dead battery help

[Tommy91Stang]

would hooking up 2 gauges and a tack directly to the battery be bad because i did it and the battery was dead three days later but in those three days i did not drive the car it sat out in the cold would this of killed the battery

 

[HISSIN50]

would hooking up 2 gauges and a tack directly to the battery be bad because i did it and the battery was dead three days later but in those three days i did not drive the car it sat out in the cold would this of killed the battery

why did you do this? normally one wants the gauges to only be on when the key is on. what other gauges (voltmeter, etc) did you use, and are they electrical (have to ask).
as i recall, one generally doesnt want more than a couple hundred mA draw when not in use (rule of thumb for alarm installers). if you have a voltmeter or something like that wired to the battery, i would bet that it could kill the battery after a few days. remember the stock charging system sucks.

if none of that applies, i would look for a short, chalk it up to temps, or test the battery with a specific battery tester, etc. if not the gauges, id bet the cold and possibly a short (short may not have been apparent before when not so cold or car didnt sit for so long).
good luck.

 

[92MNstanger]

How would a person run an aftermarket tach without running a wire to the battery?

I have 1 wire going to + terminal, 1 wire going to - and 1 to fuse box for lighting.

Where should I hook up the hot wire? Ignintion switch? Where?

 

[Tommy91Stang]

i hooked the tack power to battery from what it looks like i guess the ignition would be better where are the wires for the ignition switch where i stick my key only has one black wire and is it bad to hook the groung directly to the battery

 

[HISSIN50]

i hooked the tack power to battery from what it looks like i guess the ignition would be better where are the wires for the ignition switch where i stick my key only has one black wire and is it bad to hook the groung directly to the battery

i havent wired a tach, but i see no reason to have constant power to it (unless there is a memory wire to retain times, etc if it is one of those nice tachs that i could never afford. LOL). but those are designed to not drain much (like your radio preset memory, etc).
but the main power circuit could drain the battery (i was really asking that question about the other gauges, since i know they never need to be on always).

i would pick up a key-on hot wire. if the tach is s'posed to have a hot at all times wire, it would likely be in addition to a wire that is key on hot (like there would be a yellow and red wire. one would say to wire it to 12Volt constant, and one would be key on 12 volts). make sense? there are wires under the column you could tap into (yellow is hot with key, IIRC, but double check that). or you could use something that is hot when the key is on from the fusebox (HVAC controls, etc). or you could use something under the hood if that is easier. on other cars, ive use teh hot wire on the wiper motor, etc. just something that has a decent sized circuit (so you dont overload something). stick a small fuse on it, if there is not one already. and you should be good to go. like i said, most alarm installers dont want more than a couple hundred mA draw with the key off (that is 0.200 amps). gauges draw more than that, i bet (not the tach maybe, but a voltmeter could). you can use a DMM to check the draw.
good luck.

 

[PRO50SC]

i havent wired a tach, but i see no reason to have constant power to it (unless there is a memory wire to retain times, etc if it is one of those nice tachs that i could never afford. LOL). but those are designed to not drain much (like your radio preset memory, etc).
but the main power circuit could drain the battery (i was really asking that question about the other gauges, since i know they never need to be on always).

i would pick up a key-on hot wire. if the tach is s'posed to have a hot at all times wire, it would likely be in addition to a wire that is key on hot (like there would be a yellow and red wire. one would say to wire it to 12Volt constant, and one would be key on 12 volts). make sense? there are wires under the column you could tap into (yellow is hot with key, IIRC, but double check that). or you could use something that is hot when the key is on from the fusebox (HVAC controls, etc). or you could use something under the hood if that is easier. on other cars, ive use teh hot wire on the wiper motor, etc. just something that has a decent sized circuit (so you dont overload something). stick a small fuse on it, if there is not one already. and you should be good to go. like i said, most alarm installers dont want more than a couple hundred mA draw with the key off (that is 0.200 amps). gauges draw more than that, i bet (not the tach maybe, but a voltmeter could). you can use a DMM to check the draw.
good luck.

Great advice once again Hissin50!!!