One way to find a *slow* electrical drain is to take a 12v light bulb and
solder wires to the plus and minus contact areas and then do the following:
disconnect anything that is supposed to draw current when the car is off
such as a digital radio with memory.
disconnect the battery plus cable.
pull all the fuses, remembering where each goes.
connect one of the light bulb wires to the battery plus cable.
connect the other light bulb wire to the battery plus terminal.
Now, one by one, put the fuses back while checking the light. The light
will glow if you have a current leak. If it glows after inserting a fuse,
you've narrowed the problem down to a specific circuit. Once you've
identified the circuit, you can, one-at-a-time, disconnect the devices in
that circuit until you find the culprit.
If the light does not glow at all, you do not have a current drain.
If the light burns out immediately, you have a significant current drain.
Do not overlook that even a slight air leak will cause the compressor to
cycle. The compressor can drain the battery very quickly. If you have a
compressor cut off switch, turn it off and see if your battery still goes
dead.
Stephen I. Early
Portfolio Conversions
Technology Sector-MBNA America
302.457.4788
800.441.7048 x74788
stephen.early@mbna.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Isensee@aol.com [mailto:Isensee@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2003 19:35
To: bricklin@autox.team.net
Subject: Electrical Problem
Something is causing my battery to drain down when the car is off. Any
suggestions on the best way to troubleshoot this?
Also, and this is probably related, the doors aren't working right. On the
driver's side, I can hear an air door solenoid click and the door raises
when
I press the up side of the button, but, when I press the down side of the
button, I don't hear a solenoid click and the door doesn't go down. One the
passenger side, it is the opposite, the down solenoid clicks, but the up one
doesn't so the door won't go up. The symptoms are the same whether I use the
outside or inside door switches.
Scott Isensee
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