Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

[Rob H.]

Hello there - I'm having a problem with my '69 L36. I recently had my car painted. It was out of commission for a few months getting body work, the whole deal. Anyhow, ever since I had her back I have had a problem with the battery not keeping a charge. I thought that perhaps since it had been sitting idle for so long that it simply couldn't keep a proper charge, so I replaced it. However the problem persists. The alternator is only about 1.5 years old, and so are the battery cable wires.

When I installed the new battery, at idle the battery charge indicator gauge showed that it was pulling amps. As soon as I would rev the engine it would show that the battery was charging.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could help with a diagnosis or perhaps a check list of things for me to test.

Much thanks in advance for any help!

All the best,
Rob

[Kenneth T.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

Rob,

Start simple. You do not mention how long it takes for your battery to
drain, overnight, over a week?

Take one cable off the battery and then lightly touch it back to the battey. Is there a spark, even a light one? If you have a meter you can see an amp draw. Could be many things, door switch, alarm switch, brake light switch. Worse case some grounded wires done by someone catching a live lead under a bolt or bracket while putting something back.

Tough call without some info.

Good luck , Ken

[Kenneth T.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

Another link for testing FYI

http://photos.imageevent.com/durango...%20Testing.pdf

[Steven B.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

Timely problem. Today I found the drain on my 2 1/2 year old battery after losing charge each night since last Thursday. The visor light on my Suburban came on after I checked it, I guess each time I shut the hood.

[Charles F.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

Some simple thoughts: is the glove box tightly closed so the light goes out ? Is the wiper override switch under the steering column in the "off" position (if not, it will drain the battery within a day) ? Are the interior lights going out when you close the doors ? Is the radio off ?

I have a 68 L36 and have had a battery drain from each of these things. The wiper override switch is particularly of concern.

Chuck Faillace

[Jim T.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

Good idea to check the wiper override Charles. One way to check it is to start the car and then turn on the wipers. If they won't work, turn the wiper override switch. If they work with a turn of wiper override switch, leave it in that position. The first day I owned my new 70 Corvette, found out after getting the car home the wiper override was turned on not letting the wipers work. July is Dallas, not a great need for windshield wipers.

[Rob H.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

First off, thanks for your feedback guys! You give me some good places in which to start the troubleshooting process.

Kenneth - as for your question, it took a little over a week for the new battery to die. I'm really hoping it is not a wiring problem...

Charles - there is no glove box on the '69 (just map pockets), but I will definitely check the wiper override.

I'll report back with hopefully a success story. Thanks again!

Rob

[Jack H.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

"Charles - there is no glove box on the '69 (just map pockets), but I will definitely check the wiper override."

Yes, there is! The 'glove box' is located in the rear compartment between the RH and LH storage/battery compartments. The door DOES have a light switch and there IS a glove box illumination lamp there...

Open the RH storage compartment door and lift out the storage tray. You ought to be able to see the back side of the glove box lamp located toward the center of the car. If the switch is mis-adjusted with respect to the glove box door, you'll see the lamp illuminated!

[Rob H.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

I stand corrected! Thanks for the clarification Jack!!! I will most definitely look into that.

Rob

[Jim T.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

Rob like Jack mentioned the glove box light could be a problem for sure. My 68 had this problem about 35 or so years ago. The glove box light connection is easily disconnected with the wiring accessable from the jack storage compartment. My 68's light was disconnected and since it really was not a light that was needed in daily driving and eliminated a problem.

[Rob H.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

Well folks, after troubleshooting the various possibilities mentioned in the generous posting listed above I still couldn't locate the culprit. So, I took her down to a local shop to test the alternator (which by the way I had replaced a little over a year ago...). It turns out that it was not charging properly, and that I had a bad ground, as well as a short in the aftermarket Alpine alarm system I inherited with the car when I purchased it.

So, I purchased a new alternator, fixed the ground and disconnected the alarm system - problem solved.

Now my debate is whether I fix the alarm - which is a constant drain on the battery, or pull it out completely? I already have a "kill switch" and was thinking about getting the Lo-Jack anyhow... Any suggestions are welcomed.

Much thanks again to all of those who offered help and suggestions!!!

Best,
Rob

[Ken A.]

Re: Battery Dying - Electrical Pbm.

All Alpine products are designed to last 1 year. If you have exceeded that, then you are lucky.