Dead Battery Blues
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Posting Guru
Joined: May 2004
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From: Spokane WA
Okay, so i got Bill's ammeter under there and I've been poking around. With the alternator totolly disconnected there was still a draw from the neg cable to the neg terminal. I know I'm not an expert with this equiptment, but when it just shows a 1 on the left side of the screen, it's maxed out or something isnt it?
I hit up the fuse box with the meter, and the only thing that's drawing is the cig lighter/fog light circut. It's a very small draw though, doesnt account for the huge draw from the battery. Oh, and the voltage regulator is part of the alternator, so there goes that idear.
Any other ideas are totally appreciated. THANKS!!!
I hit up the fuse box with the meter, and the only thing that's drawing is the cig lighter/fog light circut. It's a very small draw though, doesnt account for the huge draw from the battery. Oh, and the voltage regulator is part of the alternator, so there goes that idear.
Any other ideas are totally appreciated. THANKS!!!
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 4,038
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From: South Kitsap County, WA
Scott, WHAO!!!!
If you did the digital ammeter, with a large current draw you'd be replacing fuses in the meter right now (or could be buying Bill a new meter). When a digital is hooked in series with the circuit they usually have a 2-10amp max fused circuit rating. If this thing is drawing enough current to kill a battery that fast, it's going to pull more than a few amps. A "clamp on" ammeter is your best bet for a large draw.
Think about this... you'd have to take a cable off the batery and substitute the meters (tiny) leads as the jumper between the terminal and the battery cable. The leads aren't designed for this and neither is Bill's meter...
Remember, I recently checked the theory of large current through small wires...see the sig?
-Kerry
If you did the digital ammeter, with a large current draw you'd be replacing fuses in the meter right now (or could be buying Bill a new meter). When a digital is hooked in series with the circuit they usually have a 2-10amp max fused circuit rating. If this thing is drawing enough current to kill a battery that fast, it's going to pull more than a few amps. A "clamp on" ammeter is your best bet for a large draw.
Think about this... you'd have to take a cable off the batery and substitute the meters (tiny) leads as the jumper between the terminal and the battery cable. The leads aren't designed for this and neither is Bill's meter...
Remember, I recently checked the theory of large current through small wires...see the sig?
-Kerry
Last edited by kspilkinton; Oct 17, 2005 at 09:23 PM.
Thread Starter
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Posting Guru
Joined: May 2004
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From: Spokane WA
Sooo....what do you suggest? I put it on my truck's battery between the neg wire and the battery with the key off and got the same 'maxed out' response, and I know there's not much draw through that, just the radio. I'm pretty well stuck. Brooke wanted to take it to the mechanic first thing, but I figured I'd be able to do something. Hope I havent met my match, a DODGE!!!!! 
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Ridgeway, Virginia
Next time the car is going to sit for a few days go ahead and disconnect one of the battery cables. If you come back and the battery is dead then you KNOW that the battery is the problem. Simple process of elimination will do your work for you sometimes, or at least save you from other unnecessary guess work.
Batteries can be tricky sometimes in the problems they can cause. They can test good and be bad. In these great high tech times we live in many parts stores use the digital load tester which is limited in its capability to really test each cell. I said that wrong, it does not test each cell. Instead it tests the whole battery for ability to hold a pre determined voltage under load and then recovery time when the load is off.
When we used hydrometers we knew the specific gravity of each cell which told a lot more. The hydrometer used in conjunction with a hand held load tester was the way to go. Ahh the good old days!! Not so long ago
Batteries can be tricky sometimes in the problems they can cause. They can test good and be bad. In these great high tech times we live in many parts stores use the digital load tester which is limited in its capability to really test each cell. I said that wrong, it does not test each cell. Instead it tests the whole battery for ability to hold a pre determined voltage under load and then recovery time when the load is off.
When we used hydrometers we knew the specific gravity of each cell which told a lot more. The hydrometer used in conjunction with a hand held load tester was the way to go. Ahh the good old days!! Not so long ago
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,940
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From: Eastern WA
Originally Posted by 74fordtruck
I know I'm not an expert with this equiptment, but when it just shows a 1 on the left side of the screen, it's maxed out or something isnt it?
Last edited by CowboyBilly9Mile; Oct 20, 2005 at 11:24 PM.
