help!! electrical problem
 

my battery has been draining like crazy the past couple of days. i figured something was shorted out so i checked continuity on the postive to ground (after disconnecting the battery). it actually has a resistence of .5 ohms. i tracked it to the relay box with the BTN relay and cooling fan relay near the powersteering pump. the only two realys that have any connection with ground are the btn and cooling fan relay. i know that neither of these should have any conductivity with ground. i've been a member for a few years and this is the first time i actually had to ask something because i can't find it in the search. if anyone has any trouble shooting guide it would be really appreciated.
Thanx in advance




93 touring

What are your symptoms? Is the battery draining when the car sits, as in parasitic load? Need more info.

when the key is on the acc and on pos.

no load
radio off everything off
do you know of any trouble shooting guides that can help me?

So you are saying the battery only drains when you leave it in the acc or on postion...If so then yes your battery will drain....But if you are having battery drainage problem with it igniton off then there is something draining--bad alt, battery or parasitic! Please clarify on when the battery is being drained!

dude, replace your alternator yo

^ He's asking for help to figure out why his battery is draining, not what parts to start replacing with a crapshoot of hitting the correct one.

I would put an amp meter in line at the positive terminal and see what the current draw is is. Then I'd start removing individual fuses to see if anything changes. This should give you an idea of which circuit is causing the drain.
From there you'll need to narrow it down on the circuit you've identified.

Download the electrical manual stickied at the top of this forum, that will help determining what parts belong to which circuit.

Good luck

i'm assuming that it is from the turbo timer harness.
it had a short that grounded one of the wires going to the btn relay and cooling relay causing the positive terminal to have continuity with ground.
ugh....!!!!! this is so flippin frustrating.
i checked for continuity from the ignition switch to ground and had a resistence
i know i'm not supposed to have any connection with ground at the ign switch
i'm gonna go from there tonight after work....

This good advice. Use a amp meter and remove fuses one at a time to find
out what circuit the drain is on. Continuity testing will not help much.

do it on the neg terminal side for safety reasons

always pull the neg terminal first then positive.
install positive then negitive when pulling batteries or doing elec work

Any feedback on this? It seems like my problem. In a properly working car, What current does the car draw when the ignition is switched to the Acc then to On? When ON, mine spikes to ~13A then stabilizes at 4.5A. Is this normal?

With the key out of the car/ all doors closed/ trunk/ glove box etc... (no interior
lights)
Should be less than 50 miliamps.


I don't know what the rule of thumb is for key on then switch to acc.

Thanks, I checked and that is within range. Anybody checked what draw is with ignition on, car not running?

would depend on acc that the car has. why are you interested in that figure? the koeo amp reading is what will kill the battery overnight.

the 13amp spike is prob the fuel pump doing it's prime for a few seconds

What he said.

The battery is staying charged when the car sits, the problem is I think I have a short in something that is grounding out only when the ignition is on. I am looking for the 'normal' draw on the system with the IGN on, no radio/lights/anything on so I can compare and see if mine is different. If it is, then I can unhook fuses to see which system that ground is in and go from there.

bump...anybody checked for that current before?