I have low voltage, My BC has voltmeter option and it reads 11.5 volts. also when i turn off my car at night i can see the niddle of my aftermarket gauges are lighted a little. where should i look for this strange electronic leak?

 

alternator not working properly

 

First off 11.5 is not necessarily low. what you should do is check your charging system/alternator. to do this you need a multimeter. first check your voltage with car off at the battery then check your voltage with car running at the alternator. at first start up most regulators will charge the battery so you should have a higher voltage 14.5-14.7 ish. are you constantly looking at the voltmeter on your BC it could also have a bad contact. or if your looking at it at idle yes it will be low/lower than at say cruizing rpm say 3g-3.5g.

For your second question if they are aftermarket gauge faces they work on the same principle as flouresent bulbs they have a ballast and that slight glow is the remaining voltage being used not necessarily a drain. when you leave the car sit overnight do you still have that glow? even a couple hours


hope that helps
z

 

BC display itself is lighted a little at night, it always stays that way, you can only notice it when its dark. it sure doesnt show any numbers but its glowing all the time with ignition off. as i understand, there is always some small amount of voltage in the system. where should i look for this leak?

 

so is your battery dieing overnight or a week or even at all. if your battery is not dieing its not really a problem.
z

 

You have a hot ground somewhere, check the wiring for any lights you may have installed.

 

sorry i dont know what hot ground is. i didnt do anything to the car, thats the way it was when i got it