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1slow50
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pos lead connected to pos bat post, neg lead to pos cable. i beleave the #8 fuse does the ttrunk light also but ill pull it out n test it just in case
Battery drain
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ttocs
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ok again you are going about this all wrong looking at the voltage and how you are checking it. Close but its different so please trust me I have a degree in electronics, worked as an audio/security installer for 12+ yrs and worked as an electronics tech for intel. I know electroncs..... follow my instructions and it should not take more then 30 mins to an hour to track it down.
Ok so the meter your using most of them will measure voltage and current. Be sure to set the dial to the AMP/mA/I/C. Now if you look at the meter leads you will probably see that there is a 2nd red spot for the red lead, and around it you will again see AMP/mA/I/C. take the red lead out of the voltage spot and put it in the current(AMP) spot.
Ok now go to your battery. Disconnect one side of it, doesn't matter which one. No insert you meter in between the battery terminal and the wire from it you disconnected. At that point your meter should start to show the current on it and hopefully its less then 1 amp... Now try pulling your fuses or the bulb in the back and see what the meter shows.
Ok so the meter your using most of them will measure voltage and current. Be sure to set the dial to the AMP/mA/I/C. Now if you look at the meter leads you will probably see that there is a 2nd red spot for the red lead, and around it you will again see AMP/mA/I/C. take the red lead out of the voltage spot and put it in the current(AMP) spot.
Ok now go to your battery. Disconnect one side of it, doesn't matter which one. No insert you meter in between the battery terminal and the wire from it you disconnected. At that point your meter should start to show the current on it and hopefully its less then 1 amp... Now try pulling your fuses or the bulb in the back and see what the meter shows.
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1slow50
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Thank you, I'm pretty sure I had it hooked up that way. I read the book that came with the volt meter, that's how they told me to hook it up as well. I'm gonna send a couple pics. Thank you it did help
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1slow50
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This is with all fuses plugged in.
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1slow50
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This is with the #8 fuse pulled. The only 1 that made the meter drop
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ttocs
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ok that looks like the sucker then. Now if I were not in the hospital I would grab my mustang bible and see what it has listed on that fuse but I am not getting discharged till later. What does the manual say is on that fuse?
If this matches your manual then it lists the radio power mirros illumination and warning lights. First you have not pulled any warning lights out of your dash have you? And now again did you ever disconnect the mach amps like I suggested? If not go do that now and put the fuse in and test the current draw again.
If this matches your manual then it lists the radio power mirros illumination and warning lights. First you have not pulled any warning lights out of your dash have you? And now again did you ever disconnect the mach amps like I suggested? If not go do that now and put the fuse in and test the current draw again.
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1slow50
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1slow50
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What do u mean by pulled any warning lights?
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1slow50
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Is this the amp? There is 2, 1 on each side. Sorry to hear ur in the hospital man, hope its nothing to serious
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1slow50
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I think I found it, thanks man. I unplugged the amps n put the fuse back in n no draw, boom, hell yea finally found it. Thanks for all the help man, that's the first I have ever heard bout the amps staying on.
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1slow50
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Well I spoke to soon, its still .05
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Hockeyman48
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.12 of an amp is a minimal load on a battery and will not affect a good battery.I would load test your battery and find out if that is part of your problem.Also,is the under hood light on while you are amp load testing the battery?The clock will also create a load on the circuit(very minimal ) if its operating.
ttocs
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Yes I agree that .12 is low, its about the same current that a relay draws when it is on, and take my word fer it me on a semi weak battery it will not crank in the morn. On a good battery if it sits for a fair amount of time overnight it can make a good battery a weak one after a couple of weeks of this. The standard(non deep cycle batteries) suffer from memory effects and given the right conditions it can kill a battery much faster then we would like. .
Yes the silver boxes on each side are the amps as you discovered and well whatcha know at the end of my first post that fixed it huh? Whatcha know I guess an ingant electrical mod can get lucky from time to time(if you are not 100% sure that comment is directed at you, its not directed at you(sit back and wait for the show since we talkin batteries)) I know a guy, that knows people that are in the know, and they will let us know what he already knows, what we don't know, nor need to know LOL........
