Re: [Chevelle-List] battery drain

[Don]

This is a tuff one. Electrical problems can be a bear to track down. But... There should be 12 volts to the alt stud if the battery is charged & everything else is turned off. There should be 0 volts to the dome light if the door & light switches are all off. I'm not sure about the harness connection but I would imagine it should be about 12 volts anywhere there is electricity unless it's through a resister wire. Off hand I'd say there is possibly a short in the dome light circuit or one of the door switches is bad. The low voltage may be because of a low battery or just a lot of resistance in the circuit. Anyway that's my best guess. Anyone else want to take a stab at diagnosing Dan's problem? Don Hello,       OK, I got a real stumper that's got me scratching my head. My battery goes dead if it sits for like two days. So, following the directions posted on  http://www.carcraft.com/editorial/article_popup.jsp?id=53320&sidebar=1 , I removed the neg. cable and placed a voltmeter between the battery terminal and the neg. cable. It read 12.6 volts. Traced through and found 3 culprits, and cannot figure this out anymore. CULPRIT #1- Alternator- meter reads 7 volts when battery lead is placed on alt. stud.                   0 when removed. Checked ohms between stud and ground, no continuity. CULPRIT #2- Dome light- Meter reads 12.6 when bulb is installed, 0 when removed.                   Does not appear to matter if door is opened or closed. CULPRIT #3- Turn signal harness connector. (half moon shaped under column).                   Meter reads 7 volts when connected, 0 when disconnected.       I am completely baffled by this now, if anyone can help I would be forever in your debt. Thanks all. Dan McIntosh      65 Malibu