Charging Blues

Charging Blues
M

maynor

Jeeper
Posts
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Location
Haysville,Ks
Vehicle(s)
72 CJ-5
Hello all,
I am looking for some advise. I have recently replaced the battery, alternator, starter selonoid and circuit breaker. I have also replaced the cables to the starter and battery. Problem is that even though all cable connections are tight she doesn't hold a charge. after 24hrs the she doesn;t want to turn over. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks
 
something is draining your battery after you cut it off, it sounds like its not a charging problem especially since you have replaced everything. could be the radio, a short, some kind of light, could be anything really. you should also take that battery and have it checked, even though its new its possible its not holding a charge, but i would bet money its something draining it.
read through this, has some good info http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm
 
I agree with CheepJeep, you have a short or something else draining your battery. If a new battery is going dead after only 24 hours of sitting that would be quite a short. There is nothing wrong with your charging system. It's a short.
CheepJeep has a good link. Since your short is quickly draining a new battery you could even troubleshoot this without a meter. Disconnect one battery terminal and you will probably see a spark when you touch the battery cable to the battery. Try disconnecting things until you no longer get a spark. You could try removing fuses as mentioned in Cheep's link. Try disconnecting the alternator. Each time you disconnect something touch the battery cable to the battery and see if you get a spark. That spark is the current draining your battery.
 
Last edited:
BusaDave9 said:
The regulator is built into the alternator. The alternator is new but this is very common for the voltage regulator to drain the battery. Elwood Blues very well may be right. You can test this easily. Disconnect the cable and wires from the alternator. Wait 24 hours or more. Connect the wires back up and see if it starts.
Click to expand...
^^^very good and free^^^^:chug:
 
If you don't have a voltmeter, you can unhook one battery cable. Hook a test light between the battery post and battery cable end. The test light will light or maybe just glow. You can judge the amount of parasitic drain by how bright the test light is. Pull fuses one-at-a-time while watching for the light to dim. When the light dims or goes out, you've found the circuit that contains the drain.

Note: This doesn't work very good on vehicles with computers.
 
jeffgtoman said:
If you don't have a voltmeter, you can unhook one battery cable. Hook a test light between the battery post and battery cable end. The test light will light or maybe just glow. You can judge the amount of parasitic drain by how bright the test light is. Pull fuses one-at-a-time while watching for the light to dim. When the light dims or goes out, you've found the circuit that contains the drain.

Note: This doesn't work very good on vehicles with computers.
Click to expand...
This is a good test but you need an amp meter to do this.
A test light works like a volt meter. On a car that is working good (no shorts, good electrical system) you will always read 12 volts between the battery and a disconnected battery cable. On the other hand you should read very low current (amps). Any current you do read would only be for things such as a clock that runs even when the engine is off. maynor, you may read high current because a short is draining your battery.
maynor if you follow Jeffgtoman's instructions use a multimeter set to current (to read amps). Most multimeters need you to put the test leads into different sockets in the multimeter whenever you read current.
Don't confuse current with voltage.
 
I think your both right. With out a clock or security system you would not read voltage between the positive post and the disconnected positive cable. The Amp meter is the best way to check this. It will not only tell you you have a drain but how large a drain. Be sure the meter will handle at least 10 amps DC or you will let the smoke out of it.:cool:
 
Thanks to allof you for your suggestions. And yes my head is screaming like a little girl. I have had suggestions of it could be the ignition to the starter. I have tested the voltage prior to putting a charger on it, it will read 12+ ams then as soon as I start it it climbs to 13+ which is where it should be. I will try your suggestions and let ya'll know how it turns out. This all started after i ran the darn thing out of fuel one morning and drained the battery trying to get her restarted. At the time I thought it was a battery issue but the realized it was the fuel. Since then as mentioned I have replaced almost all electrical but the starter. we'll see how it goes. Thanks again.

Eric
 
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