Hi Ron, For the "battery drain down test" you must connect your ohm meter ( or test Light ) from the disconnected negative cable to the negative battery post. You are correct that by doing it this way ( connected in series ) you can test amps, however for this test you are not going to use the starter since we are trying to find a short.
If I were spiderry, I would disconnect to alarm first since the car was OK before that. If there is still a draw than pull one fuse at a time untill there is no draw.
If after pulling all the fuses you still have a draw than check your alternator for a bad diode.
PG.

 

If you leave the positive battery cable connected and put an ohmmeter in series in the ground leg and there is a current draw greater than the fuse in the ohmmeter, you'll pop the fuse. If no fuse, then probably pop the ohmmeter. I think that's why Ron thought you meant ammeter.

If you want to use an ohmmeter, then I think you'd want to disconnect both battery cables and measure the resistance between them. When that resistance goes to zero, then that's the circuit that has a drain.

 

When I first heard of the battery drain down test I thought that can not work! How can you put a meter in series to check voltage draw? But it does work.
Like everything else on the net, you can believe it or not. PG.






Me Too! Just another old guy trying to get along.

 

Sorry about the mis-information. Ammeter is correct-Not Ohmmeter.
http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/electricaldrain.htm PG.

 

Check your interior light switches on the door frames.
These are the little buttons that open and close when you shut or open the doors.
My bat was always discharging until I replaced them.

Good luck,
Schoon

 

thanx 4 the info, i just power washed the engine bay, seems ive got some oil leaks to deal with and a power steering leak. i have a cheapie book to get started on the car with, hopefully i can get the good book in a week. i really havent had to much time to play with this thing yet because i just finished putting an engine and tranny in her sons car. ill keep you guys posted on ant progress i make. reyy

 

i also have a 77 corvette with the same battery drain problem, im not sure if i should start a new thread but hopefulle someone here can help with its other problem

due to its battery problem we stopped running it about 2ish years ago and its been sitting in my backyard since, recently i tried turning it on with a fresh battery but it wouldnt budge only noise heard when i pushed gas or switched key was a clicking noise in the engine and i noticed it had anti freeze on enginezz4_06.jpg?t=1238409618

thats not my engine but thats where the antifreeze was(dried though) a freind thinks it has something to do with that.. sorry if i should have started new thread im new

 

im not sure how things really work around here. but similar problem , same thread makes sense to me. but you seem to have another issue altogether, with your coolant leaking. wild guess, from where the coolant was found , i would check for a blown head gasket. if the air filter was on the car the only way for the coolant to get there would be from the crankcase breather. hope im wrong. good luck.

 

If the engine isn't turning over w/ a fresh battery, and w/ the anti freeze where you say it was, I think you better pull the spark plugs and try turning the engine through by hand w/ a breaker bar. If you have anti-freeze in a cylinder, over that 2 year period, a piston (in a cylinder) could have froze up w/ rust. If indeed that's the case, your battery draining problem is secondary, as you could tackle that while you're rebuilding the engine.
Pull the plugs, turn the engine through by hand (if it does start to turn through, squirt alittle oil in each cylinder before you continue.) and as the piston comes to top dead center, see what kind of contents, if any, is on the top of the piston. Hopefully none, w/ the exception of the oil and some carbon.
Good luck w/ the work.

 

ive been told, atf is better for putting down the cylinder. it cleans better. and burns off faster when started up. just my 2 cents.. good luck.