how do i check to see if i have a short in my electrical system? if i check the resistance between the + and - battery leads with the battery disconnected what should it read when there is no short?

 

2 things:

Ah... you wouldn't check for an electrical short between the + and - battery leads. If you checked there, it would probably show a dead short (continuity) between the two. Perhaps if you told us the problem and what youa re trying to find out we could help.

and please fix your signature... currently the admins are only allowing 6 lines (including spaces) yours is at least 9 lines. Please fix it before an admin see's it and deletes it without warning.

 

well my problem is that when i leave the battery in the car and connected to the leads it slowly discharges aver a period of several weeks. when i leave it disconnected from the leads it is fine and holds a charge.

so i was thinking maybe there is a small short somewhere. if there was continuity between the + and - leads that would definately indicate a short wouldnt it?

 

i had the same probem , a few weeks ago. what u need is a amp meter. first u disconnect the positive terminal. put one lead to the the positive terminal and one to the batt terminal u just disconnected. Make sure every thing that uses current is off, inc the lights on your door. Now that u have it connected. it should read 0 on your amp meter. (most amp meters only support 10 amps unfused) so dont turn on anything that maybe draining more than 10 amps. if i there is a drain it should show on the meter. now remove one fuse at a time until it reads 0 on the meter. and u should be able to figure out which circuit is shorting.

if they all check out, disconnect the alt lead. thats where my prob was. the alt was draining 2.4amps while connected. even tho it was brand new. got it replaced and solved my prob. hope this helps.

 

Reconnect the positive cable. Get a multi meter that reads amps. Connect the meter between the negative cable and the negative post. Anything over .5 amps will kill a battery in a few days. Have someone disconnect the alt plug and see if it drops. If not, just stsrt pulling the fuses one by one until the draw drops. Make certain all the lights are off.

 

Normal current draw for the FC is between 40 and 70 mA. The current draw tests outlined above by other posters should show you if you have a problem.

If the draw is more than 70mA you probably have a current draw problem. If you do, start pulling fuses (one at a time) to see if the draw drops back into that magic 40-70mA range.

Do you have an aftermarket alarm??? often those can be miss-installed to have enough current draw to kill a battery after a week or two of being parked

 

kool, thanks guys