59 battery drain - I tried a lot

[Ian G.]

Hi,

I've got a battery drain problem on my 59. I've read through numerous posts on the forums and have tried a number of things to track down the drain. The draw is 185 mA with my multimeter in series.

1. unplugged all the fuses. It dropped only about 5 mA.
2. unplugged the flasher. no change(not sure if that would cause a draw)
3. set the ignition to lock. no change.
4. unplugged the voltage regulator. no change
5. unplugged the horn relay. no change. (not sure that would draw, either)

Does anyone know any thing else I should try to disconnect to find it, like the headlight switch, ignition or starter? No lights are on... Can anyone tell me where the headlight circuit breaker is? as I want to check that, since the headlights won't come on (except once :P), though the front and rear blinkers work.

I just bought the car as a project and it is pretty rough, so I'm suspicious there's a problem with the wiring setup.

thanks!

[Timothy B.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Ian,

I would suspect starter at this point, can you isolate it and keep power to everything else to see if this is the main draw. I don't know much about C1 electrical but did you unhook the generator along with the voltage regulator.
If you have a wiring diagram look and see what other circuits are not fused and this may give direction on where to look if not the starter.

Disconnect the negitive battery cable and take a 12 volt test light and connect it to the - battery terminal, one end hooked to the cable and the other end touching the - battery post and it will light. When you find the short the test light will tell you by going out.

The only thing you have to keep in mind is some circuits have power all the time like the lighter so they will still need to be checked when the fuses are out. Process of elimination and patience.

[Timothy B.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Ian,

I would suspect starter at this point, can you isolate it and keep power to everything else to see if this is the main draw. I don't know much about C1 electrical but did you unhook the generator along with the voltage regulator.
If you have a wiring diagram look and see what other circuits are not fused and this may give direction on where to look if not the starter.

Disconnect the negitive battery cable and take a 12 volt test light and connect it to the - battery terminal, one end hooked to the cable and the other end touching the - battery post and it will light. When you find the short the test light will tell you by going out.

The only thing you have to keep in mind is some circuits have power all the time like the lighter so they will still need to be checked when the fuses are out. Process of elimination and patience.

[Richard M.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Ian, Congrats on your find! I have a 59....#5504, almost 22 years.

Here are the circuits that are not fused for you to disconnect one at a time until you find it. Remember that the main feed to everything starts at the solenoid battery terminal, the #10g black wire which goes to the ammeter is then unprotected(red wires off ammeter) until it gets to the fuse block, but some are unfused.

Unfused circuits:
1-Starter solenoid battery terminal
2-Ammeter (12g black from solenoid battery terminal)
3-Volt regulator (12g red ammeter to reg field terminal)
4-Feed to fuse block(14g red)
5-Horn relay feed(12g red)
6-Clock(18g red-the clock is NOT fused. Remember this is dangerous. Many cars have burned because of this! I always leave mine disconnected unless showing the car. This may be your culprit.
7-Harness wiring problem.

These are possibilities, and some ways I'd check them. Probably do the easiest first, like the clock & horn relay.

** Remove battery ground cable from battery first before these steps!!

1-Bad solenoid. Maybe crud buildup inside on the copper button to gnd. Remove battery ground cable. Remove +battery cable & 12g black from the solenoid. Bolt those 2 cables together and insulate with gobs of tape, etc. Keep away from metal! Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

2-Ammeter. It could be internally corroded to gnd. Remove battery ground cable. Take the #12 blk from the meter and attach it to the terminal with the 2 red wires with the nut. This bypasses the ammeter. Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

3-Voltage regulator. Maybe corrosion/crud inside. (you did the 12g red F termianl right?). Remove battery ground cable. Remove 12g red wire from field terminal and insulate. Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

4-Fuse block feed. Pull all fuses (you did that)

5-Horn Relay. Maybe corrosion/crud inside. Remove battery ground cable. Remove red wire from "B" terminal and insulate. Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

6-Clock. Just pull the 18g red terminal wire off the back of the clock.

7-Slight short to ground "anywhere" in the harnesses. Have a helper check your meter while you go around wiggling the wire harnesses everywhere, including under the dash. Pay particular attention to the wires near the wiper transmission cables. Often the harnes clips break and drop the harness onto them rubbing through the insulation.

???Does it have an aftermarket radio in it? If so, it may have a "always hot" wire connected to it to keep the digital clock and memory logic powered. 180ma seems high for that though. Typically it's about 10-20ma if I recall. Only other thing I can think of other than the above is some other hidden aftermarket item like an alarm system you don't know about since you just got the car.

I think I covered everything, but then again only 1 coffee so far this morning.:-)

Good Luck, Hope it helps,
Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Ian, Congrats on your find! I have a 59....#5504, almost 22 years.

Here are the circuits that are not fused for you to disconnect one at a time until you find it. Remember that the main feed to everything starts at the solenoid battery terminal, the #10g black wire which goes to the ammeter is then unprotected(red wires off ammeter) until it gets to the fuse block, but some are unfused.

Unfused circuits:
1-Starter solenoid battery terminal
2-Ammeter (12g black from solenoid battery terminal)
3-Volt regulator (12g red ammeter to reg field terminal)
4-Feed to fuse block(14g red)
5-Horn relay feed(12g red)
6-Clock(18g red-the clock is NOT fused. Remember this is dangerous. Many cars have burned because of this! I always leave mine disconnected unless showing the car. This may be your culprit.
7-Harness wiring problem.

These are possibilities, and some ways I'd check them. Probably do the easiest first, like the clock & horn relay.

