Harley Earle's new 800+ amp/hour battery is discharging from full charge in about 4 hours, falling enough to only grunt the started. I just replaced the voltage regulator and have confirmed that the generator is charging slightly even at idle.

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing and know a "most likely" location of a short?

You can always do the time honored trick of pulling the fuses ,and putting them back one at a time. When you find the short, you will probably get some sparks when you insert the fuse. This will at least point out the circuit to start on.

bernard,
here is a cut and paste answer to your question.
with the exception of the test light, its pretty much what oldguy has already stated.
Remove negative battery cable from the battery. Using a 12-volt test light, hook one end to the negative battery post the other end to the negative battery cable you just disconnected. The test light will glow or “light” if there is a drain. If the “light or glow” is faint, that is probably normal draw for the clock or computer. If the “light or glow” is bright, then there is a large drain. That should be corrected. Now start removing and replacing the fuses one by one until the light goes out; that one will be the circuit with the drain. Remember to hold in the button in the door jam for the interior lights.

:rolleyes: Mmmm... Bernard, I used to see in REAL classics (french, american, swedish) the ol' reliable electric clock in the dash stealing incredible amounts of amperes, volts, watts and ohms wherever they tried to hide. Just an idea, my friend :rolleyes: .

<sigh> . . . so I'm gonna have to rat-trace the circuits after all. . . . I was hoping someone would say, "Oh, yeah--on '49s, that's always the wire to the frammis shorting on the dooflatchie flange."

Heidi, thanks for the cut-and-paste. I hadn't thought of the obvious trick of bridging the battery and ground strap wtih a light . . . I may have to make a six-volt one, but it'll be worth it.

Quijote, thank you for your suggestion. I'll pull that fuse first.

Need the blush icon again. . .

Next time someone cries for help about a mysterious discharge of the battery on a 49 or older (and maybe newer), ask 'em if the radio's turned on with the volume all the way down.

****** draws 15 amps and bypasses the ignition switch . . .

"S-cker" is a censored word? What about the poor fish by that name? :eek:

ouchie. there's no way to put the radio on the ignition switch circuit? no extra slots in the fuse box?

and 15 amps idle current with no audio output, wow. that sucks. i suppose a 49 is using tubes or something?

Bob, you've got to be wonderfully young . . . transisters didn't come along until the 50s some time . .. Yeah, power-gulping tubes. the radio is about the size of four shoe boxes bundled together. . . .

ummm, yeah, "wonderfully young" is 37. graemlins/beers.gif

as rusty as i am on my electronics history i knew they didn't have transistors in the 40s but i wasn't sure they were using tubes or if they had some sort of alternative.

i'd definitely be looking at getting that thing put on the switched power from the ignition, that kind of current draw is INSANE!

It's on a 15-amp fuse; I haven't checked its draw; but it will dang sure run down a huge farm battery overnight . . . bet it's not on the switch because the switch won't handle it . . .


Oh, to be 37 again, and know what I know now . . .

actuate the radio circuit with a relay like you do with your starter motor. minimal added current to the ignition switch, pretty much unlimited current to the radio ... depending on the rating of the relay you choose of course.

bob, I'm just not going to turn it on. Have you listend to AM lately?

:( Pardon, pardon, sires!!!
You're chating cheerfully about car radios... and you, -all of you-, ignore that I have an authentic dramatic opera each time we go for our Buick. My ol' lady always think in knives an' poison whenever she jumps onto LA Buick, saying aloudly som'ing 'bout "these sleazy 'uns hanging around with tools and grease and dirty hands and self-qualifying mecanic Eisnteins... graemlins/angry.gif and MY RADIO doesn't play". These times I feel myself dogsh.t an' I swear next time I'll arrange it. Then you have to take out the s.cker: About , -I presume-, falf a ton of box, and not a damn idea how to disengage it.
graemlins/clonk.gif Any help? (Sob, sniff, sigh).
Any help will be HELLUVA welcome.