battery dying - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

67Fleet · 02-05-2006, 05:37 PM

I've got a draw on my battery and it's coming from the horn switch. When I took my steering wheel off the last time I somehow lost the part that insulates the switch so it doesn't have constant contact. Is there a fuse on the panel that operates "just" the horn? My fuse panel has overspray on it and I can't read the labels. I've got to order a new horn switch setup from LMC so I have a permanent fix, but wanted something temporary to get me by without draining the batt. I've unplugged the horn but it still draws current.

67-72williso · 02-05-2006, 06:17 PM

Pull the horn relay plug, it`s mounted close to the fuse box.
Later Willis

67Fleet · 02-05-2006, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 67-72williso

Pull the horn relay plug, it`s mounted close to the fuse box.
Later Willis

Can you define where "close to the fuse box" is? Left, right, above, below?

Longhorn Man · 02-05-2006, 07:00 PM

Yep, unplug the horn relay...and look elsewhere for the horn parts, LMC will charge you too much then sent the wrong part...and act all offended when you call and complain.

*MisterMan* · 02-05-2006, 08:37 PM

i also have a drain some where, how did ya find out is was the horn?...how did u get that indepth??

Longhorn Man · 02-05-2006, 08:46 PM

here it is under the dash of a '70. it'll probably be real hot being yours is on 24/7. There should be a 3 wire harness..a red, a dreen...and a black one if memry serves.

68haywagon · 02-05-2006, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

LMC will charge you too much then sent the wrong part...and act all offended when you call and complain.

Longhorn Man · 02-05-2006, 09:38 PM

haywagon...can you say I'm wrong?
I don't think they ever got an order right for me...EVER. Granted, I've only ordered from there 8 or 9 times...but every single order was all screwed up.

**special-K** · 02-05-2006, 10:02 PM

I must be stupid.I thought you wanted to know about changing the color of your battery with dye.

71meangreenc10 · 02-05-2006, 10:41 PM

Isnt the horn button the ground side of the circuit? Most circuits I have seen are that way,,,,Just a thought

Smitty

Longhorn Man · 02-05-2006, 11:14 PM

yes, the horn button is the ground.

**VetteVet** · 02-06-2006, 01:15 AM

67 Fleet I remember when you posted this a while back and you said you had a drain and you said you remembered you had put on a different steering wheel and the horn was grounded. You also said you bet we couldn't have diagnosed that. I almost replied that your horn relay was energized and causing the draw on the battery. I thought you had the problem solved so I didn't post back. As you can see it didn't take long for the guys on here to figure it out.
Now your horn button wire is a ground wire and normally wouldn't draw any current but it is hooked to the horn relay and when it grounds it energizes the coil on the relay and causes a draw similar to an interior light, which will drain a battery in afew hours. You would notice it quick because the horn would blow unless you disconnected it but the relay is still energized and drawing juice. So disconnect the relay plug until you get the horn button fixed as the other guys advised.
Remember this post:

Re: Truck died

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I isolated the problem. Pulled off the negative cable to battery & hooked up my test light lead to the (-) terminal. Put the test probe through a hole in the frame and it lit right up like a christmas tree. OK, so I've got a draw somewhere. First thing I checked luckily was the culprit. I remembered a few weeks ago that when I was working on my steering column that when I put the wheel back on the horn was blowing. I disconnected it at the horn cuz I wanted to get the truck on the road. Well, that was a big mistake. I have a Grant GT wheel and when I disassembled it I must have lost the o-ring that keeps the little spring from grounding out. Now I'm going to have to jury rig something to get that to work again. At least the problem is diagnosed, now I just have to fix it!! (see I bet you guys would have never guessed this one!!)
__________________

67Fleet · 02-06-2006, 08:01 PM

Thanks for the help guys!! LonghornMan, thanks for the pic! And VetteVet, thanks for having such a good memory!!!! Yours is obviously better than mine. (too much fun back in college has taken its toll on my brain....cough cough). I'll double-check everything once I put it all back together. I took the alt out and had it tested and it tested good so that's one less thing I need to replace. These little frustrations that set me back are actually great learning experiences and thanks to all of you on this board I'm slowly getting a free lesson in auto restoration!

02-05-2006, 05:37 PM	#1
67Fleet Outlandish Trends - FL Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,396	battery dying I've got a draw on my battery and it's coming from the horn switch. When I took my steering wheel off the last time I somehow lost the part that insulates the switch so it doesn't have constant contact. Is there a fuse on the panel that operates "just" the horn? My fuse panel has overspray on it and I can't read the labels. I've got to order a new horn switch setup from LMC so I have a permanent fix, but wanted something temporary to get me by without draining the batt. I've unplugged the horn but it still draws current. __________________ -Bret 67 short-fleet sold!

02-05-2006, 06:17 PM	#2
67-72williso Junk/Daily Driver Club Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Manheim, PA 17545 Posts: 253	Re: battery dying Pull the horn relay plug, it`s mounted close to the fuse box. Later Willis __________________ Daily Driver: 1970 C-20 400 sbc,sm-465,Dana 61 one ton SRW rear, 3.07 gears, locker. There are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who have no idea what happened!

