Battery Help!
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Grneye
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:08 am
Battery Help!
I have a '73 Ghia. I just replaced the Alternator after which the battery died, so I got a new battery. I drove it after four days of sitting and the battery died once again. It was suggested to me that I may have a " parasitic loss" from the stereo or lights, or that vibrations are shorting out the cells in my battery. Do I have a different problem?
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FJCamper
- Moderator
- Posts: 2910
- Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:19 pm
Re: Battery Help!
Hi Grneye,
Some simple troubleshooting first.
1. Battery cables are not corroded and are tight on battery posts, right? Turn off the ignition switch, turn off all switches to anything that might use power.
2. Get a 12v test light. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. Clip the test light to the negative terminal, and touch the negative battery post with the test light steel probe. If the test light glows (even dimly), you have an "open" or short circuit. That means something is on that is supposed to be off, and it is draining battery current.
3. Start removing fuses, one at a time, to see if when you pull a fuse that the test light goes out. This will usually locate the circuit in which there is a short or open.
4. If you pull all the fuses, and the test light is still on, you have a power drain in an unfused circuit. That can be the ignition switch itself, or in some aftermarket equipment, such as a radio or CD player, etc.
Try this and let us know what you found.
FJC
Some simple troubleshooting first.
1. Battery cables are not corroded and are tight on battery posts, right? Turn off the ignition switch, turn off all switches to anything that might use power.
2. Get a 12v test light. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. Clip the test light to the negative terminal, and touch the negative battery post with the test light steel probe. If the test light glows (even dimly), you have an "open" or short circuit. That means something is on that is supposed to be off, and it is draining battery current.
3. Start removing fuses, one at a time, to see if when you pull a fuse that the test light goes out. This will usually locate the circuit in which there is a short or open.
4. If you pull all the fuses, and the test light is still on, you have a power drain in an unfused circuit. That can be the ignition switch itself, or in some aftermarket equipment, such as a radio or CD player, etc.
Try this and let us know what you found.
FJC