| Basic
Check For A Drain On Your Battery
This is one basic way to check for a drain on your battery
for a 12 volt system. The first step is to make sure
your battery is good and that it is completely charged.
To test for a drain on your battery take the positive battery
cable off of the battery. Use a good working 12 volt
test light and attach one end of the test light to the battery
and the other end of the test light to the positive battery
cable. If the test light burns with everything turned
off and the doors are shut so that the dome light will not
come on; you have a drain on the battery.
The way to find the drain; is by the process of elimination
until the test light goes out. First disconnect the
alternator wiring completely then look at your test light
and see if it is out; if it is there is a problem in the
alternator if the alternator is wired correctly. The
way a GM internal regulator alternator is wired is as follows:
the large 8 gauge red wire is attached to the threaded stud
on the back of the alternator. Where the plastic connector
plugs into the alternator case, cast into the case of the
alternator is a 1 and a 2. The #1 position gets the
brown wire. The #2 position you simply loop #2 position
to the threaded stud on the back of the alternator with a
minimum of a 14 gauge wire.
If the alternator and alternator wiring are ok and the test
light bulb still burns the next step is to remove one fuse
at a time from the fuse block checking each time you remove
one fuse to see if the test light has gone out. When
you remove the fuse that makes the test light go out that
is the circuit that will have the drain on the battery.
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