What's more frustrating than hopping in your car, turning the key, and nothing? You try again, but still nothing. Nada, zero, zilch! You've fallen victim…{"id":5058,"date":"2014-04-02T08:14:58","date_gmt":"2014-04-02T15:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=5058"},"modified":"2014-11-19T10:41:10","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T18:41:10","slug":"tech-tips-from-capps-hot-rods-dead-batteries-electrical-draws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/02\/tech-tips-from-capps-hot-rods-dead-batteries-electrical-draws\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Tips from Capp’s Hot Rods: Dead Batteries & Electrical Draws"},"content":{"rendered":"

What’s more frustrating than hopping in your car, turning the key, and nothing? \u00a0You try again, but still nothing. \u00a0Nada, zero, zilch! You’ve fallen victim to a dead battery. \u00a0There are only a few things that can cause this to happen. \u00a0First, the condition of the battery. Maybe the battery is old. \u00a0Maybe you don’t drive that car very often, so it sits in storage for long periods of time. \u00a0A battery’s internal plates can sulfate and go bad. \u00a0Even with normal use, sulfation occurs. \u00a0But when a battery is left sitting unused, the sulfate can harden. And when this occurs, the battery will appear to take a charge, but it will not actually hold it. \u00a0You\u2019ll want to recharge your battery on a slow setting to try to bring it back up to a full charge, and to see how it reacts. \u00a0A good battery will generally read between 13.6 and 14.6 volts at rest. \u00a0Once completely charged, you’ll want to do a draw test to see how the battery reacts. \u00a0If the battery drops below 9-10 volts on a heavy draw, and then stays below the level it was at before you performed the test, there\u2019s a good chance that you need a new battery. \u00a0Generally, if a battery is about 4 years old and keeps going dead, it\u2019s a safe bet that the battery has outlived its usefulness. \u00a0In colder climates, this can happen almost overnight in the fall or winter. \u00a0Cranking amps of a battery begin to diminish as the electrons move more slowly in the cold, and you can actually get a break in the internal cells of the battery. \u00a0If this happens, it\u2019s time to for a new battery.<\/p>\n

Another thing that can cause a dead battery is a heavy draw when the battery is at rest. \u00a0This can discharge a battery almost overnight. The first thing you should do is recharge the battery slowly. \u00a0It is always best to remove the negative cable, and then charge the battery either in or out of the vehicle. \u00a0After the battery has been charged to the proper level, but prior to reconnecting the negative cable, take a test light and connect one end to the battery’s negative terminal and the other end to the negative cable. \u00a0If the test light lights up, there’s a draw on the system. \u00a0The brighter the test light lights up, the heavier the draw. \u00a0If it lights dimly, it can usually be attributed to a clock or a radio, which cause a small draw on the battery. \u00a0These will drain the battery, but it will take time. \u00a0If you use the car enough, there’s no need to worry. \u00a0If not, use a small trickle charger when you’re not driving the car to maintain the battery.<\/p>\n

Now, if you get a bright light, this is an indication of a draw heavy enough to quickly kill your battery. \u00a0Locating the source of the draw is easier than most people think. \u00a0With the test light still hooked up between the negative battery terminal and the negative cable. \u00a0Start removing fuses one at a time. \u00a0A heavy draw generally comes from a \u201cbattery circuit” or one that is hot all the time (things like a lighter, courtesy lamps, stop lamps, dome lamp, etc.) even with the car off or with the key out. \u00a0When the light goes off, you’ve found the offending circuit. \u00a0Once you find the problem circuit, see what is connected to that circuit and start unplugging those items\/accessories one at a time. \u00a0Again, when the light goes out, you’ve found the issue. \u00a0Now make the necessary repairs!<\/p>\n

If you have pulled all the fuses and the light continues to stay on, this tells you that the problem is being caused by a \u201cbattery unfused circuit.\u201d \u00a0Things like an alternator, voltage regulator, headlight switch,\u00a0ignition switch, and even some accessory ports\/lighters will be on an unfused circuit. \u00a0Once again, start unhooking these items one at a time being careful not to ground them out (being unfused, these leads and will cause quite a mess if grounded out). \u00a0Internally regulated alternators, while usually a great product, are notorious for developing an open diode inside of them that can divert 12 volts to ground and drain a battery overnight. \u00a0They’ll charge a battery, operate perfectly, and give you no indication of any problem. \u00a0Disconnecting the alternator and having the test lamp go out finds this problem for you.<\/p>\n

Always be careful, and very methodical when chasing electrical gremlins. \u00a0One step at a time and one connection at a time will keep the frustration level to a minimum.<\/p>\n

$\"Capps$ <\/p>\n