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#1 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Battery Draining
My battery is draining on me and I don't know where it is going. It takes about two days of sitting and it will be dead. The battery is new and I have unhooked it from the truck and the truck will run on the alternator alone, so I dont think the alternator is my problem. Where should I start to look? Common fixes? Thanks.
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#2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Humble, Texas
Posts: 262
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Re: Battery Draining
get u a voltage Regualator set it on OHms connect it up to ur batt then have someone go pull you fuses till the # goes down
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#3 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
Sounds good. I will do that this weekend. I take it this is a wiring issue? Find the fuse that is draining the battery, figure out what that fuse runs, and either find the break in the wire or re-wire it all together? I know I sound like a retard, but I really know this little.
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#4 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Humble, Texas
Posts: 262
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Re: Battery Draining
Quote:
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#5 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
sweet I'll PM you when I figure out which one it is. Thanks.
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#6 |
67-72 Addict!
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: The TAX State!
Posts: 7,857
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Re: Battery Draining
Bobby, go to your local parts store (Autozone or Advance auto parts) and have them test your electrical charging system for free!. It is possible that you got a bad battery, but unlikely.
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Jim 1970 C/10 Fleetside w/Ghost Flames Lowered 4.5" front and 4" rear (Raked) 355/350 Turbo w/shift kit 10" Redneck Performance Verter w/2500 stall Hooker Super Comps part#2808-1 Performer RPM Air-Gap 12 Bolt w/3:73 gears- Eaton Posi Comp Cams XE262 with 1.6 Crane Energizers, Road Demon 625 and Brodix IK 180 heads |
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#7 |
Outlandish Trends - FL
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Orlando
Posts: 1,396
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Re: Battery Draining
I had similar problem. I had removed and replaced my steering wheel, and my horn was unhooked. I guess I damaged the horn button connector on the steering wheel when I replaced it. It was causing the horn to blow constantly, only I didn't know it because I didn't have one hooked up! It was just enough to drain the battery every few days just like yours. I unplugged the relay and was good.
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-Bret 67 short-fleet sold! |
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#8 |
Active Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Spokane WA
Posts: 166
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Re: Battery Draining
Or, its possible you have a shorted diode in the alternator that is draining backward thru the alt to ground. It acts like a dome lite left on but pulls battery voltage down the the point the battery may not ever fully recover or fully charge again even if its new. If you have reversed polarity during a recharge or a jump start, or even sparked jumper leads together, it may have been enough to take out a diode.
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#9 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
Thanks guys. I just checked the fuses. No changes in the ohms. I need to check the alternator.
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#10 |
Future TOTM Winner
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Bulverde, TX
Posts: 2,692
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Re: Battery Draining
It is possible that you have a short before the fuse block. My + cable has a couple of differnet wires coming off of it. Only one of them runs direclty to the fuse box. Just a thought, but you might want to keep it in mind. I had the same problem but mine turned out to be the horn issue like 67Fleet talked about. Oh yeah, I found that using a test light is much more convinient than an Volt meter. You can see bulb shining from farther away. For instance, when you pop you head up from under the dash to look at the battery area.
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72 Chevy CST K5 HIGHLANDER BLAZER Getting a 6.0,NV4500,NP205,14BFF (Currently laying all over the place in little pieces) 72 Chevy swb step-side "LS" 6.0 Here's a build thread of sorts 2002 HD2500 Crew Cab, 8.1L Allison 4x4 Daily Driver Check it out www.lsdyno.com Last edited by Critter; 12-22-2006 at 05:53 PM. |
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#11 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
Where is the horn relay?
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#12 |
Can't ReMember
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Orlando area
Posts: 258
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Re: Battery Draining
It's about 2" to the right of the fuse box. A two inch metal box with a two prong plug.
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Adversity doesn't test your character; it reveals it. 71 C-10 LWB 350/TH350. I purchased it in 1978 for $1400. I'm currently abusing it daily. (when it's running ![]() |
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#13 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
A buddy of mine told me to sit in the cab and have someone else touch the positive battery wire to the battery. He said if I could hear a sparking sound in the cab, that was the short making the noise I heard. I did it, and I can hear it. Is all of that true?
Question #2 - Can I just unplug the horn relay without any other problem arising? ( I dont have a horn anyhow) |
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#14 | |
Future TOTM Winner
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Bulverde, TX
Posts: 2,692
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Re: Battery Draining
Quote:
Just unplug the relay, it won't cause any problems.
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72 Chevy CST K5 HIGHLANDER BLAZER Getting a 6.0,NV4500,NP205,14BFF (Currently laying all over the place in little pieces) 72 Chevy swb step-side "LS" 6.0 Here's a build thread of sorts 2002 HD2500 Crew Cab, 8.1L Allison 4x4 Daily Driver Check it out www.lsdyno.com Last edited by Critter; 12-22-2006 at 07:10 PM. |
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#15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 894
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Re: Battery Draining
I just found a short on mine on the radiator core support where a wire splice was "leaking" to ground when moisture showed up. Left a blue-ish powder mark on the sheetmetal (looked kind of like when the battery starts corroding). I cut those old splices off, soldered and shrink-wrapped and my problems went away. It was draining the battery every couple of days.
