View Single Post
  #8  
Old 12-24-2009, 10:35 AM
bricud bricud is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Brownsville, MN
Posts: 32
Re: battery losing charge when off

Here's what I would recommend to eliminate the possibility of a short somewhere in the system. Get yourself a test light. The kind that has an aligator clip on one and and looks kind of like a pen. Cost about $5 at WalMart. When you touch one side to the + and the other to - on battery, it lights. This will only light is there is current draw. Take off the negative battery terminal, and with everything off, including doors closed, touch one end to the battery cable and the other to the battery post. If something is drawing juice, it will light.

If it doesn't light, then it appears to be either the battery or the charging system. If it does light, then you need to find the circuit that is drawing current. To do this, hook the battery back up. Locate the fuse box, and take your test light and hook up the ground (alligator clip end) to the chassis. Touch a known + source (Pos batt) with the other end to make sure you have a good ground (it should light). Then, pull the fuses one at a time. With the fuse out, touch both sides of the socket. If the test light lights, then something is drawing from that circuit. Keep in mind that with the door open, the circuit for the interior lights will show a draw (it is trying to power the lights).

I have used this method to narrow the search many times with cars. Hope this helps.

Brian
Reply With Quote