C2 battery issues.....thoughts?

[firstgear]

my '64 needs to be on the battery tender all the time.....if I take it off for a week and 1/2 the batery is bone dead......today I tried to put the battery tender back on it and all it did was blink which indicated it wasnt hooked up right.....after trying another tender on it and getting the same results....I decided to unhook the battery from the car and hook up the charger....and no problem....the blinking red light became solid and it is charging now (I hope).....I have gone through a number of batteries in this car and the last time the parts store honored the warranty but told me no more, that there must be something wrong with my charging system....I had that checked by someone that knows what they are doing, but now I wonder if I have a current draw some place that runs down the battery.....the electric clock still works....but obviously that is deader than a doornail now....anyone got any ideas? Perhaps I should get one of those battery disconnect switches and just switch it off most of the time.....thoughts?

 

[WayneC]

You did not specify, but I assume that because you are thinking about a battery disconnect switch, the battery goes dead while the car is sitting.

If so, it would seem you have a current draw from a circuit that is not switched (ie, not turned on and off with the ignition). Look for lights on after dark (like the glovebox), and pull the alternator and have it's diodes checked, as they are a common cause of power leaks... or simply disconnect the harness connections to the alternator the next time you have the battery charged up and see if the battery still runs down after several weeks of not being driven.

Beyond that it will be a matter of connecting a meter between the (disconnected) positive battery cable and the battery post, checking the current draw, then pulling fuses to see if you can tell which circuit causes the draw... once that's found, you can replace the fuse and then disconnect individual components on that circuit to see if you can determine the general location/cause of the draw.

 

[Subfixer]

When I first got my 64, I had a similar problem... Turned out to be the glove box light staying on when the glove box was closed. Couldn't see the light when the glove box was closed. I chased the problem for several weeks.

 

[BarryK]

besides the possibility of a system drain somewhere, are you sure the charging system is working correctly?.

what voltage readings are you getting out of the alternator and out of the regulator?
than see what voltage readings you are getting at the battery itself.

all of the above readings with the car running of course and slightly above idle

 

[firstgear]

besides the possibility of a system drain somewhere, are you sure the charging system is working correctly?.

what voltage readings are you getting out of the alternator and out of the regulator?
than see what voltage readings you are getting at the battery itself.

all of the above readings with the car running of course and slightly above idle

I did not check those items....I had the charging system checked at the garage that does things for me that I either don't have time or know how to do...in this case all of the above....they told me that the charging system was working fine.....

 

[firstgear]

When I first got my 64, I had a similar problem... Turned out to be the glove box light staying on when the glove box was closed. Couldn't see the light when the glove box was closed. I chased the problem for several weeks.

didn't even know that the car had a golve box light.....will have to check that.....I disconnected everything from the battery and put the tender on it.....it is now finally not blinking when the cables are on there too......so hopefully what ever it is I can get the car running and back out of the way......I will have to check to see about the glove box light.....

 

[IH2LOSE]

Did you ever think your just getting bad batteries, Forget what the dealer says You have a warrenty and they have to stand behind it. Do you have a real battery charger? Do you have a battery tester?

Charge the battery properly (dont store or charge batteries on concrete) then test the battery with a battery tester (it puts a draw on it) if its bad replace it.

 

[firstgear]

Did you ever think your just getting bad batteries, Forget what the dealer says You have a warrenty and they have to stand behind it. Do you have a real battery charger? Do you have a battery tester?

Charge the battery properly (dont store or charge batteries on concrete) then test the battery with a battery tester (it puts a draw on it) if its bad replace it.

could be the problem.....but I can't leave the car sit without a battery tender on it....or for sure it is gone which makes me think that it is something in the car that is drawing it down.....this is like the 3rd battery I have gone through and it is true that I don't put many miles on the car, it was only a little over a week and a half or two weeks that the battery tender wasn't on it....the battery should not have lost its charge that fast...it was stone cold dead....not even any lights inside the car would come on when the door opened.....at least now with the battery tender trying to juice it up the lights do come on.....it just needs to sit for a while and charge back up....but I do need to find out what is going on that it keeps loosing its charge...it gets real old.......

 

[Rollin's65]

First gear. You definitely like Red vettes. A quick idea. You definitely have a current draw with the key off. An easy way to trouble shoot is to hook a 12vdc bulb in series with the positive post of your battery while it is in the car. Just pull off the positive post cable and place one lead of the bulb holder wire on the positive post and the other on the cable end. I'm sure the bulb will light. Pull fuses until the light goes out. You found it. A bulb holder with 2 wires coming out of it is easy to come by at an autoparts house.
Thinking about it, you probably have this set up. Just in case you didn't.

Good luck -- Rollin

 

[IH2LOSE]

If you jhave more then one collector car,I suggest you own one of these. They are affordable. Not to say definately your battery is bad.But this is the diagnostic tool I use.

Its affourdable and doesnt lie.

I have battery tenders on the majority of my cars,but even if I did not connect them the cars would start long after a month of sitting with out the ender on it

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00921019000&tab=del#tab

 

[firstgear]

First gear. You definitely like Red vettes. A quick idea. You definitely have a current draw with the key off. An easy way to trouble shoot is to hook a 12vdc bulb in series with the positive post of your battery while it is in the car. Just pull off the positive post cable and place one lead of the bulb holder wire on the positive post and the other on the cable end. I'm sure the bulb will light. Pull fuses until the light goes out. You found it. A bulb holder with 2 wires coming out of it is easy to come by at an autoparts house.
Thinking about it, you probably have this set up. Just in case you didn't.

Good luck -- Rollin

I will get the pieces and see what happens...will let you know...

 

[firstgear]

If you jhave more then one collector car,I suggest you own one of these. They are affordable. Not to say definately your battery is bad.But this is the diagnostic tool I use.

Its affourdable and doesnt lie.

I have battery tenders on the majority of my cars,but even if I did not connect them the cars would start long after a month of sitting with out the ender on it

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00921019000&tab=del#tab

thanks Larry....you are right, I should have one of those....will get one.....any excuse to get a few more tools......thanks!

 

[ChuckG]

With the key off, the only thing that should draw current is the clock. The clock is an electromechancial clock, BTW. It has an electric rewind. With the clock wound, it "ticks" like a mechanical clock till it winds down, then the points touch, and the electric rewind kicks in to wind it up again.

SO.....often the points in the clock fuse, and allow the clock to draw current continuously. I'd check that....disconnect the clock, or pull the fuse.

Something isn't right. You should be able to leave your car sit for weeks/months, without complete battery drain. The glove box light is a good place to start too. Chuck

 

[cfalson]

With the ignition switch in the off position disconnect the battery and put and put an amp meter in series and see what the draw is. This should tell you the health of many items that could be causing an excessive draw. From there disconnect each item one by one and when draw drops off thats the short, do not overlook the alternator.
E-mail me if you have questions
Charlief
66 Coupe

 

[firstgear]

ok.....need more help

I went to radio shack and bought a lamp and an aligator clip/wire.....disconnected the battery positive cable and put the lamp in circuit and started pulling fuses......the light bulb went out when I pulled the bottom fuse marked "courtesy - stop lamps"......I was looking at the wiring diagrams and I am not sure where to go next.....thoughts and ideas would be appreciated....

 

[Sky65]

I would recheck previous suggested items. The clock and glove box light.

 

[firstgear]

the clock is the next thing to check, but I need to take out the glove box and this past weekend was consumed with getting the body dolly ready for the '60 body lift and then on Saturday going to a funeral of a guy I worked with for 25 years.....so nothing got done on the '64