Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
#1794599
04/02/15 12:36 AM
04/02/15 12:36 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,089 Sorrento, BC, Canada
4speeds4me
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Hey guys! Gotta 71 Valiant here for a buddy. Battery is going dead over about 2 days. I disconnected the + terminal and clipped a test light in between the + post and terminal clamp. It lit up, and I started pulling fuses. Pulled every fuse in the fuse block, and the test light is still lit up like a Christmas tree. Is there a circuit(s) that is not fused that I need to be checking? Am I missing something in my test procedure?
I appreciate the help, Moparts family!
2 Demons...no, not my kids!
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1794602
04/02/15 12:52 AM
04/02/15 12:52 AM
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 36,041 Lincoln Nebraska
RapidRobert
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Pull the headlight bakelite connector/then the dangling connector under the steering column/then the horn relay connector. They are hot all the time & might help you pin down the (unwanted) draw
live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1794606
04/03/15 12:35 AM
04/03/15 12:35 AM
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 36,041 Lincoln Nebraska
RapidRobert
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Quote:
Dead short in the starter?
yes but likely the hold in winding in the solenoid tho not sure how it is getting fed from the full time hot large main cable down to the large starter nut without the solenoid being pulled in. Fastest would be to R&R the starter or take his time & open it up & see whats shorted/if he can fix it. EDIT the draw is in the large cable down to the starter correct? Never seen that so I gotta double check
Last edited by RapidRobert; 04/03/15 12:41 AM.
live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1794608
04/03/15 02:40 AM
04/03/15 02:40 AM
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Ply72rr
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mopar
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Quote:
The draw is in the ~10ga wire that runs from the relay to the starter, not the 4ga (or whatever size it is) that runs right from the battery to the starter.
You shouldn't have any voltage to that wire unless the ignition switch is turned to "start". I would remove that wire from the relay and check for voltage at the wire and also where it connects to the relay. If you have any voltage at the disconnected wire then the starter would be the problem. If you have voltage at the relay where the wire connects then the problem might be the ignition switch or the relay itself.
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: Ply72rr]
#1794609
04/03/15 12:22 PM
04/03/15 12:22 PM
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Posts: 36,041 Lincoln Nebraska
RapidRobert
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If you had full voltage in the brown (solenoid) wire to the small terminal (from either the starter large terminal or above from the SR) it would be cranking just like normal operation. As you know the large cable is hot all the time & it almost sounds like some current is bleeding over inside the starter to (likely) the hold in solenoid winding and that is the minor draw (if it was the "pull in" solenoid winding the solenoid rod would be pulled in & the starter would be cranking like normal & you'd have to pull a batt cable to stop it. Holler how it turns out
live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 383man]
#1794611
04/05/15 04:37 AM
04/05/15 04:37 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,089 Sorrento, BC, Canada
4speeds4me
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Ron- I think you read that right. I have the negative side of the battery disconnected. Test light clamp on the negative terminal clamp, spike end into the terminal on the battery. Test light is lit. Removed large nut on starter relay. Under this nut are 2 heavier wires. Red one dirrectly from battery +, brownish wire going down to the starter. Remove red wire from battery +, test light still on. Remove brown wire from post on relay, light goes out. Tried a new relay, same scenario...
2 Demons...no, not my kids!
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1794612
04/05/15 01:00 PM
04/05/15 01:00 PM
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RapidRobert
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Normally you have the large positive cable from the battery to the large "batt" stud on the SR then a seperate large cable from that large "batt" SR stud down to the large terminal on the starter. Then there is a smaller brown (if OE) wire from the SR terminal that has the mini bolt that secures it & this wire goes down to the small "solenoid" terminal on the starter next to the larger starter terminal. Correct so far? not being patronizing just wanting clarification so we can get a handle on this. If the SR was bleeding current down to the solenoid via the brown wire the starter would be energized (that's fairly rare). If the solenoid hold in winding was being energized internally from the starter large terminal (extremely rare) if would feed back to the (brown if OE) wire & there would be a slight draw in the large cable from SR to starter which would show up as a draw you are seeing at the batt & if that is the case pulling the brown solenoid wire would not stop the draw (cuz it is feeding back into it from the starter) but pulling the large cable would. but we're missing something here in how it is wired. Holler back when you can. EDIT reread & lets cut to the chase, take the wire/terminal (11/32" nut) off of the starter solenoid terminal & see if that solenoid terminal with nothing on it is hot & if so R&R the starter & if not see if the wire/terminal you removed is hot & if so the SR is bad (not likely as you replaced it) & see if the yellow wire/terminal at the SR is hot (if so it is being fed from the ign sw or bulkhead crossover) but not likely cuz if it was recieving full voltage the starter would be cranking. I still think something ain't routed right on the wiring but...
Last edited by RapidRobert; 04/05/15 01:08 PM.
live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1799775
04/09/15 09:54 PM
04/09/15 09:54 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,089 Sorrento, BC, Canada
4speeds4me
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My bad. It's in the red wire that goes to the fusible link/ammeter. If I disconnect the ammeter wires, it goes out. If I touch them together, it comes back. That rules out an issue with the ammeter, correct?
2 Demons...no, not my kids!
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1799920
04/09/15 11:59 PM
04/09/15 11:59 PM
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RapidRobert
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Correct, ammeter is OK. With batt disconnected ohm the black (downstream) lead to ground & if there is no draw it will read infinity & if there is a draw & there is, it'll show something. Downstream the black lead goes to the "welded splice" which is a T & it branches off to the (1) fuse box (2)st column ign switch (4) head ight switch (5) windshield wiper motor (6) horn relay) (7) out to alt (diodes). One of them is leaking juice. EDIT & that is ohming the black lead with it disconnected from ammeter
Last edited by RapidRobert; 04/10/15 12:24 AM. Reason: clarification
live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1800184
04/10/15 12:22 PM
04/10/15 12:22 PM
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 36,041 Lincoln Nebraska
RapidRobert
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yes the welded splice is under the dash, just a bit downstream from the ammeter. The horn relay would likely be on the firewall (eng bay side) EDIT not likely the welded splice has come undone. Go to end components listed & ohm them
Last edited by RapidRobert; 04/10/15 12:35 PM. Reason: thinking
live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth
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Re: Key Off Battery Draw- 1971 Valiant
[Re: 4speeds4me]
#1802782
04/13/15 10:40 PM
04/13/15 10:40 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,791 Hamilton, Ontario Canada
Magnum
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Replace that test light with a multimeter. At least you can see the load in amps or milliamps. The test light tells you something is there but not how much.
69 Super Bee, 93 Mustang LX, 04 Allure Super
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