Electrical help

[Captain Knievel]

My truck battery is draining almost nightly. So far I've replaced the battery and alternator (needed to upgrade to an Interstate battery and a chrome alternator anyway ), and removed all external add-ons that would draw power, including the radio, alarm, etc. Still ... draining. I'm a little stumped, and not too mechanically inclined. Could it be the voltage regulator? Could it be an evil fairy?

Thanks ahead of time for any help.

[FLEET72]

Here's what Bob has to say about that;

Here are a few things to try. One, remove the negative cable from the terminal and put a test light between the cable and the battery post. If the light glows, there is a drain. To find what circuit is causing the drain, remove one fuse at a time until the light goes away. Then, install them one at a time. When the light glows there is a drain, when the light is off, the bad circuit was removed. You may not get the light to turn off. In that case, it means that there is a drain in some other circuit that does not run through the fuse panel. First place I would look at is the starter. Starters have been known to short out at the solenoid and cause a constant drain to ground.

Good Luck!
Drive Safely!
Bob, The Auto Answer Man

[sb69chevy]

Good info to have, Fleet.

[Captain Knievel]

I actually think the starter IS shot. I can't duplicate the noise it makes in this post. But you get the idea. I bought some shims, but maybe I'll go for the rest. I'm going to do the fuse thing first, though. Thanks!

[VetteVet]

If it was stuck points in the regulator you would have quite a spark when you disconnect the battery cable. It isn't a direct short to ground because you would have blown a fusible link or burnt the harness. A lot of these are caused by the horn wire under the steering wheel grounding and energizing the horn relay. If that was the case the horn should blow unless it has been disconnected. My .02

[Captain Knievel]

So far it looks like the alternator I bought was a bad one. I exchanged it, reclocked that one, and installed that one. So far it starts right up. Now it sits for a few days. That will be the real test.