** Remove battery ground cable from battery first before these steps!!

1-Bad solenoid. Maybe crud buildup inside on the copper button to gnd. Remove battery ground cable. Remove +battery cable & 12g black from the solenoid. Bolt those 2 cables together and insulate with gobs of tape, etc. Keep away from metal! Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

2-Ammeter. It could be internally corroded to gnd. Remove battery ground cable. Take the #12 blk from the meter and attach it to the terminal with the 2 red wires with the nut. This bypasses the ammeter. Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

3-Voltage regulator. Maybe corrosion/crud inside. (you did the 12g red F termianl right?). Remove battery ground cable. Remove 12g red wire from field terminal and insulate. Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

4-Fuse block feed. Pull all fuses (you did that)

5-Horn Relay. Maybe corrosion/crud inside. Remove battery ground cable. Remove red wire from "B" terminal and insulate. Reconnect battery ground cable and check for draw.

6-Clock. Just pull the 18g red terminal wire off the back of the clock.

7-Slight short to ground "anywhere" in the harnesses. Have a helper check your meter while you go around wiggling the wire harnesses everywhere, including under the dash. Pay particular attention to the wires near the wiper transmission cables. Often the harnes clips break and drop the harness onto them rubbing through the insulation.

???Does it have an aftermarket radio in it? If so, it may have a "always hot" wire connected to it to keep the digital clock and memory logic powered. 180ma seems high for that though. Typically it's about 10-20ma if I recall. Only other thing I can think of other than the above is some other hidden aftermarket item like an alarm system you don't know about since you just got the car.

I think I covered everything, but then again only 1 coffee so far this morning.:-)

Good Luck, Hope it helps,
Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Oh yea, the headlight is fused through the fuseblock so you covered that. There are no circuit breakers on 59's unless power windows or power top. You have those? Forgot about that as my 59 doesn't.
Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Oh yea, the headlight is fused through the fuseblock so you covered that. There are no circuit breakers on 59's unless power windows or power top. You have those? Forgot about that as my 59 doesn't.
Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Right Timothy, forgot about the lighter. Good catch. Mine's inline fused from a PO.

[Richard M.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Right Timothy, forgot about the lighter. Good catch. Mine's inline fused from a PO.

[Ian G.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Hey Rich,

Thanks very much for the exhaustive list of things to check. I'm going to get to work on it and see where it leads me. I did check the horn relay (wasn't sure what the power lead was, so unhooked all three wires) and it was OK. I won't have to worry about the lighter as it's missing :P The windows are manual as is the soft-top. I thought I read in the judging manual that the headlights work on a circuit breaker, but maybe I misread it.

yeah, I got the car from a guy in Boston. Its an original fuelie I'm in love with it. I've been wanting this car since I was a kid.

~ian

[Ian G.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Hey Rich,

Thanks very much for the exhaustive list of things to check. I'm going to get to work on it and see where it leads me. I did check the horn relay (wasn't sure what the power lead was, so unhooked all three wires) and it was OK. I won't have to worry about the lighter as it's missing :P The windows are manual as is the soft-top. I thought I read in the judging manual that the headlights work on a circuit breaker, but maybe I misread it.

yeah, I got the car from a guy in Boston. Its an original fuelie I'm in love with it. I've been wanting this car since I was a kid.

~ian

[Ian G.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Oh yeah and it has an original wonderbar in it, but it was gutted and turned into an AM/FM model, but it wont turn on either, so I'm imagining it has no power. I'll be sure to verify. Some of the fuses were already missing when I pulled out the rest so I'll plug them all back in (bought the correct sizes, they were all 25a) and see if it actually works.

On the voltage regulator, I saw that the red and blue wires connnected to the generator and there was a white one going to the rest of the harness so i disconnected that wire to isolate both the generator and regulator, at least i assume that was the result :P

I pretty much bought it on faith. maybe not the best way to buy a car, but the only fuelies I saw other than this one were fully restored and asking 80+. the guy seemed really trustworthy though lol. lent me his van, put me up in a hotel, drove me to and from the airport and even let me drive his 65 Hope i wasn't too naive. we'll see.

[Ian G.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Oh yeah and it has an original wonderbar in it, but it was gutted and turned into an AM/FM model, but it wont turn on either, so I'm imagining it has no power. I'll be sure to verify. Some of the fuses were already missing when I pulled out the rest so I'll plug them all back in (bought the correct sizes, they were all 25a) and see if it actually works.

On the voltage regulator, I saw that the red and blue wires connnected to the generator and there was a white one going to the rest of the harness so i disconnected that wire to isolate both the generator and regulator, at least i assume that was the result :P

I pretty much bought it on faith. maybe not the best way to buy a car, but the only fuelies I saw other than this one were fully restored and asking 80+. the guy seemed really trustworthy though lol. lent me his van, put me up in a hotel, drove me to and from the airport and even let me drive his 65 Hope i wasn't too naive. we'll see.

[John O.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Hi Ian

I had a problem like that for a couple days. It turned out to be my brake light switch. Every so often the brake lights would stay on and drain my battery.When I parked my vette in the garage, it was daylight so I did not see the red lights on.After a few days I had a dead battery.I noticed it when it was night time. I fixed it by adjusting the switch which is located under dash behind the brake pedal arm. Easy fix. Try pressing the brake pedal a few times a day with someone looking to see if the brake lights, light up and shut off.

Good luck...John

[John O.]

Re: 59 battery drain - I tried a lot

Hi Ian

I had a problem like that for a couple days. It turned out to be my brake light switch. Every so often the brake lights would stay on and drain my battery.When I parked my vette in the garage, it was daylight so I did not see the red lights on.After a few days I had a dead battery.I noticed it when it was night time. I fixed it by adjusting the switch which is located under dash behind the brake pedal arm. Easy fix. Try pressing the brake pedal a few times a day with someone looking to see if the brake lights, light up and shut off.

Good luck...John