Let it Begin! 87 frame off, vortec, H55... (1 Viewer)

[Slow Left]

You might give a local auto parts store (NAPA, Pep Boys...) a call to see if they do free battery testing if you bring it in to them.

How old is the battery?

If the battery tests out OK and you decide to hunt for a parasitic draw, there's another fella in CA working on the same thing. See post #11 on for one way to isolate which circuit the draw might be coming from:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fj62-dome-light-circuit-parasitic-draw.821030/

 

[M1A1cruiser]

Slow Left,

Thanks very much!!

That link and a quick search for 'finding parasitic battery draw' allowed me to track it to part of the push-button start get-up.
I was drawing somewhere between 20 and 70 mA (hard to be exact 'cause my not-so-precise meter only goes in Amps so I'm watching it fluctuate wildly between 0.02 and 0.07(ish)). I think it's caused when the sensors are 'listening' for the RFID chip (?) in the key card to be near enough to the truck to unlock and allow the ignition. Fortunately it's a fused thing so I was able to pull one fuse at a time and see that the draw between the negative terminal and the negative cable dropped right to zero. I put a switch in it for now and will see if that really prevents the drain. I'm not sure how to rewire it so that that switch isn't necessary (seems like a 'hack' fix rather than wiring that to a circuit that isn't 'always-on' (although the wiring instructions for the item say it needs 12V constant...maybe I'll contact the vendor and see what they say).

Anyway, again thanks.

Best,
Trav.-

 

[Slow Left]

That's great news, Travis. Sounds like you might have found the culprit. You should know soon enough after having installed that switch...like you said, if the drain goes away then I'll bet you've found it.

If not, it might be worth swinging by the local autoparts store and having them load test the battery for free.

Also, not sure of the wiring on that engine, but sometimes the low amp wire between the battery and the voltage regulator on the alternator does not pass through the main fuse box...so a drain there would not show up in that technique of pulling fuses at the main fuse box.

Anyways, one step at a time and hope to hear good news in a few days that the battery is holding it's charge. I really want to see a good end to this story because that build you did on this 60 is epic!...MUD legend!

Cheers!