[DeTomaso] Why Is My Battery Discharging?
thomas
thomas at hax.se
Wed Dec 24 03:07:41 EST 2014
Probably one or more bad diodes in the alternator.
Cheers,
Thomas
> 24 dec 2014 kl. 03:03 skrev Edracers--- via DeTomaso <detomaso at poca.com>:
>
> Aloha
>
> The battery dying problem was solved. The mechanic replaced the
> alternator and regulator. Why it sucked the battery dry overnight is
> mystery to me. But I never understood amps, watts, volts, etc anyway.
>
>
>
> Mahalo (thanks) for the help.
>
>
>
>
>
> Ed Kemper
>
>
>
> In a message dated 12/18/2014 4:11:40 A.M. Hawaiian Standard Time,
> Larry at ohiotimecorp.com writes:
>
> Hi John,
> If you knew me better (and you should:) you would know that I hold
> animals
> far above most things I love. Certainly most people! I keep telling
> people
> there is a reason I live in the woods...
> So I grant "The DVM" the power to measure voltages with "a" DMV. I
> hope you
> are as forgiving to me when you learn what testing I am doing in VM.
> Larry (not nutz, never been tested) - Cleveland
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Donahue [mailto:demongusta at me.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 7:47 PM
> To: Larry - Ohio Time
> Cc: detomaso at poca.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Why Is My Battery Discharging?
> Been following this discussion, and could not resist to comment on
> the first
> sentence - 5th paragraph (I think) - since I am a veterinarian
> (DVM) - and
> have been known to be "sensitive". LOL
> On Dec 14, 2014, at 5:05 PM, Larry - Ohio Time
> <Larry at ohiotimecorp.com>
> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Hi Ed,
>>
>> Lots of very good advice, but I do things just a bit differently
> (that
>> should not be surprising).
>>
>> I have an old "trouble light" that I have modified. Cut the 110vac
> end off
>> and install two larger alligator type clips on the wire ends. Now
> change
> the
>> light bulb to a 12 volt model. You can find them at RV stores.
>>
>> Now hook this between the battery post and the removed battery
> cable, like
>> the others have said. If there is a load (drain) the 12 lamp will
> light
> up.
>> Now take this light to the fuse box as others have told you to do.
> When
> the
>> light goes out you found the problem. You can get good at
> determining the
>> amp draw by how bright the lamp is after a wile.
>>
>> You are going to need a light anyway :)
>>
>> The problem with a DVM measuring voltage is that they are very
> sensitive.
> I
>> have measured voltage from the positive post to the top of a dirty
> battery
>> case.
>>
>> An Amp meter is the way to go but they can be costly (I have two
> Sun units
>> for sale) and then you need to crawl out from under the dash, walk
> to the
>> battery and bend over to read it. That takes me about 20 minutes
> each
> time.
>>
>> Thinks to remember:
>>
>> If you open a trunk, hood, door, glove box and a light normally
> comes on
>> this will look like a drain (short) when you open them during
> testing.
>>
>> The battery is draining when the car if off and key is out, so
> look at the
>> things that work then, horn, lights ect.
>>
>> You do not want to kill your new battery so do not leave it hooked
> up
> until
>> you find the problem. It can also be a fire safety problem should
> the
> drain
>> turn into a short.
>>
>> In Pantera's I have found bad horn relays, voltage regulator and I
> think a
>> back up switch on the ZF that have done this.
>>
>> Larry (sparks) - Cleveland
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of
> SOBill via
>> DeTomaso
>> Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2014 7:24 PM
>> To: detomaso at poca.com
>> Subject: [DeTomaso] Why Is My Battery Discharging?
>>
>>
>> Ed,
>>
>> At http://www.panteraplace.com/Electrical/Power%20Distribution.pdf
> you
>> will find a diagram showing the electrical power distribution on
> the
>> Pantera.
>> This diagram is the Big Picture based on a stock Pantera
> electrical
> system
>> and was made at the suggestion of and with the help of Lee
> Farrell.
