Ghost in my fuse box?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 239
Likes: 19
From: Tuscumbia AL
Ghost in my fuse box?
Ok, so I’m searching for what is draining my battery down to nothing in my ’93.
The battery is dead and I’ve hooked it up to a trickle charge (2amp). I start to hear this ticking sound. I decide to look at the fuse box and I can hear the ticking right next to my head at the glove box. I notice the courtesy light below the glove box is blinking and making the ticking sound. So I pull the fuse for it; #36 on my fuse usage chart, 5A, RH CTSY. The ticking stops but instead I get this kind of squealing noise.
Any thoughts? Could it be a relay? Where is the lighting relay?
The battery is dead and I’ve hooked it up to a trickle charge (2amp). I start to hear this ticking sound. I decide to look at the fuse box and I can hear the ticking right next to my head at the glove box. I notice the courtesy light below the glove box is blinking and making the ticking sound. So I pull the fuse for it; #36 on my fuse usage chart, 5A, RH CTSY. The ticking stops but instead I get this kind of squealing noise.
Any thoughts? Could it be a relay? Where is the lighting relay?
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,313
Likes: 2
From: High Ridge Missouri
You need to disconnect your battery from the car and charge it before you hook it back up. Trying to work on the car with the batery dead and only a trickle charger will cause a lot of different little fake electrical issues to show up. So recharge, reconnect and see if these issues go away. Then begin diagnosing the draw.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,830
Likes: 147
From: Gainesville FL
Battery might be gone already
They can only be drained so low before they are damaged.
Someone else posted a courtesy circuit issue lately.
You can get an idea of the Amp draw and therefore wattage by putting an Ammeter in series with the fuse once you have a fully charged battery. In the meantime leave the fuse out while (if) it charges.
Watts = volts x current , if you have .8 Amp draw then you're looking for a ~10W circuit.
Worst case is it draws slightly less than the fuse or else it would have blown, so set you meter accordingly so you don't burn it up.
Good luck
Someone else posted a courtesy circuit issue lately.
You can get an idea of the Amp draw and therefore wattage by putting an Ammeter in series with the fuse once you have a fully charged battery. In the meantime leave the fuse out while (if) it charges.
Watts = volts x current , if you have .8 Amp draw then you're looking for a ~10W circuit.
Worst case is it draws slightly less than the fuse or else it would have blown, so set you meter accordingly so you don't burn it up.
Good luck
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,830
Likes: 147
From: Gainesville FL
You need to disconnect your battery from the car and charge it before you hook it back up. Trying to work on the car with the batery dead and only a trickle charger will cause a lot of different little fake electrical issues to show up. So recharge, reconnect and see if these issues go away. Then begin diagnosing the draw.
The DC current that comes from most chargers is usually quite "dirty" compared to the pristine DC available from a healthy battery.
