ok, so since i put the wagon back together.... i have had a battery drain.

today, i finally got around to checking for shorts.

 

i kept the positive cable on the battery.i had the negative off.going through the fuses, one by one, i would touch the negative to the post to see if there was a slight spark.

all fuses sparked,so that method will not work for me.

 

should i go through every single plug going to a device and do the same thing?

i have a multimeter that i do not know how to use besides the basic functions.meaning that , an electrical engineer i am not.but i can follow directions!

 

oh, i also eliminated everything new that i had put on the car during the process,so it is not something that i modified or added.

 

i do have a wiring diagram, so i can chase things down with the proper coloration on the wires.

 

83 wagon........cheers, brian

The spark is not a relaible indicator of sustaitned current drain-need to hook up an ammeter(or a multi meter with a amp function) between youo r disconnected battery terminal and cable and then pull fuses until you see the circuit affecting the excessive current draw. Ignore current below about 50 milliAMps, it is for clock, keepalive circuits for memory etc.

 

Good luck let us know what you find

You can also do it by removing the battery and hooking your multi-meter in it's place. Set the meter for Ohms (the Omega symbol). Then you are looking for a high number - a drain will show as a low number like 10 Ohms or something. Pull fuses till the number goes up into the thousands of Ohms or so.

 

GD

You are trying to run a quiescent draw test. Here's how you do it.

 

1) Make sure the battery is fully charged. Disconnect it from the car and attach a charger.

 

2) Once the charge cycle is complete, let the battery rest for one hour. You're looking for approximately 12.6 to 12.8 volts with the battery at rest. Lower than that and you've probably got a battery with a bad cell.

 

3) Reconnect the negative cable to the battery. Your meter probably has 3 connectors for the test leads. Put the red lead on the "Amps" connector. Then connect the red lead to the positive battery terminal. Connect the black lead to the positive battery cable. That will let the meter read the current draw of the vehicle. With everything off, you should see 40 milliamps or less.

 

4) Go to the fuse box and remove the fuses one by one. keep an eye on the meter and take note of what fuse kills the excessive draw. There you'll have your answer.

good timing here, B. My OBW does the same thing and I'm planning to chase it this weekend.

It could also be a bad diode in the alternator. It isn't fused, so pulling fuses won't find it. Try disconnecting it.

 

Good luck.

 

Rob.

just an fyi. about 2 months ago i discovered a dead battery in my BRAT one morning. charged it up, was good for a few months Then a couple weeks ago coming back from KC my alternator died.....

That is what happened to me. First drained the battery (short diode), then charged it up, and the shorted diode eventually burnt out. The alternator will still work, but it puts out a whack of AC on top of the normal DC. I figured out mine before the alternator died completely. If the abnormal drain disappears, and you didn't fix anything, look for AC on the battery terminals with the alternator charging (2000 RPM or so).

It could also be a bad diode in the alternator. It isn't fused, so pulling fuses won't find it.

 

It will if you're not a complete idiot. If you pull all the fuses and the current draw doesn't go away....hmmmm....what could possibly be left.....

The trouble could very well be due to a problem in the alternator. There is a fusible link that ties it to the battery and not a normal fuse. Here is a link to a site that should help you understand how to hook up your meter and measure current.

 

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_6/chpt_2/4.html

welp, finally got around to checking this out again.

it was the alternator i had put in......it was a 100 amp unit from a chev.

 

somehow does not want to work properly.so, will get another higher amp alt and finger it out when i need to.

 

thanks for everyones input and links.cheers, brian

I found a 100 amp Chevy alternator that fits perfect, all you need is one of those curved alternator brackets from a small block chevy (available at any auto store) The part number is 7290-9, I think thats a USA Industries part no., and I forget the application but it has the same case as a regular 60 amp alt for a 73 Chevy pick Up...

 

-Bill

I think I found the problem right.... here.

 

chevy