[frankr2866]

woke up this morning with a drained battery how do i find out whats draining the battery ,1966 gto coupe? where should i run my hot lead from my gauges ?

[frankr2866]

woke up this morning with a drained battery how do i find out whats draining the battery ,1966 gto coupe? where should i run my hot lead from my gauges ?

[Wrench Bender 2]

Not knowing the history behind your coupe I'll try to give you a starting point! First thing Install a fully charged battery,(2) Connect a volt meter BETWEEN the battery and the car, remove positive battery cable connect the positive side of your volt meter to battery positive post and negitive side of volt meter to the positive battery cable,with all your acc. and ignition off there should be NO more than 1.5- 2.0 volt draw, if there is you can start removing one fuse at a time until the voltage drops, then you should have a idea what circuit the problem is in! Hope this helps

[GTOYANKEE1970]

That's an excellent check Wrench Bender.

John

[Stuart]

First of all, is the battery truly dead or do you just have a poor connection? Make sure all battery cables are clean and tight (both at the battery and at the other ends.) Also, it is possible the battery just went bad, but that's not as likely.

Usually, a voltage reading is done with the meter connected in parallel and a current reading is done with the meter connected in series...assuming your meter can be set to measure current, I would use it this way instead: Adjust the meter for amps (you usually have to plug the leads into the meter differently), disconnect the positive battery cable, and connect the meter in series between the positive battery terminal and the positive cable. With a good electrical system, if you have a modern stereo (one with a memory in it) or a working dash clock, it will read a slight current, maybe 50 milliamps or less. If you don't have either of these items it should read zero or nearly so.

If you read a higher current, there is a shorted wire or maybe a trunk light stuck on, something like that. It could have been as simple as leaving the door ajar overnight and the dome light ran the battery down. Like Wrench Bender said, start pulling fuses one at a time until the reading drops to zero and that's the circuit with the problem.

[68pl]

Wrench Bender,all,
I did as you stated. Disconnected the postive battery cable from the battery. Touched the postive pointer of the voltmeter to the postive battery post, touched the negative pointer of the voltmeter to the postive battery cable and it reads 11.2 -12 volts. I touched all most anything meatal with the negative pointer and it reads 11.5-12 volts. Is this right??? What should it read? Thanks,

[gtochism]

Do what wrench bender said. leave the meter connected between the battery and the pos. cable. that shows your current drain in volts. then just start pulling fuses one at a time while watching the meter. when you find the short the volts will drop. then look at everything that is connected on that line.

[gtochism]

Oh make sure the door is closed or hold the button for the interior lights [for the door] in or you will think that line is the drain source. [been there done that]

[Dryseals]

Voltage is a reading of potential and can be miss leading. To prove this take one lead of your voltmeter and stick it in the ground (dirt) then take the other lead and put it on either battery post. A good digital meter will show a voltage, there is no drain there is a difference of potential there.
Use your meter in the current mode. Check your meter for the current rating it will handle first. Many are good to 20 amps the cheaper ones are less. You can do the same test as above or just pull a fuse and measure across the fuse terminals.
The difference here is that the meter is looking for current which is what you want to see. Meters on the volt scale will offer a resistence in the path, most commonly 20,000 ohms per volt with a analog meter and meg ohm per volt for a digital. If its a small drain, then the meter could offer enough resistance to fowl the reading.

[68pl]

I think I solved my problem. I was looking back thru the (Electrical) archives and saw a reply by George Kujanski recommending or reminding a fellow member to make sure the external voltage regulator is grounded to the firewall adding a star washer to insure it is properly grounded. I just pulled the engine and did a #1 job on paint everything and yep the regulator wasn't properly grounded. When I started the car the dash lights were brighter, turn signal indicators, and lights were the brightest they have ever been. I drove the car to a friends we tested the new 135 amp alternator and it was working just fine. I'm sorry I rambled on but the Crusin the Coast starts next week and I now I can go to it! Any body coming to the Gulf Coast?