Hey Todd. Does your car have a seperate voltage regulator? THat was what was killing the battery in my 66.

Elroy wrote:Quite concerned, i started measuring voltage and narrowed it down to 12 volts in my cement floor. Go figure now where the heck is that coming from ??? who needs solar panels when the dirt has free power.....

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That would be "ground power"

 

There aren't too many circuits that aren't fused. I start by removing the fuses.
 You may also disconnect the dimmer switch (internal short), unplug the alternator plug (blown diode)and the power feed to the horn relay. Even if the horn isn't going off there may be a draw across the relay coil (moisture, corrosion).
 I have had no luck with the new regulators that have the circuit board if you have one of those. 

No clock. I pulled every fuse, the horn relay, the alternator wiring, headlight switch, wiper switch, steering column plug, neutral safety switch, back up light switch and regulator. I'll try the dimmer switch and any other items I may have missed tomorrow.

Thanks

I will be interesrted to know. The battery in my car goes dead if left connected for a long period - seems like a short somewhere but i haven't been able to find it.

I'm lazy, and chasing some errant current leak is too hard for me, eh?

When I have a "fun" car that only gets driven occasionally, with that problem, I just lift the hood after parking it in the garage, use my handy 1/2" wrench, and disconnect the negative battery terminal. Put it back on when I want to drive it. No Problem.

Dave

You might want to have an electrician check the main panel. I would be money there's something not right there. When we moved in here the prev owner updated the panel (a condition of us moving in). I happened to be down stairs when my wife was making a piece of toast. When she turned on the toaster and the microwave I could hear a sizzle sound in the panel. I thought perhaps it was that circuit. We moved the toaster to another area of the house. Same thing! It turns out the main ground wire wasn't tightened in the box and would arc under a certain load! The insulation was melted as well! We could have had a fire. I ended up tightening almost half of the circuit breaker connections as well!

As for the Laurentian, I'm heading out to the garage in a few minutes to do some more digging.

It was a frustrating evening. Still no luck finding the draw. I decided to disconnect the starter at the solenoid. Bad idea. As soon as I turned the nut on the terminal the whole terminal started to spin which I assume fubared the solenoid. And to make it even more fun, the wire broke!

So, the rest of the evening was spent on my back under the car, covered in 1979 oil spray that is caked under my car, removing the starter. I thought I had found the culprit- the main cable to the starter had been touching the exhaust pipe and the insulation was burnt through. No dice. With the starter out and the wires out of the way, there is still a draw. However, something interesting I did find is the voltage dropped from 12 to 8 volts when I pull the courtesy light fuse.

I was also told by a tech at work that I am doing it wrong and that I should be testing for milliamps, not volts. He said I'd have 12 volts no matter what. I can't seem to get my head around this. I figured I'd only have 12 volts if there was a closed circuit. Perhaps this is the case with newer cars with PCM's "on" all the time but on an old car there should be nothing pulling voltage with the key off and doors closed etc.

I'll try testing milliamps after I get my starter mess straightened out. I am slowly realizing I am too old to be under a car twisting and stretching trying to remove starters. I need a hoist or a new hobby!

69Laurentian wrote:

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I was also told by a tech at work that I am doing it wrong and that I should be testing for milliamps, not volts. He said I'd have 12 volts no matter what. I can't seem to get my head around this. I figured I'd only have 12 volts if there was a closed circuit. Perhaps this is the case with newer cars with PCM's "on" all the time but on an old car there should be nothing pulling voltage with the key off and doors closed etc.

I'll try testing milliamps after I get my starter mess straightened out. I am slowly realizing I am too old to be under a car twisting and stretching trying to remove starters. I need a hoist or a new hobby!

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I think I understand what your tech was saying about volts being 12v no matter what.  If the battery is fully charged, anything attached to it will have 12v going to it. This makes sense. 
I had a fella explain electricity to me years ago using water in a pipe as his analogy.  The voltage is like water under pressure....once the pressure or voltage is there, it won't be any different unless you change the source.  The amperage is similar to flow of the water or gallons per minute.  Size of pipe will affect amount of water capable flowing just as  the size of wire will affect the amperage it is capable of carrying. 
So with this in mind, I think the only way you will see a voltage change will be if there is a slight increase in voltage from unhooking everything from the battery.  If you hook each item back up one at time, the voltage will drop as each item has a draw. To find out how much draw each item has, you will need to hook the ammeter inline to each item and this will show how much power each item requires in milli amps.

I do agree with your statement about old cars not needing any power when doors are closed and key off.  There should be no draw at all except maybe a clock.

Hopes this helps a little Todd. 

 

Glad it is working out Todd. Funny how one problem helped you find a different one. The cable on the exhaust could have been a big fire. As frustrating as problems can be, sometimes a guy has to be thankful when you find other problems that could leave you stranded on the side of the road.

I managed to repair my starter and got it back in the car. The battery wasn't even connected and it was stone dead. I charged it and boosted the car and took it to Tiny's to have the battery tested. By all indications it seems my new Delco battery is junk. I'll take it to the dealer when I get a chance and hopefully won't have to fight for a new one.