system ground draining battery?

[joered]

my battery checks good but i keep loosing a charge after she sits for a day or 2. the alternator is good. i suspect that i have a ground fault somewhere that is draining the battery. how do you check the wiring to identify where a possible ground exists?

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: system ground draining battery?

I would get/borrow and ammeter and put it in series with your battery to see if there is current flowing, if so then you will need to go through a process of elimination to see which circuit is doing it to you.

 

[joered]

Re: system ground draining battery?

Bob: Thanks for your excellent advice! I suppose i should remove all fuses except one. tie in the amp meter on the positive side and repeat the process by inserting one fuse at a time.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: system ground draining battery?

Make sure you have a good battery by having it load tested. A battery with one or more bad cells may indicate its fully charged on the meter on your charger but be dead in a matter of minutes. If you have an automatic bilge pump, make sure the float switch is not stuck. Radios, clocks, and other devices with "memory" all take juice from the battery even when off so they can cause problems, especially with a weak battery. If the battery is good, then the ammeter in series with the positive lead of the battery is in order. If it shows current draw, remove fuses until it goes to zero and you have found the unit that is causing the drain.

 

[joered]

Re: system ground draining battery?

aye-aye skipper! understand your instructions and will follow them implicitly. thanks!

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: system ground draining battery?

yes...puting in one fuse at a time is a good method. Your first post said battery checked good so I assumed that meant you had it checked somewhere? Just measuring 12v is no good, minimum would be to check the specific gravity of each cell with a hydrometer.

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: system ground draining battery?

It may be tough w/ an amp meter. Get a 12 volt test light, pull the neg. battery cable, hook up one side of the test light to the cable, the other side of the test light to the neg. battery terminal, see if light goes on. If it does you have a voltage draw. Then start eliminating circut by circut until the light goes out. You do not say if you have a battery switch, & if you shut the switch or not. Better to pull out 1 fuse at a time, to see which makes the light go out. It would be helpfull if you tell about boat & engine, outboard, inboard, i/o, Alternator, or generator. Good luck , Joe