Dwayne
the same thing happened to me a few years ago, and it turned out to be the
alternator that was internally causing the short. Disconnecting the battery
indeed saved the battery but of course did not solve the problem.
I my case, I replaced the alternator + battery and problem solved.
You have a 74 car. I guess in your case yours comes with the volt meter on
the dash ? Mine is earlier and had the amphre meter, which indicated
discharging in my case.
With the engine running you should be able to measure between 13,5 and 14,5
volts over the two terminals - that is with a properly working alternator.
You can also disconnect your battery and wait for a week (if you are so
patient). If still OK then you at least know it is probably not the
battery. Or switch with a battery of another car of course.
Rgds,
Bert
72 TR6
P.S.: if you think you could use some more theory on this topic - you should
consider buying Dan Master's electrical handbook. That helped me out big
time, since I am also low on electrical theory (amongst others...)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net]On
Behalf Of Dwayne Cooper
Sent: mardi 15 avril 2003 17:26
To: 6pack@autox.team.net
Subject: Chasing a short
I think I have a short in my electrical system. I have a relatively new
battery and have done the GM alternator swap recently so I think my charging
system is ok. However, if I leave the car sitting for over a week, the
battery will go dead. I have a battery cutoff switch and it seems that if I
cut off the battery, I can leave it for over a week and the battery won't
drain (still testing this).
I'm a little week on theory here, but if I cut off my battery and then apply
my mulitmeter between the negative post and ground it reads about 12 volts.
I would think that this reading should be zero. If this is correct then I
should be able to go around disconnecting things looking for something that
will change that voltage to zero. Can someone confirm that I'm on the right
track?
Thanks,
Dwayne Cooper
'74
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