But the Firebird has one. It's had it since she bought the stupid car (can you tell how much I want to do this?) and despite my admittedly marginal efforts to trace out the problem, I haven't fixed it yet. I have some suspicions but want to get some opinions from you guys. Problem: Battery drains to dead dead dead in just three or four days if not disconnected or driven. One symtom is the AMPS idiot light is barely lit when the gas tank is full but gets brighter as the tank level goes down.... See, it is stupid. Tests I've done so far: Engine idling, all electric accesories turned off. There is 13.9 volts at the battery. 14.1 at the alternator. Engine off, negative cable disconnected, voltmeter between cable and battery shows 12.7 volts, all accessories off and doors closed. The most interesting one is this one:Everything off, alternator charge wire held against charge post, voltmeter between neg cable and neg batt terminal. Shows 12.7 volts. Move the charge wire away from it's terminal and volt meter immediately drops to 7.5 volts then s-l-o-w-l-y drops to .2 volts. Takes maybe 90 secods to as much as 2.5 minutes. I have not started pulling one fuse at the time though I did disconnect the stereo plug so the hot lead to keep the time and stations was disconnected. First question: Can I assume there is a problem internally with the alternator? Second question: Why does it take so long for the volts to drop like it does? Is this normal? Thanks in advance!
Well, if the fuel level affects the idiot light intensity, I'd believe there was a short somewhere in the circuitry for the fuel gauge. Could be at the tank, could be at the dash (cluster circuitry), or anywhere in between.
That is a wierd/stupid problem. sounds like a problem in the dash guage circuit. It sounds like the battery is getting a low current draw through the gas guage. The easy way to see if this is the proble is like Dan suggested unplug the tank sending unit and see if the problem goes away.
Electrical Problems Electrical problems, I love them!!! They make you think!!! Like when I installed a T-type factory guage pack inplace of the one with dummie lights and no tach!! I will review this thread when I get home from work and shead some light on this with out killing my battery :laugh: . PM me your contact number and a good time to call in case I need more information, AL.
The slow drop when the voltage is removed is due to the capacitors in some of the equipment charging, then slowly discharging. This is normal. I doubt that the alternator is defective, though a problem in the dash is a possibility. I strongly suggest checking all of the grounds before going any further. It is possible that a missing or defective ground is causing a component to fail to go to "sleep", which will drain a battery. It may be necessary to use an ammeter here and determine the actual draw rate, and the source. A test light will not work for slow draws and is not the correct way to determine the cause. I also suggest disconnecting some of the computers, including the ECM and BCM, and determining the draw rate after that. Let me know...
I agree that the problem with the ammeter and fuel gauge is grounds. Check the grounds for the instrument panel.
you could pull a fuse at a time and replace them with a ampmeter, and see what circuit is drawing current. ________ Professional Liability Insurance Forums
