Can anyone help me with an electrical problem? I have a 79 corvette and something is draining the battery. The wiper motor wouldn't work so I disconnected it and now there is less draw on the battery. Also, the radio antenna will not work, and I am not sure how to test it.

 

You apparently have a way to measure the draw on the battery...................so..................hook that up and start pulling fuses. I believe the antenna runs off the radio fuse. At some point you should find out what's draining the battery.

 

Hi LH71 and welcome to the forum,
Is this 79 Vette new to you and is this a new problem? A little history would help.
Have you replaced the starter? If so there is a BLACK (ground wire for the wiper and fan)wire near the starter that should be hooked to a starter bolt (or bell housing bolt) that sometimes gets placed on the starter solenoid bolt buy mistake (because the lug is large). See if that is the problem.
Here's a schematic if that helps.
http://www.nrjvette.com/johdotukset/...tte%201979.pdf
Regards,
PG

 

Thanks pg. We have had the vette for a few years. We just had a new engine put in and didn't have the issue before that. When I was trying to isolate the problem I removed the wires from the starter and I think there was a single black wire connected to the terminal. I will check it out as soon as I can and let you know. Thanks for your help.

 

pg, I couldn't resist so I went right out and tested the ground wire and there was definitely voltage there. I checked the started and the ground wire was connected to the hot terminal. I relocated it to a ground bolt and now the wiper motor works. When I reconnected the battery it seemed like there was still a draw. I will have to check the amount of draw later. Thank You for your help.

 

Hi again,
You may still have a problem with the antenna relay or motor but here's a few other things to check:
Do you have a time delay for your courtesy lights? If so the board can go bad and create a draw. The delay module is an orange box behind the passengers side glove box, you can disconnect it and see if the draw goes away.

Other things to check if you have them:
under hood light
spare tire light
glove box light behind the seats
passenger vanity light on the sun visor

Happy hunting,
PG