Need Help ..... Have a Draw Somewhere

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

Okay, my car hasn't been starting without charging the battery with a charger daily.

I disconnected the - terminal. Hooked test light to the cable ...... and probed the - post of the battery. Test light lit up. This means I have a draw ... correct?

Well, I pulled every fuse and relay in the car and the light stayed lit. I disconnected all connections from the alternator and it never went off.

What are some other ways I can find the 20 on this draw? I'm lost.

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

Anyone? Shane .... JT .... what say ye?

MysteryMachine · May 21, 2006

Your radio will draw for the memory but that wouldn't cause a problem. Have you tryed a new battery? and if so what about having the alt checked

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

I know it''s not the radio. I ripped EVERY fuse out and the draw was still apparent.

Brand new Optima Red Top.

I checked the alternator as well. I think it may be having some charging issues .... so I'm gonna have it tested anyway. On top of all this, I'm having a starter problem. It seems to not engage with the flywheel sometimes. I guess it's time for a new starter.

HISSIN50 · May 21, 2006

Justin, you hit what I would recommend - all fuses, fusible links and power cables (a bad diode in the alt was a real possibility but you checked that). Are you able to remove the starter cable to see if there is a draw through that cable?

I have known of people using a short finder - matter of fact I have one that I've never used. It beeps at ya to let you know if you're getting 'hotter' or 'colder'.

I just woke up - lemme think on it.

Good luck.

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

HISSIN50 said:
I have known of people using a short finder - matter of fact I have one that I've never used. It beeps at ya to let you know if you're getting 'hotter' or 'colder'.

Haha, I have never heard of such.

Thanks for the input. I was just pondering on checking the starter as well. I guess that's the next thing I will check.

1TallMF · May 21, 2006

Do you have a digital voltmeter? If you do, hook it up the same as you had the test light. Set it to "amp" and if the draw is less than 10 amps, it will give you a numerical value of how many amps are being drawn. If its less than, say, 0.5A, I wouldn't be too worried about it, and you might want to get the battery tested then. But if it is a few amps or more, than there certainly is something shorting out possibly.

HISSIN50 · May 21, 2006

In the vein of what 1TMF said, it's normal to see a nominal draw of something along the lines of 50- 100 mA from the KAM. But if everything is disco'd the light should go out (using a test light is tough since it's brightness is tough to convey to us).

wytstang · May 21, 2006

If you pulled all the fuses/relays under the hood/dash and it stayed on you have a mission on your hands. Hows the car run??

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

Hmmm .... I never use that side of the meter, lol. I set it at 20m/10A. Probed from -cable to -post and it reads 0.25. Does that sound normal?

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

wytstang said:
If you pulled all the fuses/relays under the hood/dash and it stayed on you have a mission on your hands. Hows the car run??

Yeah, I pulled ALL fuses and relays .... in car & under hood.

Once I get it started .... it runs perfect.

drakesdad · May 21, 2006

Justin, you are not alone......I have a draw bad enough to kill my battery within four days.....I tested my amp and it was not it and I haven't bothered to go searching like you are......I will have to sooner or later.....
Will

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

Just do the simple things I listed previously. 9 times out of 10, doing that, you will find the draw. I was the "unlucky one", lol.

BTW, my battery dies quick. It's lasted as long as a day and a half (a couple of days ago) .... but has also only lasted a couple of hours (today).

drakesdad · May 21, 2006

a couple of hours....damn, your a little worse than me...lol
I took the test light and thought for sure it was my amp...I was going to start pulling fuses and something came up....hell, when I know I'm not going to drive it for awhile I just unhook the battery.....sometimes I can be lazy

MysteryMachine · May 21, 2006

I bought a short finder mine don't beep though. It has a meter that when the needle moves its "where the short is". I was about ready to rip both doors apart cause the needle moved and that wasn't even the problem.

HISSIN50 · May 21, 2006

Justin, If I read ya right, you had a .25 amp (25mA) draw - that's nothin.

If you're draining that fast, something else should be up. Did your test light light up really bright?

Another method (hugely tedius): Reconnect the test light. Now go around and goose the wiring that you suspect (move it around). If you have a chafed wire that's shorting to ground, when you goose it, you might pull it away from the metal it's shorting to. The light will get dimmer when you do this and you know you found a bad patch of wiring.

Do Optimas ever come bad out of the box? I've had several new conventional batteries bench test bad right off the shelf (I have them tested before buying).

Good luck Justin, Will and Jinx.

MysteryMachine · May 21, 2006

**** i don't know about ya'll but if i drop over 100 on a battery that sob better not be bad. 50 some on one thats bad is bad enough

FrogLeg · May 21, 2006

I had a bad ignition switch one time that did the same thing to me. pulled every fuse but the batt does have a hot wire that goes to the ignition switch before the fuse box....

GOOD LUCK TO YOU WITH YOUR GREMLINS...

SeventyMach1 · May 21, 2006

FrogLeg said:
I had a bad ignition switch one time that did the same thing to me. pulled every fuse but the batt does have a hot wire that goes to the ignition switch before the fuse box....

GOOD LUCK TO YOU WITH YOUR GREMLINS...

OMG. This is starting to look scary. What else is there "BEFORE" the fuse box that I might have to worry about?

First thing tomorrow .... I'm taking the Optima back and getting one that is good ... "for sure". I'll probably run the alternator down there to get it tested, too. Oh, and I have to pick up a new starter. Any recommendations? A regular one from the parts store will suffice?

If nothing is better at that point .... extensive testing.

MysteryMachine · May 21, 2006

You can test a starter. Pull it out check the teeth on it and check the teeth on the flywheel, I'd do this beings you said its not "engaging" right. Heres where the redneckishness comes in lol. Run a ground and power wire to the starter and hook up the ground. With the starter laying on the ground or on a bench hit the power wire to the battery. You will see the starter pop out and spin. If thats not working then thats your problem. Either that or the teeth on either that or your fly wheel is bitched up.

My Toyota was acting up and I bought a starter and I yanked the old one out and tested it like above and found out it was fine was able to take the new one back and get my money back. It turned out being the cable from the battery to the starter was shot.

Its an auto so it has a flexplate not a fly wheel also had the teeth break loose from the plate itself one time the starter would hit them and it would make a loud screaching noise after hitting the starter a couple times it would start but thats not a good idea lol. Not sure if thats possible on a fly wheel.

Need Help ..... Have a Draw Somewhere

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