In my 64' Riviera I had two problems one of which was the car would sometime start then at other times nothing, dead. Followed the advice of some of the posters here and after making sure I had a solid battery voltage I decided to check my starter connections and guess what? After I installed a new starter last year I guess I didn't fully tighten the main feeder line bolt and this was causing the start/not start situation. Took 6 good turns of the wrench to get it really snug. The next problem is that I read 12.67V from the negative battery post to the negative cable end when disconnected and meter in series. Again following the advice given here I took out each fuse one at a time until I finally noticed that the fuse when removed from the courtesy/glove box spot dropped the voltage down to 2.5V. I can check the door jamb switches since I had replaced these and maybe did not pay attention when putting them back in and this caused the short and then check the glove box light. I always thought the dash lights were on the dim side even though the switch was turned all the way up so maybe fixing this short will help or the dimness is just my imagination. Being used to newer modern cars and their bright lights might be be an issue too. If this works and there is still 2.5V present is this okay? Or will I need to look further. Thanks. Lou
My concern here is that you are using voltage to measure drains. The best way to measure drains is to use an ammeter. This device measures the actual drain as opposed to the voltage drop. The ammeter is a better measure. Since I am not sure of how you are measuring the drain, let me guess. I assume you are using the tried and true disconnect one lead and measure the voltage drop between the lead and the terminal. If this is the case, 2.5 volts would be fine. With respect to your dash lights, I have seen few new cars better illuminated than the old ones. You might have defective bulbs, a bad connection or a dirty ground, if the dash is as poorly lighted as you say. Food for thought...it is typical for the fuses to be incompletely labelled, in other words, the label on the fuse box is representative of the wiring connected to this location, rather than conclusive. You may need a wiring diagram to completely troubleshoot this problem. You might try making sure the glove box completely closes; loose fasteners can leave the glove box light illuminated. Also, there are times when courtesy lighting is placed under dash, leading one to assume that this lighting is off due to burned bulbs. Food for thought. Ray
Ray, Thanks for the message. I am new at this type of troubleshooting so what I did was keep the meter on volts and pull each fuse and watched if the voltage went down. Weird thing was later last night I checked the same one that gave the 2.5V when pulled earlier and it was at 12+ again! Today was the same. I had previously cleaned all the ground points I could find using the manual and changed the bulbs that were out so all are working. I disconnected as many bulbs, connectors, etc I could get to today in the engine compartment and the trunk area and cannot get the 12+ to go down. My amp light is not on while running and the light in the glove box does go out when closed. I also put my amp meter between the positive battery terminal and cable and there was no draw to be seen. Used both an analog and digital meter. Where would I start now to look if all the fused items look of again assuming what I did would work. I have couple more areas I want to check such as the ground, etc. for the fuel gage since it does not work and maybe shorting. Again, appreciate your input. Lou
One issue I have with the fuel gauge; the fuel gauge operates with the ignition switch. The possibility exists that the alternator, which is connected directly to the battery, could be the source of the drain. You might try disconnecting the main battery (red) lead, and recheck the draw. One word of advise, the draw between the positive cable and the battery positive should be the same as the draw between the gound lead and the ground battery connection. Tip: ANY red wire could be the source of the draw, as it will be hot directly from the battery. If you are using the ammeter correctly, no draw means that the battery is not being discharged. I say this since, in many cases, the ammeter leads are differently connected from the voltmeter leads. One other thing to remember is that the clock will draw current when it winds, then stop as it winds down, typically two or so minutes. If you are checking draws as the clock is attempting to wind, the contacts may stay closed since the drop is high enough to inhibit the winding process. Ray
When my glove box light switch went bad, it really played with me. The light seemed to go out each time I checked it, but during the night the light would come on and drain the battery. A new switch fixed the problem. :spank:
So many places to check so little time... I will look at the switch in the morning and remove it then see what happens. This thing can become obsessive. I have to check the area under the ashtray and lighter, I had replaced the bulb and moved a wire out of the way by splicing it. Earlier it was pulled tight and when I would flip up the ashtray door the courtesy light on the console passenger side would go out. As a matter of fact now I can't see the ashtray light at all so it seems a good area to check. Thanks for the tip! Lou
Just wanted to post what I finally found in regards to this drain. After using the manual and doing a process of elimination, I found that when I disconnected two red wires a #10 and a #16 that were tied to a single wire ring connector and then to the horn relay block the voltage to ground went away. One wire feed the alternator and the other the #3 terminal of the voltage regulator. disconnected the regulator connector and put the two wires back on the block and problem still exited. Cut the #10 and problem disappears so I figured somewhere in the wire loom the alternator feed was shorting so I ran a new #10 and made nice new terminations, etc. Put it all back on the block and it' was back! Checked the diagram again and the only other place the #10 went to was to the ignition switsh and after removing it problem solved, bad switch. I swear I reall had it disconnected before and the short remained but it seems there were multiple problems. Time, patience and friendly advice did it.
