my battery?!?!?!?!?!

[jacked_86chevyk10]

what can be drawing power from my battery while my truck is off, is there any way to tell whats drawing so much power? i have an amp (500w) hooked up directly to the battery, but i also resently put like a battery cut off switch(the kind used in race cars) inline of the amp so i cut the amp off if the truck is gonna sit, and the ground post still has a lil spark....i seriously dont know...autozone is gettin tired of me replacing batteries.....please help /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[ugly_blazer]

It could be short somewhere, check all of the wires that are hot all of the time (not acc. wires, headlights, etc...). The amplifier that you installed should have a remote turn-on wire that controls a relay inside the amp to disconnect the amp from the battery when the amp is off, the switch that you added really isn't needed. A lot of my vehicles spark sometimes when hooking the battery back up but don't experience battery drain. Have you checked your alternator? Otherwise maube a short? /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[big83chevy4x4]

my truck had a similare problem, mine was with the plow. it has an electic controller that the PO wired to the bat, if i left the controler on it would kill my battery in 4 hours. 5 times of that and the battery would not hold a charge.

check some of the things that have been added, make sure they are getting no power when truck is off. /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

 

[diesel4me]

You can check for short curcuits by removing the negative battery cable,and put a bulb or test lamp between the negative battery cable and the battery negative terminal--if the lamp comes on,there is a short somewhere,you can pull fuses and see if it goes out--if so the short is in the curcuit the fuse protects,if not it might be bad diodes in the altenator,or one of the main wires that come from the solenoid--the ones with the fusible links in them--many times those wires burn on the exhaust and short out there.I would wire the amp so it works only with the key on ACC and On--you might need a relay if its a big amp that draws a lot of amps.

 

[StoneyK5]

Yeah, my battery went dead and wouldn't hold a charge for long. I pulled the alt and took it to a parts store that could check it and it failed, must of had a short inside. I replaced it and all is well.

 

[dyeager535]

You can rebuild your alternator for about $20, if it comes to that. I like pointing that out because it is such an easy job, and relatively cheap to do.