Im back. AHH!

[sdsniper]

ok so im back everyone who remembers my 1991 305 v8 Firebird. My previous problem was that My battery kept dying out. People suggested that i should replace the Altenator and the battery. Soo I did. Then some suggested that i replace the wires that were chewed by some rats. (duhh on my part) So i did. I even changed the starter.

Soo far ive changed

A ton of wires
Altenator
Starter
Like 3 batteries because what ever is draining the battery is killing one of my batteries cylinders

I took it to a mechanic and i spent quite a bit of money for a major tune up and t change some more wiring and hoses under my hood. They diagnosed my power problem as "Battery is Shot". So i took back my battery and replaced it once again. When i first got my battery it had a full charge reading around 12 volts when the car was totally off. Now it has a reading of 11volts. I have to start it everyday just to keep my charge but i know its only a matter of time before my battery loses a cylinder. With that said. I wondering if you guys know of something i have missed and havent checked?

Keep in mind i have checked almost every wiring in the car except the ones in the dash board but everything in the dash seems to be working perfect.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[ratchetgmc]

I am an electrician and this is how to find your battery drain. First; access to an ammeter would be helpful. This clamped around your pos cable to see how much current is being drawn off battery with key not in ignition. If battery is being pulled down with car sitting,you have to be able to isolate the circuit that is pulling it down, start by pulling fuses for different circuits while car is sitting and reinstalling just before startup. If fuse is pulled this circuit will not drain; use this method to first isolate circuit. Replacing things like secondary ignition wiring (spark plug wires) is nothing related to your problem. Also a starter will not drain a battery; your drain is from a nicked wire going to ground or light on; something requiring memory such as a radio that hold stations in memory , etc. Keep working on this and responding and I will attempt to help you solve this issue.

[sdsniper]

Originally Posted by ratchetgmc

I am an electrician and this is how to find your battery drain. First; access to an ammeter would be helpful. This clamped around your pos cable to see how much current is being drawn off battery with key not in ignition. If battery is being pulled down with car sitting,you have to be able to isolate the circuit that is pulling it down, start by pulling fuses for different circuits while car is sitting and reinstalling just before startup. If fuse is pulled this circuit will not drain; use this method to first isolate circuit. Replacing things like secondary ignition wiring (spark plug wires) is nothing related to your problem. Also a starter will not drain a battery; your drain is from a nicked wire going to ground or light on; something requiring memory such as a radio that hold stations in memory , etc. Keep working on this and responding and I will attempt to help you solve this issue.

Thank you. As soon as i read this i got on an Auto website to see what a ammeter looks like. I notice that some look diffrent and i also notice that some digital multimeters came up. Is a multimeter the same thing? anyway i have one of these but i dont know how to use it, just wondering. Excuse the lack of knowledge

[ikeyballz]

im pretty sure he means to get a clamp-on ammeter. those just clamp onto the negative cable so you dont actually have to run all the power through the little itty bitty wires of the DMM..

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by sdsniper

Is a multimeter the same thing? anyway i have one of these but i dont know how to use it, just wondering. Excuse the lack of knowledge

You can use the multimeter (DVOM), you need to hook it up in series with thte battery, which can be done by disconnecting the (-) negative terminal and put one lead on the cable and the other to the negative post of the battery, with the meter set to amps you'll see your draw amount. There will be some, for the ECM and radio memory, etc., but not a significant amoutn, off the top of my head I think the acceptable limit is 0.250 amps If the draw is there, remove a fuse at a time until the problem circuit is located (draw reduces).

[ikeyballz]

lol sorry, in my reply i was thinking of cranking the car ON with the DMM hooked up..

:x. ready for fried wires anyone?

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by ikeyballz

lol sorry, in my reply i was thinking of cranking the car ON with the DMM hooked up..

:x. ready for fried wires anyone?

There are inductive ammeters, you're okay, works on the same concept of a inductive timing light

[carguy2779]

kinda sounds like a short sum where. does it have an aftermarket audio system? if so check around that area

[sdsniper]

I dont have any after market audio equipment in it. I did use my multi meter yesterday to figure out the "draw". It was telling me that I had a draw of 25.9 I started pulling Fuses and checking the multimeter for a Reduction of 25.9...So When I pulled The "ACC" Fuse, the draw decreased to 25.3. So Im guessing that might have been the problem or maybe its supposed to go down when i pull that fuse? I think its for the lights in the car.

So i started my car yesterday and let it ru for about 15mins so the battery would charge back up. After that the battery was holding a charge of 12.34. I just tested it not even 2 mins ago and its holding a charge of 11.97

[jtvyper456]

Stupid thing, but check your console light, sometimes it gets stuck on . As suggested before, pull some fuses, leave them out overnight and then check your battery, replace one by one and eventually you'll narrow it down to a specific area.

[sdsniper]

Originally Posted by jtvyper456

Stupid thing, but check your console light, sometimes it gets stuck on . As suggested before, pull some fuses, leave them out overnight and then check your battery, replace one by one and eventually you'll narrow it down to a specific area.

I think i narrowed it to the ACC Fuse. Im not sure yet though.. I gotta check it out. Ill let you all know how it goes in a day or two :-) THank you

[ikeyballz]

25.9 AMPS or miliamps? and is this when nothing is on?! 25 amps is pretty huge with no draw..

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by wrightz28

I think the acceptable limit is 0.250 amps

Yeah, I think you didn't set the meter to the right scale and it's 0.259 milliamps.