>>
>> How to find out why a battery is discharging?
>>
>> Disconnect the negative battery cable. Now the battery can not be
>> discharging into any circuit in the car. Measure the battery
> voltage with
> a
>>
>> multimeter which can read to at least 0.01 volts. Such meters are
> readily
>> available and are quite inexpensive. If your battery voltage is
> slowly
>> decreasing,
>> the battery is being discharged. What does "slowly deceasing"
> mean? My
>> battery voltage did not vary by +/- 0.01 volts measured over 5
> minutes.
> If
>> your
>> battery voltage is slowly decreasing when the battery is not
> connected to
>> any load, you have a bad battery.
>>
>> If the battery is good, why is it discharging?
>>
>> Reconnect the negative battery cable to the battery. Measure the
> battery
>> voltage. If the battery voltage is decreasing, the battery is
> discharging
>> thru a load in the car. Looking at the Power Distribution
> Diagram. How
> can
>> the battery discharge? The battery could discharge thru the
> Alternator,
> the
>>
>> Ignition Switch, the Headlamp Switch, or Fuses 7,8, or 9. Since
> the
>> Headlamp
>> Switch is OFF, and the Ignition Switch is OFF, the battery could
> only
>> discharge thru the Alternator or Fuses 7, 8, or 9. Since the fuses
> are
>> relatively easy to get too, pull Fuse 7, If the battery voltage
> continues
> to
>> drop,
>> replace Fuse 7 and pull Fuse 8. If the Battery voltage continues
> to drop,
>> replace Fuse 8 and pull Fuse 9. If the battery voltage continues
> to drop,
>> replace Fuse 9. Unless there is more than one problem, we have
> eliminated
>> the
>> circuits associated with Fuses 7, 8, 9 as the source of the
> problem. On
> the
>> assumption that we have a single circuit causing the problem, I
> recommend
>> pulling and replacing fuses one at a time. It is no fun to wind up
> with a
>> pile of poorly marked fuses to sort out against a diagram. A more
>> scientific
>> approach, which accommodates multiple causes for the problem, is
> to pull a
>> fuse, mark it as to location, and do not replace the fuse until
> we have
>> solved the problem. Do it which ever way makes the most sense to
> you.
>>
>> The next item to test would be the Alternator, but, since fuses
> are easy
>> to access, pull fuses one at a time and recheck the battery
> voltage. If
> you
>>
>> pull a fuse and the battery voltage stops dropping, you have
> found the
>> circuit that is draining the battery. If you have tested all the
> fuse
>> circuits
>> and the battery voltage is still dropping, the only component left
> is the
>> alternator.
>>
>> To this point, we have had life fairly easy and we should be done
> is less
>> than one hour. Life, unfortunately, is going to get a little less
> easy. We
>> must get to the Alternator.
>>
>> How to find out if the drain is in the Alternator?
>>
>> Disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery. At the
> rear of the
>> Alternator remove the Big Black wire and be sure it does not touch
> the
>> chassis. Reconnect the battery negative cable to the battery. If
> the
>> battery
>> voltage continues to drop, the problem is not in the alternator.
> If the
>> battery voltage stops dropping, the diode pack in the alternator
> is the
> most
>>
>> likely problem. Any auto electric shop can easily fix this
> problem.
>> Disconnect the negative battery cable. Reconnect the big black
> wire at the
>> alternator. Reconnect the battery negative cable to the battery.
>>
>> If you have done all of these tests and the battery voltage still
> continues
>> to drop, something quite strange is happening IF YOUR CAR IS
> STOCK. If
>> your is not stock, disconnect whatever is not stock and see what
> happens.
>>
>> This all sounds quite complicated, but it really is not. Look at
> the
>> diagram, think of what you eliminate when you pull a fuse. There
> is no
>> magic: No
>> Fuse = No Drain. The problem can be found. Let me know what you
> find in
>> any case.
>>
>> SOBill
>>
>> The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
>> Do the best you can with what your have where you are.
>> Have fun today!
>> SOBill
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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