draining battery [Archive] - Team Camaro Tech

: draining battery


bob ball
Oct 16th, 09, 07:34 AM
if i dont start my camaro in three days needs jump not the battery any one know where to start with short?

SPARKY69
Oct 16th, 09, 07:43 AM
i think you posted this twice!! post some info on the car!! give us some details!

bob ball
Oct 16th, 09, 07:50 AM
95 camaro six cyl. headlights blow all the time

bob ball
Oct 16th, 09, 07:51 AM
it runs great but sitting for a few days won't start thanks for any help

SPARKY69
Oct 16th, 09, 07:56 AM
Does it have an aftermarket radio or amp?? What do you mean blow all the time?? burn out or thier on all the time???

SPARKY69
Oct 16th, 09, 08:04 AM
I would charge the battery up where it needs to be ,start the car and check the charging system with a full charge on the batt..and then check for a draw in the system..step1(what have you checked on the car already??)

bob ball
Oct 16th, 09, 08:14 AM
not the sharpest tool in the shed the headlights blow an average of every couple months could be water ,rain ? i have not checked anything so far . his friend screws with car all the time the horn was sticking on he cut the wire have not looked into that but have worked on that before . what do i need to check drain in voltage just a voltmeter?

SPARKY69
Oct 16th, 09, 08:23 AM
On his headlight thing, make sure the headlight housing is sealed good, if you got water coming in ,thats why they are buring out..if you touch the new bulbs going in, the oil from your fingers will blow the bulbs too..and if the little gasket(o-ring) that seals the bulb to the housing is messed up or bad or missing ,that will burn out the light too!!..you can use a test light if you dont have a voltmeter to check for a draw!! I think i would be checking that wire to the horn ,that sounds like that might be your problem??

bob ball
Oct 16th, 09, 08:43 AM
well checked back forum talk it was doing this before horn thing how do check for draw with test light or voltmeter?

Everett#2390
Oct 16th, 09, 08:56 AM
Your best tool for troubleshooting current draw from the battery with the engine off is a test light connected between the removed battery cable clamp and battery post, either one/color, incandescent light bulb doesn't matter the direction of current.

The light bulb will only allow the amount of current to a max of brillance of the bulb used. If there is a short, the bulb will still shine because of the limited amount of current needed to glow.

Now, getting back to troubleshooting. Insert a test light and look for the glow, the lower the brillance, the lesser amount of current flowing. PCM's, aftermarket stereos, aftermarket amplifiers, GPS's maybe, cell phones, etc., whatever is plugged in, draws current fo memory purposes/functions, i.e., clock, station presets, equalizer presets, etc.

Install the test light and start unplugging everything one at a time and observe the glow. The lesser the glow, the lesser the current drawn. Sometimes, you may have to observe the light at night. A very small glow indicates only the radio & PCM are drawing current. All other aftermarket accessories draw too much current.

After the fault is localized, you can use a DMM in the amperage postion and replace the test light to observe the amount of current drawn. Any amount under 100 milliamperes, 0.1 amps, is good.

bob ball
Oct 16th, 09, 09:04 AM
thanks men will check back with updates

SPARKY69
Oct 16th, 09, 09:07 AM
unplugging everything means, pulling one fuse at a time!!