Battery Life - HELP

[Peter B.]

71 Convertible - I do not drive it much, but I recently changed out the battery and for some reason it does not last more than 2 weeks without starting and the battery is dead. Any ideas? Is it that I do not drive it enough? Should I get a trickle charger? Do I have some short somewhere?

HELP

[Joe R.]

Re: Battery Life - HELP

Jack,

All of the above. You probably have a small discharge on the battery such as interior lamps or glove box lamps (does a 71 even have a glove box). It won't fix the problem but you do need a charger. I would suggest the one advertised in the "Driveline" from Restoration Battery. It is a charger and battery minder that will not ruin your battery over a long period of time.

First, fix the discharge where ever it may be.

Regards,

JR

[Joe R.]

Sorry Peter-wrong person-right answer! *NM*

[Patrick H.]

Re: Battery Life - HELP

Peter,

As JR mentions, you have a short or draw somewhere. As you well know, 71s do have a glovebox with a light, but they put it between the seats in the rear storage compartment.

Common methods for searching out current draws are easily found in the Archives, and involve using a multimeter and the pulling of fuses, looking for the drop in current flow when the fuse for the "guilty" circuit is pulled.

You can save a few $ by buying Restoration Battery's Battery MINDer at Carlsie. I'll be purchasing a second unit myself in a couple of weeks.

Patrick

[Jim T.]

Re: Battery Life - HELP

Peter you may have a battery that will not hold a charge. Disconnect the battery and see what happens the next time it your 71 is not driven for a couple weeks.

[Peter B.]

Re: Battery Life - HELP

Thanks Everyone. You guys are great. I recently re-did the rear compartments and did replace the light in the glove box. After reading the messages, I opened the glove box and the area where the light was on was already hot, meaning that after charging my battery last night the light was on while the lid was closed (was not actually closed - was slightly opened.

Thanks again