another electrical question

[Rick]

lets just get this going by saying helllllppppp. ok, now i feel a little better.

can a ignition switch cause a power drain. i thought i had it fixed when i replaced the battery, alt., and silinoid. but now its back again and its really pi$$ing me off. http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/mad.gif

any help will be greatful.

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87 Grand wagoneer/360/D44's/TF727/NP229/for now.(208 waiting)
85 Grand Wagoneer LTD (soon to be parts beast)
NP229/TF727/D44/AMC20/Warn Hubs/
15x8 Black RockCrawlers/
FSJ's FOREVER BABY
my site www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/ (http://www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/)

[Dean]

Here's a tip for narrowing down battery drains. With the key off, pull your fuses one at a time (or all at once if your can remember which size goes where). With a multi meter check for voltage across the clips that hold the missing fuse. If you detect voltage then that branch is drawing power. Your clock and radio (if clock and memory in radio) should be your only drains. This should help you isolate your problem more closely. From there you have to go load by load and the wiring itself. If no drain then look at everything before the fuse block. Good luck, Dean.

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'78 Wagoneer Limited
401/Q-trac W/low range
Mods so far, carter 4 bbl., rancho 3" lift, rancho RS5000 & RS9000, stage one of the GB ign upgrade.

Donor rigs, '84 GW, '78 J20.

[YaZahX]

Oh I've done this before.... First do you drive the jeep a good amount? (If you don’t you might just be killing the battery)
Is the battery good (could be a defect....)
K make sure the ignition is off... when I did this I took the pos cable off and took a multi meter and used that to link the cable to the batt, read the gauge it, it should be no more than 1.0...if it is have a friend read the meter to you while you pop the fuse in and out till you find the right 1...(not really the intelligent way but it worked...)

[Rick]

this may be a stupid question but could the volt meter be the prob here.

------------------
87 Grand wagoneer/360/D44's/TF727/NP229/for now.(208 waiting)
85 Grand Wagoneer LTD (soon to be parts beast)
NP229/TF727/D44/AMC20/Warn Hubs/
15x8 Black RockCrawlers/
FSJ's FOREVER BABY
my site www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/ (http://www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/)

[Dave _S]

Have you wired in any aftermarket equipment recently? Like gauges or something. If these items are not wired into the accessory circuit or the ignition circuit, they will cause a power drain. I can't really think of any factory equipment that would cause a power drain other than something like the clock.

[Rick]

i havent done anything to the electrical system other than a high amp alternator. the rest is bone stock. the clock and radio were disconnected before i bought it. recently i had everything checked and still the same thing. it seems like something is restricting power flow. everything is fine until i run too many accessories, like lights, heater fan, and wipers. the weather in KY can get nasty at times. i keep thinking that i have a wire grounded somewhere but i cant seem to find the thing. this thing is driving me to the point insanity. thanks for any help guys.

------------------
87 Grand wagoneer/360/D44's/TF727/NP229/for now.(208 waiting)
85 Grand Wagoneer LTD (soon to be parts beast)
NP229/TF727/D44/AMC20/Warn Hubs/
15x8 Black RockCrawlers/
FSJ's FOREVER BABY
my site www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/ (http://www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/)

[Dave _S]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rick:
i havent done anything to the electrical system other than a high amp alternator. the rest is bone stock. the clock and radio were disconnected before i bought it. recently i had everything checked and still the same thing. it seems like something is restricting power flow. everything is fine until i run too many accessories, like lights, heater fan, and wipers. the weather in KY can get nasty at times. i keep thinking that i have a wire grounded somewhere but i cant seem to find the thing. this thing is driving me to the point insanity. thanks for any help guys.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What kind of high amp alternator do you have?

Some new high amp alternators, and virtually all high amp conversions of standard alternators produce substantially less amps at idle and low rpm than a conventional alternator. So if your running a lot of power accessories while sitting in stop and go traffic, there is a good chance this is your problem.

Alternator output can be easily checked with an inductive ammeter. Any good shop will have one. See what your high amp alternator puts out at idle. It may be a lot less than the factory alternator at idle.

[Rick]

the alt is a 97 amp. the strange thing is that at start up the amp guage spikes and then slowly bleeds back to zero. during the day, if i run nothing electrical its fine.

when i first bolted the alt. on everything was great, the lights were brighter than ever for a month and then it was back to running the battery down again. the lights were dim again. and i was back to getting worried about driving too much at night again. the really bad thing is that i work until midnight.

------------------
87 Grand wagoneer/360/D44's/TF727/NP229/for now.(208 waiting)
85 Grand Wagoneer LTD (soon to be parts beast)
NP229/TF727/D44/AMC20/Warn Hubs/
15x8 Black RockCrawlers/
FSJ's FOREVER BABY
my site www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/ (http://www.geocities.com/thewagoneerman/)

[andy d]

Rick, check the connections at the alt,bat and the engine to chassis ground. check the output at the battery with a volt meter at an idle it should be 12- 13 volts revthe motor to 1/2 throttle. the vom should read 13.5- 14.5 volts. if it doesnt the alt or battery is at fault. its entirely possible that the alt died. qc on rebuilt electrical stuff is not great. good luck

[reddog]

We beat on this horse pretty good not too long ago. Check out this thread:

http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001646.html

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87 GW - Stock (but it looks like RiverBeast when I'm sleeping)
TFI upgrade
360,727,NP229

[This message has been edited by reddog (edited December 23, 2000).]