Well, we are back up the creek on the old Ford.

It ran great after I got all of the air leaks sealed up, and I took it for a good test drive. I did not do any electrical work on this, except moving the inline fuel pump to pull out the old tank selection valve, and putting it right back (only disconnected the ground). Everything seemed fine.

Yesterday, I tried to start it, and I got nothing. No headlights. Batteries are dead as a doornail. So, I charged them up, and it started no problem.

I left the batteries hooked up over night to make sure I had a draw problem. I do. So I charged em back up (the main on passenger side is brand new, #2 on driver side is not). I disconnected the #2 completely, and took the Neg. off the main. I then connected the terminal to the battery cable with my multi-meter. It registered a draw.

So, I pulled every fuse under the dash, one by one, to see if I could find the source. No luck. I replaced each fuse after I pulled it. So, I guess I need to know i there is another fuse box somewhere? Did I do this procedure incorrectly?

Next, I hooked the batteries back up, and I get this impact driver sound out of the glow-plug-starter relay, and a similar sound from the starter, at different ignition positions. No start.

Any ideas on what to try next? Seems like the more I do, the more stuff I break.

Pro-tips and spirit boosters welcome. Getting frustrated with this baby, but I know its going to be a good unit once the kinks are worked out.

 

remember, a weak battery will kill a good battery. that is why they should be replaced in sets.
fully charge both batteries for at least 12 hours.
connect batteries and see if it starts. make sure the trans is in neutral or park.
another thing to check when looking for a parasitic draw is the voltage regulator. if it sticks, it will kill the batteries.
if the draw goes away when you unplug the regulator, than i would replace the regulator.