battery loosing charge
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 382
Likes: 0
From: Big Red country
If the battaries are covered by the dealer why isn't the repair being handled by the dealer also? Franklins' drawing is very good, this test light set up is a very cheap and effective way to see if there is a current draw at rest. An ammeter would connect in the same way as the test light, just swap one for the other. It really doesn't matter which lead is on the battary etc as you don't care or need to know which way the current is flowing, you know that. The reading will be the same either way. The meter will tell you how much drain you have and with that, perhaps you can figure a place to start. Could be anywhere and could be hard to find. Perhaps start pulling fuses and elimanating circuits. All the while keeping an eye on the meter.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 382
Likes: 0
From: Big Red country
Also, I don't recommend pulling off the battary cable while the engine is running. You might get away with this, but my feeling is that you would be getting lucky. The potential for causing damage is there as you are relying on the regulator and everything else to work perfectly and keep you from damaging anything. With todays modern electronics everywhere, I think its a big risk. It doesn't take much of a voltage spike to damage an electronic componet.
Matt
Matt
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 339
Likes: 5
From: St. Louis, MO
Would it matter whether the test was done via the positive or negative terminal and cable?
I put a meter on the positive terminal and positive cable after disconnecting and got a lot of sparks. I decided to stop - it is going to the dealer tomorrow.
It is under warranty (for a few more miles) but the dealer always says they find no problem, while the battery continues to go dead while sitting in the drive for only a few days.
After the first several battery replacements, I purchased a "priority start" battery saver and connected it. I suspect the dealer will say it is the priority start that is causing the problem, but I don't think it requires any power until it senses a significant drop - but I guess if it is malfunctioning, it could be draining battery power all the time. As I mentioned b/4, I hear the thing running nearly every time I walk past the vehicle.
Maybe I'll remove it b/4 going to the dealer (or maybe permanently).
Thanks all.
I put a meter on the positive terminal and positive cable after disconnecting and got a lot of sparks. I decided to stop - it is going to the dealer tomorrow.
It is under warranty (for a few more miles) but the dealer always says they find no problem, while the battery continues to go dead while sitting in the drive for only a few days.
After the first several battery replacements, I purchased a "priority start" battery saver and connected it. I suspect the dealer will say it is the priority start that is causing the problem, but I don't think it requires any power until it senses a significant drop - but I guess if it is malfunctioning, it could be draining battery power all the time. As I mentioned b/4, I hear the thing running nearly every time I walk past the vehicle.
Maybe I'll remove it b/4 going to the dealer (or maybe permanently).
Thanks all.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 382
Likes: 0
From: Big Red country
You will get sparks because there is a load there and you are interrupting it. Just like pulling out a plug from a socket with the appliance on. An ammeter is just a wire as far as the circuit is concerned. I would have expected you to see sparks. However, they should have been small and hardly noticable if everything was ok. If they were big enough to scare you, you have a problem alright.
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 339
Likes: 5
From: St. Louis, MO
It was dusk when I did it, so I'm sure the low light made the sparks even more noticeable (and seem bigger), but that aside, there were some pretty significant sparks on both ends (even though one probe was already touching - I didn't touch them at exactly the same time - which surprised me even more).
It goes to the dealer in the morning - I'll let you know what they find. I just wanted some idea of whether there was a problem b/4 they call tomorrow and tell me there is no problem.
It goes to the dealer in the morning - I'll let you know what they find. I just wanted some idea of whether there was a problem b/4 they call tomorrow and tell me there is no problem.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
DuckdiverJake
1994.5 - 1997 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel
3
Jan 4, 2017 12:11 PM
gatorglenn
Brakes, Steering, Suspension, Tires, & Wheels
1
May 7, 2015 12:36 PM
