groovzilla

all,

i am trying to determine why my battery is draining after 3-4 days....i am a rookie at this so i would appreciate some help on propervoltmeter settings...i am attaching a photo of my voltmeter...

**i tested the battery using the DCV 200V setting to determine the battery has a 12.5 volt reading

1.my interior lights were not working and i just replaced both switches and now they are working fine
2.trunk light is not functioning so i replaced that switch but still no light and switch is making proper contact on the bodypart contact...the bulb "looks" good but i would like to test contacts using my meter.
3.rear decklid light is not comming on and glovebox light is not comming on....i would also like to test these bulb contacts with my meter.

questions:
A> which setting on my meter would i use to test the light bulb contacts to confirm they are getting juice?
B.> which setting on my meter would i use to see how many amps are being drawn when i test between negative battery post and ground strap?...i am going to attempt to find which circut is drawing amps by pulling fuses.

thanks,
william

mojorizing

Check fuse #11 , 7.5amp in the luggage compartment.

a) with the meter on 200dc v touch the black lead to a known good ground on the chassis. With the red lead, touch either contact. You should get 12vdc on one lead, that's the "hot". Now move the black lead to the other contact and activate the switch, you should still read 12vd, if not the ground or switch is bad.
b) the meter you have won't read DC amps, it's meant to read AC amps by clipping on the cable.

If you happen to take switches, etc apart, disconnect the battery. All the lighting circuits are "switched ground" which means half the circuit is hot even if the switch is off.

groovzilla

i checked fuse#11 and it is looking ok but i have not tested it w/the meter and like i mentioned above the interior lights are working fine...

after using the meter, there is no power to the front trunk light bulb contacts.

i am going to purchase a dc amp meter tonight and use it to see if i can figure out which circut is drawing amps off the battery.

there is also an aftermarket stereo amp in the car mounted in the trunk and it has a seperate 30amp fuse so i will test that too.

Indycam

What meter are you thinking of buying ?

groovzilla

just picked up a GB (gardner bender) multimeter which has the following dc amp settings: 0.5mA / 50mA / 250mA

was $16 at lowes

hope this does the trick

Indycam

http://www.valuetronics.com/Details....5A&ProdID=2745

10 amp and $29. +

250ma is small .
Did you buy a bunch of fuses for it ?

groovzilla

understand the need for more fuses for the meter!!!!...i've already blown 1...but realized i need a better instrument because this one i purchased is not accurate enough and i need the digital readout however i was able to get a reading tonight.

as shown in the photo, when i just tested the battery drain putting the meter between the negative gound strap and battery negative ground post, the meter showed postion#1(49)

**after about 10-15 seconds the meter dipped down to position#2 in photo (24)

when i removed fuse#11 it remained basically the same but i need a more accurate digital meter which i will pick up tomorrow.

any thoughts on what i saw on meter??

BTW, the glove box light is working properly now but still no juice at trunk bulb contacts or rear decklid contacts.

Indycam

If the battery drain was at #1 or #2 , your battery should last and last .
50mA - 25mA is tiny .

groovzilla

yeah i didn't notice much of a difference in the drainage when i pulled fuse#11...the drain seemed about the same or perhaps 1-2 m.amps less when pulled....hard to tell w/needle.

i tried to test fuse#11 opening but can't get the end of the probe down the small opening to test voltage....again i assume it is fine since the fuse is ok and interior lights and glove box lights work fine.

puzzling trying to figure out why the trunk and decklid lights don't have juice at bulb contacts?

i've only owned the car for about 5 weeks and was using it everyday until 2 weeks ago when i left it sit for a week and then dead battery...the battery seems to hold the charge if i disconnect it from the negative ground strap but maybe the battery is going south?

mojorizing

Your current draw is normal, I would suspect a weak battery. With engine idling, check voltage again at battery, alternator should be putting out 13.8-14.4 volts to charge up battery.

Possible corrosion on contacts of light sockets? It's got to be something simple....

groovzilla

the alternator was replaced about 1500 miles ago but i will check the voltage while idling....

looking forward to picking up a digital meter w/ the DC amps...more accurate and easier to read.

to check voltage from alternator i assume when car is running, i use the DC voltage setting and touch each of the battery posts and check voltage?

mojorizing

that's correct

groovzilla

appreciate the info...off to take kids to school then shopping for meter.

i'll post results later today...

cshaida

I went through something similar and thanks to help from a number of people here discovered that my voltage regulator was going bad.

In short, battery draining more quickly than seemed reasonable, eventually found out (using first the kind of voltmeter you've got and then using the cigarette lighter one below) that there was never more than 13.5v even when the engine was running. I think that meant that the battery was recharging more slowly than normal and hence -- in situations where the battery wasn't getting fully re-charged -- draining more quickly. In any case, replaced the voltage regulator and now run at mid 14s and haven't had the (sooner-than-expected) battery drain problem since.

http://www.amazon.com/Equus-3721-Bat...148628&sr=8-14

groovzilla

so i purchased a different meter with a digital readout...

i am attaching a photo of the settings used on the meter for the following DC amp readouts:

1.draw on battery DC amps(meter set at 10A as seen in photo - meter reading between battery negative battery post and negative ground strap: 0.04 and after about 10 seconds reading went down to 0.02

**i then set the meter to DCV 20 and also changed the probe wires so they were in proper position...the DC voltage readings of battery were as follows:

a. battery without engine started: 12.55 volts
b. battery with engine idling: 13.88 - 13.90 volts

battery is a red top optima and i am thinking that with these readings the battery is most likely the problem....not sure how old the battery is but i think its time for a new one

wm