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-Chris Building a stripper, one part at a time: 1969 K5, 307, 3spd, 3 seats, hard top. Added Pwr Discs, Pwr Steering, Aux Battery, T-case Skid, Lighted Sidemarkers, HEI, Lock-Right Diff, ECE Class IV Hitch, 32" MT/Rs. Parts to Install: Hand Throttle, Console, Tow Hooks, Dual Horns, AM-FM, Dealer Swing-Away Tire Carrier, Gas Tank Skid. Also building a 1950 Willys CJ-3A and off-roading a 2001 Nissan Frontier on 1-Ton Portals... |
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#16 |
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 1,534
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Re: Battery Draining
If you can borrow a good multimeter capable of reading amps, connect it in series with the battery neg. cable. Disconnect the battery negative cable, set the meter up to read DC amps, put the red lead on the batt. negative terminal and the black lead to the negative batt. cable(aligator clips work best here). Caution: DO NOT turn your ignition key on or it may blow the fuse in the meter. If you are getting a reading on the meter indicating that something is drawing current, then do as ClassicRedneck05 suggests and pull one fuse at a time until the current reading drops to 0.
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'72 GMC SWB C1500 Custom, frame-off in progress. 383 SBC, 9:1CR, Comp Cams XE262H, Scat internal balanced crank, Eagle SIR 6" rods, Keith Black dish pistons, Dart Iron Eagle 72/180 heads, Weiand Stealth intake, Stewart stage I water pump, Holley 4bbl vac sec, TH350 with B&M Shift Improver Kit. 12 bolt positraction. ![]() ![]() ![]() Last edited by Sweet72; 12-22-2006 at 07:22 PM. |
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#17 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Braselton, GA
Posts: 245
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Re: Battery Draining
I agree use a multimeter set on amps. Its probably the best way. You may have a small amount of draw if you have a radio with memory. I think anything over 50 milliamps you need to be concerned with.
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#18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Virginia Beach, Va, USA
Posts: 1,676
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Re: Battery Draining
I agree with the aforementiioned remedies but I have another. Do you have the original type of alternator or do you have a one wire hot rod type alternator? If you have one where it is a one wire, you may be losing your voltage and or amps going through the fuse block. I ran another large gauge wire back to the battery direct and no longer have a voltage/ampere loss.
My two cents. Kerry PS and in the electronics field we have a saying of KISS. Keep it simple stupid. I have found alot of problems with prior owners installing things like stereos when they didn't have a clue. Merry Christmas everyone.
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#19 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
Thanks guys. I am going to tackle it tomorrow. I am thinking the short is where I am hearing the clicking noise in the dash. Somewhere around the radio/cigarette lighter/heater area. I'm gonna pull the radio tomorrow and see what I can find. Hopefully, it will be simple and I will find it. If not, I'll have a bunch more retard questions for you tomorrow I'm sure. LOL
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#20 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
Ok, I think I found my source of the battery drainage. Like a moron I've been leaving the truck with the ignition in the accessory mode. So this leads to a series of questions....
#1 - Can everyone remove their keys from the ignition in the accessory mode or do I need to fix this? #2 - Would leaving the ignition in the accessory mode (even with any accessories off) kill the battery in a couple days? #3 - What kind of moron leaves their truck in the accessory mode for days at a time and doesnt ever notice it? - I know that answer. ![]() |
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#21 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 894
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Re: Battery Draining
First off, good detective work.
#1 No, your lock cylinder is worn out. One of the first things I changed on mine, could remove the key in any position. #2 It could, depends on if anything gets energized if the switch is on. You could have a minor short downstream of the switch somewhere too. If I recall correctly nothing is actually "on" if all the accessories are turned off when in acc. position.
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-Chris Building a stripper, one part at a time: 1969 K5, 307, 3spd, 3 seats, hard top. Added Pwr Discs, Pwr Steering, Aux Battery, T-case Skid, Lighted Sidemarkers, HEI, Lock-Right Diff, ECE Class IV Hitch, 32" MT/Rs. Parts to Install: Hand Throttle, Console, Tow Hooks, Dual Horns, AM-FM, Dealer Swing-Away Tire Carrier, Gas Tank Skid. Also building a 1950 Willys CJ-3A and off-roading a 2001 Nissan Frontier on 1-Ton Portals... |
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#22 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: OZ
Posts: 75
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Re: Battery Draining
69TowRig, Did you do the lock cylinder yourself? How difficult is it to change?
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#23 |
Senior Member
![]() Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lewisville, Nc
Posts: 10,234
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Re: Battery Draining
at my old job we had a 70 chevy c-30 people would do that. the key cylider is not that hard to do insert your key turn to acc insert a small push pin or something in to hole and pull i believe thats all there is too it
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#24 | |
Future TOTM Winner
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Bulverde, TX
Posts: 2,692
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Re: Battery Draining
Quote:
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72 Chevy CST K5 HIGHLANDER BLAZER Getting a 6.0,NV4500,NP205,14BFF (Currently laying all over the place in little pieces) 72 Chevy swb step-side "LS" 6.0 Here's a build thread of sorts 2002 HD2500 Crew Cab, 8.1L Allison 4x4 Daily Driver Check it out www.lsdyno.com Last edited by Critter; 12-24-2006 at 11:04 AM. |
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