02-05-2006, 07:00 PM	#4
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,690	Re: battery dying Yep, unplug the horn relay...and look elsewhere for the horn parts, LMC will charge you too much then sent the wrong part...and act all offended when you call and complain.

02-05-2006, 08:37 PM	#5
MisterMan Account Suspended Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Visalia, California Posts: 286	Re: battery dying i also have a drain some where, how did ya find out is was the horn?...how did u get that indepth??

02-05-2006, 08:46 PM	#6
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,690	Re: battery dying here it is under the dash of a '70. it'll probably be real hot being yours is on 24/7. There should be a 3 wire harness..a red, a dreen...and a black one if memry serves. Attached Images Last edited by Longhorn Man; 02-05-2006 at 08:47 PM. Reason: The voices told me to

02-05-2006, 09:38 PM	#8
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,690	Re: battery dying haywagon...can you say I'm wrong? I don't think they ever got an order right for me...EVER. Granted, I've only ordered from there 8 or 9 times...but every single order was all screwed up.

02-05-2006, 10:02 PM	#9
special-K Special Order Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mt Airy, MD Posts: 85,851	Re: battery dying I must be stupid.I thought you wanted to know about changing the color of your battery with dye. __________________ "BUILDING A BETTER WAY TO SERVE THE USA"......67/72......"The New Breed" GMC '67 C1500 Wideside Super Custom SWB: 327/M22/3.42 posi.........."The '67" (project) GMC '72 K2500 Wideside Sierra Custom Camper: 350/TH350/4.10 Power-Lok..."The '72" (rolling) Tim "Don't call me a redneck. I'm a rough cut country gentleman" R.I.P. ~ East Side Low Life ~ El Jay ~ 72BLUZ ~ Fasteddie69 ~ Ron586 ~ 67ChevyRedneck ~ Grumpy Old Man ~

02-05-2006, 10:41 PM	#10
71meangreenc10 Its a Truck Thing...... Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sierra Vista, Arizona Posts: 3,179	Re: battery dying Isnt the horn button the ground side of the circuit? Most circuits I have seen are that way,,,,Just a thought Smitty __________________ 71 C10 283/3SPD Full Resto 71 GMC 1500 Sierra Grande http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=518599 70 C10 Suburban Former military GSA truck. 72 Chevy Blazer 4X4, Sloppy Jo, Mountain Climber. Wife says no more trucks. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=707378 72 GMC 1 Ton Motor Home, wife said no more trucks until she saw this one. Gen 3 6.0/4L80E 4.10 http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=761110 68 GMC Suburban was 3/4 ton, now 1/2.Wife shook her head 71 C30 Wrecker 71 C20 Scott-Bilt As weird as it gets..BB Cheyenne AC Truck 68 GMC Long Stepside. They keep following me home 69 C30 Former Motor Home, Flat Bed time 70 G20 Red-E-Kamp Conversion "I'm your Boogy Van"

02-05-2006, 11:14 PM	#11
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,690	Re: battery dying yes, the horn button is the ground.

02-06-2006, 01:15 AM	#12
VetteVet Msgt USAF Ret Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 8,718	Re: battery dying 67 Fleet I remember when you posted this a while back and you said you had a drain and you said you remembered you had put on a different steering wheel and the horn was grounded. You also said you bet we couldn't have diagnosed that. I almost replied that your horn relay was energized and causing the draw on the battery. I thought you had the problem solved so I didn't post back. As you can see it didn't take long for the guys on here to figure it out. Now your horn button wire is a ground wire and normally wouldn't draw any current but it is hooked to the horn relay and when it grounds it energizes the coil on the relay and causes a draw similar to an interior light, which will drain a battery in afew hours. You would notice it quick because the horn would blow unless you disconnected it but the relay is still energized and drawing juice. So disconnect the relay plug until you get the horn button fixed as the other guys advised. Remember this post: Re: Truck died -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I isolated the problem. Pulled off the negative cable to battery & hooked up my test light lead to the (-) terminal. Put the test probe through a hole in the frame and it lit right up like a christmas tree. OK, so I've got a draw somewhere. First thing I checked luckily was the culprit. I remembered a few weeks ago that when I was working on my steering column that when I put the wheel back on the horn was blowing. I disconnected it at the horn cuz I wanted to get the truck on the road. Well, that was a big mistake. I have a Grant GT wheel and when I disassembled it I must have lost the o-ring that keeps the little spring from grounding out. Now I'm going to have to jury rig something to get that to work again. At least the problem is diagnosed, now I just have to fix it!! (see I bet you guys would have never guessed this one!!) __________________ __________________ VetteVet metallic green 67 stepside 74 corvette convertible 1965 Harley sportster 1995 Harley wide glide Growing old is hell, but it beats the alternative.

02-06-2006, 08:01 PM	#13
67Fleet Outlandish Trends - FL Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,396	Re: battery dying Thanks for the help guys!! LonghornMan, thanks for the pic! And VetteVet, thanks for having such a good memory!!!! Yours is obviously better than mine. (too much fun back in college has taken its toll on my brain....cough cough). I'll double-check everything once I put it all back together. I took the alt out and had it tested and it tested good so that's one less thing I need to replace. These little frustrations that set me back are actually great learning experiences and thanks to all of you on this board I'm slowly getting a free lesson in auto restoration! __________________ -Bret 67 short-fleet sold!



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