Hockeyman48
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ttocs... what are your thoughts on load testing the battery first and verify it is good, then test the alternator output and verify it is charging correctly and clean all cable connections also.If the battery has been drained with parasitic load for a long period it should show in the load test and take longer to reach a full charge.My thoughts are (assuming the battery is sized correctly) the battery probably needs replacing.
ttocs
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ya know those tests, I am not sure what to say about them as I have seen a batter get trickle charged and thrown on the tester to show its good. I then took it home, did not hook it up and thought I would throw my meter on it just to be sure I wasn't wasting my time. 2 hrs after the test showing good, nothing being hooked up to it, the battery now was down too 11.3 volts. Went back an hour later with still nothing on it and now its showed 10.5. By morning it was dead. I took it back as it was under warranty and they did the same exact process of just leaving it unhooked next too the tester for 2 hrs after it passed and it also showed it was loosing voltage hours later.
You really only need too slightly damage one of the cells in a battery to have it do enough damage to say its only going too last a few more months. Problem there is that until it gets too the point I just described we can't see that anything is wrong with it. So I guess I would say that load testing it can't hurt anything, but also isn't the final word on the subj. Testing the alt also can't hurt and I am sure I tell people to clean the connection a lot more then its really done. It took me seeing that it only takes a slightly loose connection on a battery to cause a problem to develop over months. think most people just don't understand how important keeping the contact area of the battery clean is. Heck I am surprised when I see the average DIY'er has tapped a ground screw into the chassis and scraped the paint off...
You really only need too slightly damage one of the cells in a battery to have it do enough damage to say its only going too last a few more months. Problem there is that until it gets too the point I just described we can't see that anything is wrong with it. So I guess I would say that load testing it can't hurt anything, but also isn't the final word on the subj. Testing the alt also can't hurt and I am sure I tell people to clean the connection a lot more then its really done. It took me seeing that it only takes a slightly loose connection on a battery to cause a problem to develop over months. think most people just don't understand how important keeping the contact area of the battery clean is. Heck I am surprised when I see the average DIY'er has tapped a ground screw into the chassis and scraped the paint off...
Hockeyman48
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If you look closely at the battery post in the op's posted picture ,you can see a badly oxidized post.People don't realize the importance of clean mated contact surface.The battery terminal used(with clamped bolts) are junk also.
ttocs
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its one of those things that until you see it, it can't be true. Electrons pass from metal to metal as long as they are touching one another right? no not all the time....
one time when my battery terminal was just a tad loose after a few months of this, the car would not start. I mean it was just barely loose I could twist it maybe 4-5 degrees total but after I did that, the car started. It became a learning exp over the next couple of months to see how long it would take for the slightly loose connection to allow corrosion/oxidation to develop and eventually create enough resistance to not allow the car too start. And then it was interesting too see how much I had to turn it to clean the connection to allow it too start.
This battery terminal cleaning tool is something that every tool box should have. Granted if your doing it right and have a good battery you will only use it every few years on your own car but I am amazed how often it gets used on neighbor/friends cars. You put it on top of the battery terminal post and twist a few times, take the cap off and stick that into the cars wire clamp/connection and twist it back/forth a few times. 1 min and both surfaces are clean and ready and pretty sure if you watch it you can find it at harbor freight for $2..........
http://www.harborfreight.com/battery-terminal-cleaner-94450.html
one time when my battery terminal was just a tad loose after a few months of this, the car would not start. I mean it was just barely loose I could twist it maybe 4-5 degrees total but after I did that, the car started. It became a learning exp over the next couple of months to see how long it would take for the slightly loose connection to allow corrosion/oxidation to develop and eventually create enough resistance to not allow the car too start. And then it was interesting too see how much I had to turn it to clean the connection to allow it too start.
This battery terminal cleaning tool is something that every tool box should have. Granted if your doing it right and have a good battery you will only use it every few years on your own car but I am amazed how often it gets used on neighbor/friends cars. You put it on top of the battery terminal post and twist a few times, take the cap off and stick that into the cars wire clamp/connection and twist it back/forth a few times. 1 min and both surfaces are clean and ready and pretty sure if you watch it you can find it at harbor freight for $2..........
http://www.harborfreight.com/battery-terminal-cleaner-94450.html
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1slow50
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my post??? thats a brand new battery. now my cables r another story. they do need to be replaced u can see corrosin when u pull back the insulation on the cable. also a new alt in there 2 but i will check them just incase
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1slow50
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the shop i had it at hacked the hell outta of the pos cable. the had sum side post battery in it so me n my friend had t5o do a lil modification cuz how they hacked the hell out of my cables, thats y i will not take it to a shop again unless its sumtin i feel i cant do like new pistons or sumtin. i hate having sum1 else wrk on my sh@t. is there any where i can get new cables at or i gotta make my own??
