DeuceMan Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I am a Buick lover. I have two 70' Electra's, and I just bought a 67 Skylark. I have changed the battery, alternator, and voltage regulator. After driving for two or three hours the battery runs down. Although, all the circuits are working and do not blow fuses. I can run my Electra's and take the ground cable off the battery, and the car keeps running. My 67' Skylark stops running when I take off the ground cable. Is there another way to cause a short without blowing fuses? I would appreciate any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Have you cleaned the battery cable terminals at the engine and starter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I suspect one of the new components you replaced is defective. A defective rebuilt alternator is not uncommon. I'd take it back to where you bought it and have it tested. I haven't heard of a new battery not able to hold a charge but I assume it could happen. Your issue is puzzling as it happens while driving which means that as you drive the charging system isn't charging correctly. That generally isn't a short, it means something in the charging system isn't working right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I am a Buick lover. I have two 70' Electra's, and I just bought a 67 Skylark. I have changed the battery, alternator, and voltage regulator. After driving for two or three hours the battery runs down. Although, all the circuits are working and do not blow fuses. I can run my Electra's and take the ground cable off the battery, and the car keeps running. My 67' Skylark stops running when I take off the ground cable. Is there another way to cause a short without blowing fuses? I would appreciate any help. When the car is running what does the charging look like when using a voltmeter at the battery terminals? 14-15 volts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Check the wiring diagram. On some GM cars there was a fusable link (a piece of wire acting as a fuse) hidden in the wiring harness. Something like that mkay be the source of your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceMan Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Have you cleaned the battery cable terminals at the engine and starter?Thanks JohnD1956, but I did check the battery cable at both ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceMan Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 I suspect one of the new components you replaced is defective. A defective rebuilt alternator is not uncommon. I'd take it back to where you bought it and have it tested. I haven't heard of a new battery not able to hold a charge but I assume it could happen. Your issue is puzzling as it happens while driving which means that as you drive the charging system isn't charging correctly. That generally isn't a short, it means something in the charging system isn't working right.Thanks ol' yeller, but I replaced the battery, voltage regulator, and the alternator with all brand new, but the battery still drains. And the voltage regulator shows that it's not doing as it should, even with the new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceMan Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 When the car is running what does the charging look like when using a voltmeter at the battery terminals? 14-15 volts? Yes it shows around 15 volts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceMan Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Check the wiring diagram. On some GM cars there was a fusable link (a piece of wire acting as a fuse) hidden in the wiring harness. Something like that mkay be the source of your problem. Thank you DonMicheletti, but I checked that and it was okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 (edited) "New" is a somewhat generic term, but does not address the varying degrees of "quality" possible in "new" parts. Be that as it may. As you've now "thrown" parts at the problem and it still exists, you at least have the peace of mind of what might not be the problem. I'm not so sure about the "remove the ground cable and see if it still runs" procedure is a really good test, but as two of your Buicks do keep running and the '67 does not, it would seem that removing the battery cable stops the complete circuit necessary for things to work. Therefore . . . I would make sure that the engine is grounded to the vehicle body, as a bolt at the rear of the engine with a ground wire going to the firewall, nearby to it. Many negative battery cables have an extra, smaller lead, which usually goes to a ground wire near that battery cable, too, but you'll need to check a Buick service manual to see if yours should be that way. You might also try grounding the alternator case to the engine block, for good measure, to see if that might help. As for alternator output, it probably puts out about 15 amps or so at idle, but will need to be above about 1000rpm before it gets anywhere near its rated output, which is probably less than what your Electras' alternators put out. I don't believe you have a "dead short" as if it was that, you'd definitely smell something somewhere. Sounds more like the battery is not being recharged and causing the battery to be drained "dry". In any event, it would cause current to "run backwards" (i.e., discharge) in the charging circuit and the instrument panel "Gen" light should be bright red. 15 volts sounds a tad high to me. I believe it should be more like 14.2 or 14.5 volts when the engine is running and then 12 volts with the engine stopped, on a 12 volt system. If the engine stops (from a depleted battery) at three hours driving time, have you taken readings at 1 hr and/or 2hr driving time intervals . . . for charging system voltage and then stopped-engine battery voltage? Just curious. Is there unusual heat in the main wire going to the ignition switch? Have you checked voltage in that circuit on BOTH sides of the bulkhead connector? Did the replacement alternator come with a pulley and fan on it or did those transfer from the prior alternator? Alternators cool from the rear to the front of the case. If the fan might be installed incorrectly, such cooling might not be happening which might compromise the charging characteristics of the alternator. It would be unusual for a diode in the alternator to be defective in the old and replacement alternators! Please advise . . .NTX5467 Edited May 28, 2015 by NTX5467 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted sweet Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 bad alternator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceMan Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 "New" is a somewhat generic term, but does not address the varying degrees of "quality" possible in "new" parts. Be that as it may. As you've now "thrown" parts at the problem and it still exists, you at least have the peace of mind of what might not be the problem. I'm not so sure about the "remove the ground cable and see if it still runs" procedure is a really good test, but as two of your Buicks do keep running and the '67 does not, it would seem that removing the battery cable stops the complete circuit necessary for things to work. Therefore . . . I would make sure that the engine is grounded to the vehicle body, as a bolt at the rear of the engine with a ground wire going to the firewall, nearby to it. Many negative battery cables have an extra, smaller lead, which usually goes to a ground wire near that battery cable, too, but you'll need to check a Buick service manual to see if yours should be that way. You might also try grounding the alternator case to the engine block, for good measure, to see if that might help. As for alternator output, it probably puts out about 15 amps or so at idle, but will need to be above about 1000rpm before it gets anywhere near its rated output, which is probably less than what your Electras' alternators put out. I don't believe you have a "dead short" as if it was that, you'd definitely smell something somewhere. Sounds more like the battery is not being recharged and causing the battery to be drained "dry". In any event, it would cause current to "run backwards" (i.e., discharge) in the charging circuit and the instrument panel "Gen" light should be bright red. 15 volts sounds a tad high to me. I believe it should be more like 14.2 or 14.5 volts when the engine is running and then 12 volts with the engine stopped, on a 12 volt system. If the engine stops (from a depleted battery) at three hours driving time, have you taken readings at 1 hr and/or 2hr driving time intervals . . . for charging system voltage and then stopped-engine battery voltage? Just curious. Is there unusual heat in the main wire going to the ignition switch? Have you checked voltage in that circuit on BOTH sides of the bulkhead connector? Did the replacement alternator come with a pulley and fan on it or did those transfer from the prior alternator? Alternators cool from the rear to the front of the case. If the fan might be installed incorrectly, such cooling might not be happening which might compromise the charging characteristics of the alternator. It would be unusual for a diode in the alternator to be defective in the old and replacement alternators! Please advise . . .NTX5467 Thank you NTX5467 I will double check on those things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeuceMan Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 bad alternator bad alternatorThanks ted sweet, but I already changed two alternators and got the same results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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