[FEMA]

Keep in mind I have not bought any manuals for this car yet - recently picked it up for my son; new battery installed and car driven home from a local shop after a good once over. Now the car won't start without jumping. Found a red wire hanging under the fuse panel and connected back to where it appears to go - other side of this wire goes under the glove box.

Did a test by disconnecting one battery cable and rubbing on the post; no spark SHOULD mean that there is no particular device/circuit draining the battery, right? If so, then there is a short somewhere, is this the right way to go about finding my problem?

Also found a 9A fuse that was too short for its place in a spot requiring a 14A fuse - I've removed it for now. Lots of confusing descriptions on the fuse panel; RHEO, IPS, ??? Don't know what that means.

Also, whats a good place to find the manuals & diagrams for this car? Thanks.

[george kujanski]

Check your email...

If you draw a spark when connecting the battery cable, there is a current draw somewhere.

You should connect a ammeter or multimeter to see haw much current is being drawn, about 50 mA. or less is normal, higher than that, such as hundreds of mA. or more indicates a problem that will drain the battery over time.

George

[billkinney]

Fema,
I have batt drain troubles on my motorhomes ALL the time. I disconnect the hot side of the batt and hook up a test light between the batt and the red batt lead. Then I start pulling fuses until the light goes out. Then you work on that circuit.
Good luck,
Bill

[FEMA]

Good idea, thanks Bill - at the suggestion of another friend, after jump starting the car last night I disconnected one of the terminals (the negative in this case) to take all circuits out of the equation and see if the battery is by chance a dud. Connected it back up tonight and found the battery draining before I could get her started - so, its the battery?

This is a cheap Walmart battery as I bought it only to check out the car prior to purchase.

Alos, I am getting 11.30 - 11.40 VDC on the meter when I hook it to the battery while the car is not running. When I had it running the other day the meter was reading about 13.50 - 13.80 VDC.

[george kujanski]

Charging voltage looks ok, but the battery rest voltage is low. A charged batt should be about 12.6; disconnect it and charge it. Measure the bat voltage after it's been sitting overnite. If it's good, it shouls be at 12.6 in the morning.

If it goes lower when connected to the car, it's being drained.

After the batt has been in the car for awhile with the engine off, is the generator unusually hot?

George