Battery drain....... Please Help
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Lakeside Ca
Battery drain....... Please Help
Hi all, I hope someone can help me here, I have a 86 and have had no problems untill now, I recently left for about 10 days, came back and the battery ws dead as a door nail, couldn't even get the interior lights to come on, I replaced the battery a few months ago becouse the one that was in there kept dying and was about 7 years old so I figured that was it, but now I'm getting the same thing happening with the new battery.
My hood lights have been disconnected and have been, I have unhooked the negative side of the battery and put a test light in series with the cable to complete the connection and .... we have light !! so I'm thinking drain...right ? I'm new at this so I hope I'm not chasing ghost's. I then pulled each fuse but no go, light stayed on. I left this hooked up and then started removing the wires from the jump start block and when I removed the fusible link A & M which are seperate wires but share the same connection lug, the light went out.
I am now at a stand still and unsure of what to do next, or if I'm even on the right track, what would cause a brand new battery to drain completly in such a short time.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)
My hood lights have been disconnected and have been, I have unhooked the negative side of the battery and put a test light in series with the cable to complete the connection and .... we have light !! so I'm thinking drain...right ? I'm new at this so I hope I'm not chasing ghost's. I then pulled each fuse but no go, light stayed on. I left this hooked up and then started removing the wires from the jump start block and when I removed the fusible link A & M which are seperate wires but share the same connection lug, the light went out.
I am now at a stand still and unsure of what to do next, or if I'm even on the right track, what would cause a brand new battery to drain completly in such a short time.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)
Drifting
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 1,801
Likes: 2
From: St. Paul MN
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (GoNavy)
I think you are using the wrong method to check for parasitic drain. You need a volt/ohm meter. Get a good one at Radio Shack for about $75. Then you take the ground cable off the battery and put the black wire probe onto the battery negative connection. Put the red wire probe onto the negative battery cable end. Set the meter to amps setting. See how much amperage it reads out. If you are more than about 1/2 amp you have a problem. Start pulling out fuses one at a time while looking at the meter to see where your drainage is coming from. The test light like you used won't work for this type of testing. Good luck.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 4,178
Likes: 2
From: Windermere FL
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (mjfox)
I'm with Bob. You will get the light to light up regardless of power drain. You need a meter. I'd check glove box and center console lights as well. Also, if you have any aftermarket stuff like radio, cb, radar, lights, etc., they could be the problem and should be checked first. Last, you coulda just got a bum battery. I got 3 bad diehards in a row once before I got a good one. They all had cracked cells. :yesnod:
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (GoNavy)
The bad thing about the lamp you used to check for drain current is that it won't allow enough current to pass to operate the courtesy light timer and it will keep the courtesy lights on continuously making you believe that you have leakage. If you will short the lamp together long enough to allow the courtesty lights to time out and then unshort them , if you have enough leakage current to discharge your battery in 2 days, then the lamp will light and you can then pull fuses and fusible links. A VOM (set for amps) in series with a battery cable will allow the courtesy lights to time out and will also measure the amplitude of your leakage current. My 87 has 28 ma. of leakage current and I have no discharge problem.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Lakeside Ca
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (jfb)
:) Thanks for all the replys, I will go get a meter tomorrow. Also has anyone tried the piece of mind battery protector that in the Mid America Catolog ??
Thanks again
:flag
Thanks again
:flag
Racer
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 253
Likes: 0
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (GoNavy)
Here's a battery for a great price: Sam's Club... $50 (+tax). Check out this warranty: 36/108/36. That's right. 36 month free replacement, 108 month warranty, 36 months free jumps. Let's see... 108 months divided by 12 months in a year... carry the 1... oh - 9 years. Yes - a 9 year warranty.
Parasitic drain.... HA! I laugh in your face!
And the brand name? It's a Champion.
How could I say no??? :crazy:
Parasitic drain.... HA! I laugh in your face!
And the brand name? It's a Champion.
How could I say no??? :crazy:
Racer
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 253
Likes: 0
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (86VetteBill)
I hate when I do this post on a post..... :smash:
This doesn't mean that you don't have to fix the parasitic drain problem. This battey just gives you some financial ease of mind.
This doesn't mean that you don't have to fix the parasitic drain problem. This battey just gives you some financial ease of mind.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 5,381
Likes: 0
From: Pineville, Louisiana
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (86VetteBill)
I agree with the use of an amp meter because it will let you know how much drain you have and when you start pulling fuses you can track it much easier....The part I don't agree with is the price of the meter. You can buy a good cheap meter to measure low amperage....If your not gonna use it much then get a cheaper one. The only difference between a expensive model and a cheap model is accuracy of the meter. The difference in a 1% model and a .5% model is rediculous. I have used models that are guaranteed to be within .004% of scale and you can't see any difference in the readings between it and a 1% model. Save you money for important things. :yesnod:
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 112
Likes: 2
From: Forney, TX
Re: Battery drain....... Please Help (GoNavy)
had a similar problem with mine battery kept going bad or so I thought and they kept giving me new ones...had them check the alternator and checked out ok but I went ahead and replaced it two days later dead charged it checked voltage and was ok...tried to start dead again....finally took 3 battery back and talked with someone else about a drain because 3 batterys dont go bad in 6 months. I dont drive car but about once every 2 to 3 weeks.....got it running again and drove straight to autozone so they could test the starter which I didnt even think of and they put the machine on the car and when I started it ...it was pulling 300 amps over double what it should have been and it is even worse the hotter the car is. So replaced the starter and problem went away. I would suggest if you can get it running take it and have them test it. They can test it without taking anything out of the car. They can check the battery, alternator, and starter.
