1968polara383

Hi everyone, hope you are all well.....

Just taken my 1968 polara out of winter storage to just keep the wheels turning etc and have hit a small problem with the electrics. I put a freshly charged battery on and she started and ran fine. Parked her up and few mins later went to start her and struggled, giving the impression that the battery was being drained without the keys in or ignition on. I noticed that although all lights were off etc, the in dash ammeter was showing a mid scale reading. It was as if the charging/ starting system was still live and draining the system. All other gauges dropped to zero as you would expect. Ive never noticed the ammeter ever showing a reading when the engine is off and keys out before and have never had a problem wiyh starting/ battery charging. I will play with my multimeter tomw in the daylight but was hoping you guys may know what this could be as a starting point? Could it be a stuck starter relay, faulty ignition switch??? Any ideas greatly appreciated!

Many thanks..... Steve

TVLynn

Could be a lot of things. I would check alt.(disconnect it) Also check the amp gauge itself - check to see of the terminals are burnt.. CHeck things like the glove box light, trunk light. Next start pulling fuses until the drain stops to isolate which circuit

moparted

bulk head conector

1968polara383

Thanks for the advice..... Take it a guide would be that once I know the gauge is ok, I need to check it each time I disconnect a circuit and when it drops back to the off position I should have found the cause?? Also, am I correct in assuming that if the gauge is showing a reading with the ignition off and the key out, the starting circuit is staying live when It should be 'dead'? Sorry about the basic questions... Im new to hands on with older cars and need all the help I can get! Im reading a very good, basic book on auto electrics but still finding it confusing and daunting.... All help greatly appreciated,

Cheers Steve

bremereric

I thing your amp guage is susposed to stay midway with the key off. If somethings still on it should drop it below midway. That's why I bypassed mine and installed a DC guage.

1968polara383

Thanks, uve got me thinking now. I feel stupid for saying that I couldnt remember where the needle has been settling in the past but at least its got my grey matter working!! Ive just thought about it logically and Ive removed the battery completely. The needle is sitting smack bang in the middle of the gauge. At least now i know its unlikely that the starter circuit is permanently live and I was wrong to assume it was from my ammeter reading alone. Im going to put the battery on charge overnight and re visit the symptoms tommorrow... Im going to check and clean my bulkhead connector (thanks moparted) as this seems to figure in a lot of problems. Will keep you posted.... Many thanks, Steve

440roadrunner

Ammeter ZERO is in the center of the meter. left of center is discharge, right of center is charge

To be sure you have no drains, Turn everything off, and check that the glove box, interior, trunk, underhood lights (if you have them) are all off, key off, etc

Remove the battery ground and put a 12V test lamp in series from the ground cable to the battery neg. post. This is best done in a dark garage. No light means no drain. A little glow means some drain, of course a bright light means "more" drain.

(Even alternator diodes can become leaky and cause a drain.)

It would be wise to do some preventive checking. The BULKHEAD CONNECTOR in particular has become troublesome on these cars. Remove the connector parts from the engine side and inspect, clean, or replace.

READ this article:

http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...p-gauges.shtml

And check for voltage drop in the ignition harness, as well as charging voltage at the battery

FIRST turn the key to "run" engine off. Check the voltage drop in the harness. To do this, hook your meter to the battery POS post, the other lead to the key side of the ballast resistor.

You are checking the circuit path BATTERY -- FUSE LINK -- BULKHEAD CONNECTOR -- AMMETER CIRCUIT -- IGNITION SWITCH CONNECTOR --THROUGH the switch -- BACK OUT the ign. switch connector --BACK OUT the BULKHEAD CONNECTOR on the DARK BLUE IGN run buss

What you are hoping for is a very low reading, the lower the better. If over .2V (two tenths of a volt) show concern, clean the connectors try to improve. If approaching or over 1/2 volt get SERIOUS and fix the problem. Read the article I posted

Once you get this checked, check the voltage drop in the GROUND circuit to the regulator

To do that get the engine warm and running (fast idle cam) to simulate low/ medium cruise RPM

Put one probe on the battery NEG post, the other on the metal mounting of the regulator. Stab through any paint/ rust/ chrome. Once again, you are looking for a very low reading, the lower the better. OVER .2V indicates a poor ground path from the battery NEG to the block to the body to the regulator.

Last check the battery charging voltage. Again with the engine warm (to warm the regulator) check ACROSS the battery. You should see somewhere between 13.5--14.5, 14 being about perfect.

To get some feel for the charging capacity (bad diodes, etc) of the alternator, turn on all accessories you can, headlights, 4x flasher, heater, etc, The voltage should not go below 13.5

1968polara383

Thanks for great response!! I put fresh battery on today and all back to normal now thankfully. I am going to leave the battery connected tonight and see how things are over the next couple of days. Its cold here so if its going to drain/ not charge , Im sure I will find out soon! I will, however, work slowly and thoroughly through your advice with my tester as this seems to be a great way to learn more about my electrics. You have explained things VERY clearly, down to exactly where to put the probes etc....this is what is missing from a lot of books/ posts. Anyone who is an amateur like me, needs to be told 'put this here and that there and this is what you are looking for', not 'test the voltage regulator' or 'check the alternator output'. I know this is very basic and a lot of you guys are very experienced and knowledgeable but in my case simple is good!!

Thanks again everyone and following my tests I will post my findings by way of a follow up. Cheers....Steve

bremereric

One thing I suggest when storing a car is a battery tender. It trickle charges your battery while you are parking or storing your car for awhile.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NCOKQK/...SIN=B000NCOKQK

1968polara383

Yeah, I have an optimate charger. When I garage the car, I remove the battery and connect it to the charger to keep it optimised. Ive used the car today for a few short trips and have had no problems at all with starting or charging. Im keen to do some testing when I can, just to start being more hands on with the circuit tester. I must find one of those old 12v bulb testers with the crocodile clips..... My next challenge. Im going to work through the post from 440roadrunner at the weekend, just to be sure all is ok.