95 max battery getting drained

[strap21061]

I replaced the battery, but something is draining the battery. The starts if you jump start it. It also has a hard grinding start. Any ideas of what this could be.
Thanks.

[Nahkapohjola]

Originally Posted by strap21061

I replaced the battery, but something is draining the battery. The starts if you jump start it. It also has a hard grinding start. Any ideas of what this could be.
Thanks.

After jumpstart, drained batt sucks all the alt can make and this potentially is too much for poor ol alt, may damage it... its better to recharge it before driving.

Check charge voltage.

The smtg draining -leak has to be found. Install multimeter, amp scale, between batt pole and connector. Measure leak. Has to be 0.05A or less.
Next pull/reinsert fuse after fuse until the leaking circuit is found = leak drops. If no help, then the alt is leaking. Check http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/23

(Fuel pump relay is in trunk rear wall)

[strap21061]

Thanks for the reply.
I have 3.23 amps of leakage. This is extremely high. I disconnected the alt and the starter and this did not make the leakage go down. I will start pulling fuses tomorrow. I do notice that when I touch the battery post that I have disconnected with the meter lead, my antenna goes up and the EGI relay is engaging/chattering. Any idea if this is ok.

[Nahkapohjola]

Originally Posted by strap21061

Thanks for the reply.
I have 3.23 amps of leakage. This is extremely high. I disconnected the alt and the starter and this did not make the leakage go down. I will start pulling fuses tomorrow. I do notice that when I touch the battery post that I have disconnected with the meter lead, my antenna goes up and the EGI relay is engaging/chattering. Any idea if this is ok.

Park, door, trunk lamp, fan is on?

I have a switch for the antenna. When ign key is turned, antenna goes up - if sw turned. When key is taken out, antenna goes always down. Batt connection should have no ctrl on that. (Ign sw short circuit?)

When ign key is out, no relays/devices except possibly alarm/radio should come on when batt connected. (ABS relay may jam, see p.18)

(whats EGI?)

[Scrapper]

ok do this take neg cable off after you park it for the night. because something is on or a short.i had a friend that had a newyorker 5th avenue it drained it every night and in the shop they never knew what was happening. i took a look at it and they had so much stuff in clove compartment it was making the light stay on. and are you sure the alt is charging?

[Scrapper]

ok do this take neg cable off after you park it for the night. because something is on or a short.i had a friend that had a newyorker 5th avenue it drained it every night and in the shop they never knew what was happening. i took a look at it and they had so much stuff in clove compartment it was making the light stay on. and are you sure the alt is charging?

[strap21061]

Under the engine compartment there is a relay called EGI. In the haynes manual it is called ECCS relay. It is supplied 12v from fuse 57 (7.5a fuse). I connected a extra ground to the engine block and the current wen from 3.0 a to 1.25a. The antenna stopped going up and down. The fuse 57 says that it is hot at all times. I got the car to start and the voltage was 13.75v. When the car is off it is 12.9v. I did see it drop to 12.7. Is this drop normal? With the 1.25a draw is this something that needs to be troubleshot some more?
Thanks for the help

[Nahkapohjola]

Originally Posted by strap21061

Under the engine compartment there is a relay called EGI. In the haynes manual it is called ECCS relay. It is supplied 12v from fuse 57 (7.5a fuse). I connected a extra ground to the engine block and the current wen from 3.0 a to 1.25a. The antenna stopped going up and down. The fuse 57 says that it is hot at all times. I got the car to start and the voltage was 13.75v. When the car is off it is 12.9v. I did see it drop to 12.7. Is this drop normal? With the 1.25a draw is this something that needs to be troubleshot some more?
Thanks for the help

The voltage starts dropping after engine dies. Healthy batt will level and stay above 12.7V for weeks - depends on leak e.g. how much current is taken out. There is always leak, BUT it has to be under 0.05A.

Extra gnd wire wont drop a leak, smtg else happened... ABS relay was stuck and isnt no more and/or trunk lamp is out or whatever? Adding ground wires never hurt - install one between the alternator shroud and engine.

ECCS relay supplies ECU power.

Healthy charge voltage is from 14.0 to 14.7Volts. Your 13.75V is problematic =minimum, possibly means oxidation somewhere or dying alt. Alt connectors and/or grounding is bad? (read the mentioned pages 5,10,14,23). Cleanup job waiting.

Your leakage is (two decades) too BIG. Your easy leak calculation is 1.25A X 24hrs = 30Amp Hours. This means that in two days a new 60Ah battery is flat dead and possibly ruined, used batt wont give start juice after one day...

Do as said, pull fuse after fuse. Also those under hood... if no help, then disconnect alt wires and see if leak drops.

Before any big repairs make sure (=compare with another) your multimeter is ok; batt low gives erroneous readings.

[strap21061]

I added grounds from the starter & trans to neg batt post. I cleaned up the body ground for this also. The car starts fine now. I still have the 1.25a draw (neg batt disconnected and leads from neg batt term to ng cable). The only thing that eliminates this draw is by removing fuse 57 under the hood (ECCS). I removed all the other fuses and no change. The batt did not get drained over night. I did this current draw check with the alt disconnected. After adding the grounds the new batt charge volt is 14.09v. Do you think the ignition switch can be the problem?

[Nahkapohjola]

Originally Posted by strap21061

... Do you think the ignition switch can be the problem?

Definitely 'can be': it wears out mechanically (possible cut-off) and accumulates copper dust which can short its pins and may even cause self start, fire...
While measuring, start unplucking connectors in the circuit behind that relay (ECU etc), replace ign switch if suspect. Swap ECCS relay (relays are color coded = can be swapped to troubleshoot).

Overnight means 10 hrs e.g. 1.25 X 10 is 12 Amps. From full batt that drain is 12%, =not much. With bad/low charge, can become a problem. Wont start after a week...

[strap21061]

I got it. I swapped out the computer and the current draw went away. Originally I had two bent pins that were shorted together and i straightened them but I guess the damage was done because I had started the car. I replaced the computer and all is well so far. I guess the extra grounds I put on is just extra insurance. Thanks for the help.

[Nahkapohjola]

Originally Posted by strap21061

I got it. I swapped out the computer and .... Thanks for the help.

U make ECU swap sound like fun ... this is good to hear!

[rather_b_boatin]

Interesting read. How much did ECU run you out$?

[strap21061]

$25.00 at the junk yard for the ECU. My original problem was a bad harness and Coolant Temp sensor. I also added alot of grounds because they weren't making good contact.