Where's the ground? Losing battery volts.

[superxcrewfx4]

Look for relays for extra things. I had hella driving lights on my f-150 and the relay was bad. I went through 2 batteries. I tried forever to find it and then I was pulling wires and the relay was going on and off, it was on 24 hours a day. Needless to say I no longer have lights, they didnt work too well anyway.

Check everything aftermarket that you have.

The test I did was with amps I think.

You disconnect one battery terminal, connect one lead from a volt meter to the cable and the other to the empty battery post. It should read a low number if everything is ok.

[NCHornet]

If the amp is on 24 hours per day and hot you found your problem!!

NCH

[bamaboy473]

Ground wires added to both batteries. voltage is now at 12.08 after sitting overnight. We'll let it sit all day and check it again to see whether the rate of drop changes.

After that I've got to get into the rats nest of wiring to the amp, CD player, inverter that are all under the left rear seat. With any luck at all the new ground wires will make a difference.

[bamaboy473]

Volts read 12.08 after installing two ground straps yesterday. This morning they're at 11.99V, so the drop is continuing. Today I'm going to disconnect the big amp under the seat and see what happens. Hell, I might as well disconnect one per day, but isn't there a simpler way to measure whether there's a current leak at the appliance?

[tubular031]

see if you can get a clamp meter that measures dc amps. clamp it around a wire and it will tell you the amount of current going through the wire. If you are going to buy one, be careful, ac current is easy and cheap. DC current usually costs more. maybe a local shop will rent you one or let you borrow it? maybe autozone? just a thought.

[The_rook]

Testing the batteries with a volt meter will not tell you anything. You need to load test them I would be willing to bet you have one or both of your batteries going bad. The charge you read right after running it is a surface charge. These rigs are current pigs it takes alot to turn them over. A good fully charged battery should be 12.65 ish.



12.65V 100% 12.45V 75% 12.24V 50% 12.06V 25% 11.89V discharged

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Last edited by The_rook : 10-13-2008 at 10:29 PM.

[NCHornet]

Were not testing the batteries, we are trying to find out where his current drain is coming from!!

NCH

[The_rook]

Originally Posted by NCHornet

Were not testing the batteries, we are trying to find out where his current drain is coming from!!

NCH

There is no use looking for a current drain until you test the batteries and make sure they are just not going bad. When a battery starts to go bad it can work if used every day. But let it sit a few days and it may not start your rig. I think before you tear things apart ensure the easy and obvious are all in good working order.