capable of reading 10 amps or so, you could insert in in series with the battery leads and hope you don't have more than 10 Amps being drawn. Most of the newer multimeters are capable of reading 10 - 20 Amps. Most are protected by two fuses, one easily replaceable and one internal, so it would blow the lower amperage one without damaging the meter.
Insert leads in series with battery cable, + or -, and start yanking fuses to see what is drawing the battery down. Good luck. I tried for three years to track down a battery drain on my 79 and never could determine anything. :nopity

 

My 25 cents...

a) Get a wiring diagram for your car.
b) Have a garage test your battery on a charger
c) Have a garage test your alternator

If they are both fine:
d) Disconnect your radio - 3 wires (the power, and the standby, and the power antenna relay wires)

Wait a week and see if problems are solved.

After that, keep disconnecting non-essential systems (seat belt buzzer, dome light, power windows etc. ) Until you solve the problem.

hope this helps...

Chris

 

Those problems are hard to locate.
Here is what I do in cases like this:
You need the electrical wiring diagram of your car, a multimeter and a 1 ohm / 15 or 20 Watt resistor.
Remove the +side of the battery and wire the resistor between the + post of the battery and the + cable you just removed there.
Set your multimeter on DC Volts, range 12Volts and connect it in parallel to the resistor you just installed. The voltage you read now corresponds to 1Volt = 1 Amp
Since you mentioned that it takes about 3 days for the battery to go flat, I'd expect a voltage over the resistor of about 1 - 3 Volt meaning a current leak of 1 - 3 Amps. Be carefull, that resistor might get pretty hot and can even burn if you create a short circuit somewhere down the line!!! but it will limit the max. current to 12 Amps and save your wiring harness.
While the meter is connected , I'd start removing fuses one at a time and monitor the reading on your meter. When you pulled a fuse and the reading remains same, this means the circuit is OK and put the fuse back in place. But when upon removing a fuse the voltage significantly drops or even goes to zero, you found the circuit where the leak is in. Put the fuse back in and go down that fuse circuit, removing other parts untill you find the problem.
This is time consuming but has been successful for me many times.
You should start out with a fully charged battery or you may have a battery charger connected as well while trouble shooting.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Roger


:cheers:

 

9 times out of 10 it is the interior light delay box, behind the dash, passenger side.

 

On my 80, I heard a relay pull in when I reconnected the battery, the relay was by the shifter and was part of the anti theft devices. pulled the CTSY CLK fuse , no drain on the battery any more and found a solution in the drivers door lock key side.

 

"9 times out of 10 it is the interior light delay box, behind the dash, passenger side."

I am going to work on the same problem today. Before I check my manuals, does a '69 have an interior light delay box? Can I disconnect this without affecting the headlights or anything else that might be critical?

 

Justin, I agree with pretty much everything stated above. Use a crappy meter capable of 10 amps, (I went through this same problem you're having a few weeks ago) put it in series. battery+ to voltmeter + voltmeter- to the cable to the starter (if you want it to read correct polarity, if its backwards it will jsut read negative, thats ok.) I had 7 amps with the key off. which is way too much. I pulled fuses to find the problem. I ended up removing the alarm relay under the center consol and realized that the draw was originating from the Wiper/Heater Fan wire (which is unfused, and pulling fuses did not diagnose the problem). Find the wire connector from your starter to the fuse panel, its right by the distributer, Unplug that, and put your amp meter inseries with the connections and you'll see which circuit is actually drawing. If its the one with the wiper/heater fan, then thats the same problem i have. I jsut snipped it and taped it off in the mean time and I'll look into it farther in the winter. Could be a bad motor on either device, somehow grouding through the armature. Let me know if you want me to give you a hand finding it..... I can come by, maybe glutamine too, and we'll have your problem discovered in about 15 minutes tops. goodluck

 

yes, and i forgot, make sure you have the wiring diagram. I wouldn't touch the job until i have it if I were you. Haynes manual is fine, although you'll be looking at the 1979 section. Some one told me it's not accurate with the 80's but i didn't see a difference. For a more trustworthy source, go to part source they will print you the diagram for free.

 

:lurk:

 

hey justin, i don't mean to hijack this thread, but how did that shift kit work out? did it make a big difference?