1967 Buick skylark electrical drain

[Guest johnny soltero]

Hello, for all you electrical guys I'm having this problem with my electrical system drove my car from work to local market and came out and my battery was drained. I erroneously thought it was a bad starter changed my starter brushes, cleaned my armiture, and commutator plates, when i continued to have the same issue i changed my battery, cleaned my cables and ground connections and no resolution, have any ideas where to start this electrical stuff is all greek to me...guess I gotta learn how to use a volt meter!:confused:

[startergenrebuilder]

Gonna need a few more details. So it starts fine to go to the store and then wont crank when you come out? What did you do to get it started? Is the problem always when the engine is hot? If you let it cool will start?

Jason

Advanced Electrical Rebuilders

Grand Ledge, MI 48837

[Guest johnny soltero]

I had to get a jump start to get it to start actually when I came out of the store which was only an hour or so, however that battery may have had a low cell, so I don't believe temperature is a factor. I took another battery with a good charge and ran that for a day but in the morning whem I came out to start it, initially it turned the motor over but as Buick tend to be cold blooded it took me a couple of cranks to get her to start but by the third turn of the ignition switch battery was too low to kick it over. Another gentleman I spoke with asked if the battery sparked a little when I connect the posts, and I told him yes, so he stated that something is drawing power. Oh and when I bought the I converted it from generator external regulator to an alternator set-up but kept the regulator on the firewall to retain originality, however that was 5 years ago. I checked the courtesy lamps and glove box switch, someone suggested using a basic test light on my fuse box, and a voltmeteer to test the alternator. So far I did the old laymans trick of diconnecting the battery when car is running to see if the alternator can run the motor. It was OK

[peecher]

Sounds like one or more diodes in the altenator are shorted . Have the altenator checked.

[Rusty_OToole]

Here's a way to track down a short or current draw.

Disconnect a battery cable (either one will do) and connect a test light in series.

Remove fuses one by one until the light goes out. Now you know which circuit is drawing power. This does not automatically find the fault, but does narrow it down. If the fuse does not power anything critical you can leave it out till you find the fault.

By the way when you do this test don't forget your dome light. If you have the car door open shut off the dome light.

Other common drains are a trunk light and a glove compartment light, either can be on all the time if the switch is faulty.

I assume you already made sure you didn't leave anything turned on.

[stude1946]

Another thing that is common is a drain from the cigarette lighter.

[keiser31]

My mom had a 1968 Plymouth Fury lll that did the same thing. I came home one night and was walking past her car when I noticed a bright circle of light under the rear of the car....looked like a flashlight. Turns out, the trunk light was on all of the time because the switch got knocked crooked somehow (loading groceries, I presume). Fixed the switch and the malady was cured.