Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Parasite

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion << previous || next >>

Posted By Discussion Topic: Parasite -- page: 1 2 3 4 5     silverchief 06-03-2016 @ 8:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 521 Joined: Oct 2009 The Optima battery in my 46 gradually became weaker, and eventually went bad after one year. It would not accept or hold a charge at the vendor, so they replaced it and I installed the new one. In usage, I note the amp meter shows a steady slight charge going into the battery, as opposed to previously. and after several days, my voltmeter does not show the new battery at a full six volts. The only parasite in my car is the clock which rewinds itself every two minutes. I drive the car a couple of times a week. I installed a new wiring harness couple of months ago and everything works correctly. I now disconnect the battery at night for fear of running it down. How can I use my voltmeter to look for a constant small drain somewhere? Thank you. CharlieStephens 06-03-2016 @ 9:43 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 888 Joined: Oct 2009 If you can see a slight current on the vehicles amp meter it is more than a "slight" current. I assume the volt meter you are referring to is one that came from some place like an electronics store and not the one in the car. Remove the battery cable and put the ammeter (you said voltmeter but I assume it will also measure amps) between the cable and the battery. I would start by removing the clock from the electrical system and work from there. Long shot, any chance your battery case is so dirty that the drain is around the outside of the case? There is also the possibility that the drain is internal to the battery, try leaving it disconnected for a week and check it. Do you have an alternator? I have read sometimes alternators do funny things but don't ask me for details, I use generators. Charlie Stephens This message was edited by CharlieStephens on 6-3-16 @ 9:47 AM cliftford 06-03-2016 @ 10:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 Beside the clock there are 4 circuits that I can think of that are live with the switch off. They are lights [of course] stop lights, horn, and interior lights, and any added accessories, such as fog lights. If your ammeter shows a current draw after you disconnect the clock, you might check these. TomO 06-03-2016 @ 1:08 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7252 Joined: Oct 2009 Use a test light connected between the disconnected Neg battery cable and the battery post. If there is a current draw, the light will light. Then you can disconnect circuits one at a time to find it. If there is no current draw, except when the clock winds, the battery has an internal short. Tom silverchief 06-05-2016 @ 7:46 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 521 Joined: Oct 2009 Thanks guys. I didn't disconnect my brand new Optima battery last night and it is stone dead this morning. That must be a significant drain. I will try your suggestions silverchief 06-05-2016 @ 7:54 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 521 Joined: Oct 2009 Also, my generator was rebuilt last year and has always performed well. Everything is six volts with no modifications of any kind. Most recent thing I did. Major wiring connectors are on the engine side of the firewall, just before going through into the cabin. Three times I found where two had pulled loose from their connectors, and I finally used heat shrink to hopefully hold them firmly. Even if one has pulled loose from it's connector again, I wouldn't think that would be the source of the drain. silverchief 06-05-2016 @ 9:08 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 521 Joined: Oct 2009 Sunday morning. Took Tom O's suggestion and verified a drain by connecting light between disconnected neg battery cable and it's post. Under our old axiom of it's probably the last thing you did, I removed the metal plate covering the junction of wires from the engine compartment with those coming from the cabin, at the firewall. The light immediately went out, indicating to me that one or more of those new wires was exposed just enough at it's connector to come into contact with the metal plate covering them. Once again I pushed them tight into their connectors, made single wrap of electrical tape, and glued a wide strip of Velcro inside the plate No more light and my battery is now happily accepting a charge. What would most of us do without this forum. len47merc 06-05-2016 @ 9:09 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 silverchief - see my reply to the other active discussion today entitled '1940 Merc gel battery 6 volt where can I get on.' under the General Mercury Discussion section, originally posted by Rickauf. Though very unlikely to be identical root causes - it may be of some benefit to you. My drain caused by that root cause sounds very similar to yours in terms of time. If it is draining that fast something should be warm-t0-hot somewhere and may be - emphasis on 'may' - a quick way (finger touch), albeit quite rudimentary, to get to the root of your problem. Steve silverchief 06-05-2016 @ 9:15 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 521 Joined: Oct 2009 Thanks len47merc. See my post showing problem solved. len47merc 06-05-2016 @ 10:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Got it - looks like you and I were replying at the same time (9:08 & 9:09 am today, respectively) and I was not aware of your post at the time I hit 'Submit Reply'. Glad to see your problem's solved! TomO's 'da Man on these electrical problem sleuthing processes - I was following his advice and processes when I inadvertently stumbled on the source of my issue. Knew there was a drain using the same TomO process you followed but had no idea where it was at the time until the back of my hand alerted me to the heat. Cheers - Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 6-5-16 @ 10:36 AM

<< previous || next >>

PAGE: 1 2 3 4 5

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

EFV-8 Club Forum Home | Back to Home Page | Contact the Webmaster

Copyright © 2009 - EFV-8.org
Powered by < CF FORUM > v.2.1