Just thought I'd float this by you guys and see if anyone had an opinion.

 

I've got a '73 AMC Hornet V8 that recently developed a problem with a power drain. If I can get the car started, I can drive it around fine, alternator charges the battery, and it runs like a beautiful machine.

 

HOWEVER... recently, it's started slowly draining the battery while it sits. I'm not sure exactly how long it takes to drain, but it takes more than a day and less than a week.

 

The battery that WAS in the car when this started was pretty ancient, and the battery wires were cracking and the connectors were fused to the battery itself, so I bought a new battery and cables. Hooked everything up, started fine, didn't think anything of it... until the weekend when I tried to start it and it was so dead the door-open buzzer didn't even go off. Trickle charged it for a couple hours and was able to start it.

 

Now, this car has recently been painted, and I did have problems with a flaky electrical system after another car was painted (gauges/lights shorting in and out), but other than the power drain, there are no other symptoms in this car. Alternator and battery test good, lights are off, there's no radio hooked up in the car, and the power junction block seems fine.

 

Any ideas?

Disregard, I'm an idiot.

 

The battery that I purchased apparently had been sitting so long that it, itself was dead. Charged it up, let it sit for 4 days off the charer, had absolutely no problem firing up.

 

:-\