Battery being drained - need ideas - HELP

[88_Eddie]

i have an 88 BII with 2.9L/5spd. 4x4 and something is draining my battery. i have replaced the solenoid, battery, and starter cable. it's still being drained though, anyone got any ideas? thanks

 

[Aramis]

I fixed a problem like that once, you need a multimeter or at least, an amp-meter...

What you do is install the amp-meter between the battery and the vehicule, it'll show the current drain... What I did next was to remove fuses one at a time, until the current drain dropped to zero... I then knew which circuit had a drain. Then is was a question of looking at components of that circuit... In my case, a broken/rusted flasher switch was the culprit.

Good luck!

 

[Bronco_Chuck]

get an multimeter like $10 at harborfreight and disconect one of the battery terminals, select amps and place one lead of the multimeter to the disconected terminal and the other lead to the bettery. then start pulling the fuses one at a time like Aramis said. remimber there will always be a slight draw from the computer so be sure to find that spec and subtract that from the reading you get. and if you have pulled all the fuses and the draw is still there try disconecting the alternator, because one of the diods in it could have shorted. hope this helps.

 

[88_Eddie]

thanks for the input guys, i'll try this today as soon as i'm done with work.

 

[88_Eddie]

i'm sure i'm doing something wrong in my multi-meter testing, but here's what is happening.

the battery is stayin about the same while i am testing. as i pull out fuses, either nothing happens or it starts to drain really fast.

now i could have my multi-meter setting on the wrong thing. i have in on DC measuring in volts because the battery is a 12V.

any ideas now? or at least let me know if i am testing the wrong way. thanks

 

[Bronco_Chuck]

when you had a low reading it was telling you what the voltage drop was. for instance if you had a simple circuit like one light bulb connected across your battery and you measured from the positive terminal on the battery to where that positive wire tuches the bulb there would be little to no voltage shown on the multi-meter. because the voltage is the same at both points. now if you connected the multi-meter straight across the battery you would have a large voltage because there is 12 volts at the positive and 0 at the negative. and after typing all that i now realise that it really doesnt make much sense as an awnser to your question.

Try setting the multi meter to amps, disconect the positive batery treminal and place the ampmeter in between the battery and the conection place the positive lead from the amp meter to the positive terminal on the battery and place the negative lead of the amp meter to the disconnected battery cable. then pull the fuses out one by one till the reading goes to 0 or close to. (the reason i say close to is because there should be a small draw from the computer at all times.) good luck. and sorry if none of this makes sense.

 

[klogtruck]

you can also use a test lite. unhook the neg. term. and put the test lite on it and put the clip on the hot. term. if you have a draw? the test lite will, well lite up. then you can pull fuse's till it go's out. hope this helps

 

[Bob Ayers]

you can also use a test lite. unhook the neg. term. and put the test lite on it and put the clip on the hot. term. if you have a draw? the test lite will, well lite up. then you can pull fuse's till it go's out. hope this helps

The test light will work well, however, when you remove the negative battery cable, the test light goes between the negative battery terminal, and the negative battery cable that you removed. NOT the "hot term". If you connect the test light between the negative battery cable (removed) and the "hot term", you will have zero current, and the test light will never light.

 

[88_Eddie]

ok, i think i was doing this wrong....this electrical lingo might as well be russian. did i mention i f -ing hate electrical issues?

 

[Bronco_Chuck]

ok here is a little diagram of what ive been talking about. im sorry its not that great my paint skills are some what lacking and hopefuly you can see it.

im not sure how to make it any bigger. i hope it helps.

 

[88_Eddie]

haha, damn man, i appreciate you takin the time to do that. it is too small to read, but i have adobe photoshop and illustrator and i may be able to enlarge it somewhat or zoom in a bit.

again, thanks alot for puttin so much effort into this. i'll let you know if i figure it out.

 

[klogtruck]

The test light will work well, however, when you remove the negative battery cable, the test light goes between the negative battery terminal, and the negative battery cable that you removed. NOT the "hot term". If you connect the test light between the negative battery cable (removed) and the "hot term", you will have zero current, and the test light will never light.

my bad. sorry, that's what i meant to say, thank's for correcting it.

 

[Bronco_Chuck]

its truly no problem man. good luck with the B2

 

[dieseldane]

Had a few minutes, thought I'd help out with a larger diagram of what I think Bronco_Chuck wanted to show ya with his diagram.

 

[Bronco_Chuck]

thats exactly it....... i only wish i had art skills like that.

 

[88_Eddie]

thanks a lot diesel for clarifying that.....i have been testing it wrong, i'm about to start working on it right now

 

[dennis461]

Now the meter has to be set to measure AMPS (or milliamps) not VOLTS.
Make sure one wire is plugged into a hole on the meter marked common.
and
sure one wire is plugged into a hole on the meter marked amps.
Make sure the dial is set to amps.

Post a pic of the meter ( or list the brand model)
This one has one hole for milliamps (small battery drain) and a second hole for 10 amps (large battery drain)

 

[88_Eddie]

i tried to put a pic of my tester up here, but i dont have a URL to link it to.

i have a digital multimeter made by ETEK, model # 10709.

how can i post a pic up here? it may be easier to do that because when i googled the name and model it came up with a bunch of them. i dont think my meter has a AMPS setting on it, i have been using 12V which is obviously the wrong one.

 

[AllanD]

You want one that'll measure AMPS

And the FIRST thing to disconnect after you have
the meter inline and showing the draw is not any of the fuses
(unless you are working on a gen2 or later and working in the under hood fuse box)

THE first thing you want to disconnect are the leads to the alternator.

One at a time.

Another obvious "tell" is in cold weather, cold engine (not run in several hours)
does your alternator feel warm?

When the V-reg goes bad it keeps applying field current to the alternator even when it's supposed to be off.

this turns the alternator into a crude electric heater, which is most
efficient at discharging a battery.

DO NOT turn the key on at any time while doing these tests,
because your problem is obviously either in the "Hot at all times"
parts of the circuit.
OR something that isn't supposed to be turned on that IS turned on when the ignition switch is on the off and locked position.

Another common thing is an aftermarket audio amplifier with
a faulty remote relay.

they can drag a battery down while trying to amplify nothing
overnight.


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[Earl43P]

http://flashoffroad.com/electrical/Batteries/BatteryDrain.html

shows one method to test for parasitic draw.