Author Topic: Battery Dies While Hooked Up (Read 3376 times)

66'DB · « **on:** January 26, 2008, 07:18:26 PM »

I've got a tube frame Dune Buggy with a 1500 s/p engine in it. The alternator was recently replaced and it charges the battery well.

However after a run, if I shut off my engine and disconnect the ignition, but leave my battery connected, in under 2 days my battery's dead. Normally I have to disconnect my battery, but this time I forgot and my battery's totally gone, now I've got to get a new one.

I tried all sorts of things, making sure the ignition wasn't connected, no lights or anything on it is left on (I totally removed them) ...

Anyone got any ideas,
Thanks,
66'DB

egspot · « **Reply #1 on:** January 26, 2008, 09:34:28 PM »

When you turn it off, disconect the positive and swipe it against the terminal. If it sparks something is using juice. If there is no spark your battery may have no water of it is screwed.

silas · « **Reply #2 on:** January 26, 2008, 10:59:41 PM »

was it doing this before the alternator was replaced?

who replaced the alt & where is it from?

a quick and easy test is to start with a fully charged battery (12.6v) and connect a digital multi meter in line between the negative battery post & negative (ground) cable to the chassis. set the meter to the 10a range and look at the reading. pull and replace the fuses one by one and see if any one fuse lowers the current draw. hopefully one fuse drops the current substantially, then you have found the circuit at fault. then find every component in that circuit and test it to see which one is at fault.

good luck & let us know how it goes.

66'DB · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2008, 10:05:01 AM »

Sorry, been all over the place lately.

When I connect the positive to the battery it does spark for some reason I thought that was normal...

It was still losing power before I replaced the alternator, as this is the second battery I go through. (Hopefully I can find the receipt and get another one).

I replaced the alternator myself that I bought it off a guy who I was gettting some extra voltage regulators from.

I'll have to get a new multi meter (and battery), however I don't have any fuses on my dune buggy, is that a problem?

Thanks again,
Ed

BUSDADDY · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2008, 03:39:55 PM »

No fuses??

, well then you'll have to start disconnecting things and see if the draw goes away, a test light or multimeter between the battery post and disconnected terminal will indicate a draw.

Try taking the big wire off the alternator first.

silas · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2008, 07:59:16 PM »

x2 on the

to no fuses.

a fuse in a circuit is a safety device and will protect the load and most of the wiring in the circuit (most of the time). definately important to have.

and allthough i agree with busdaddy about the test light for checking current draw....a multi-meter is much more accurate. it doesnt take much current to power a test light whereas you can get good hard number from a meter.

let us know how it goes for you!!

Chris · « **Reply #6 on:** January 31, 2008, 08:27:30 PM »

Quote

I don't have any fuses on my dune buggy, is that a problem?

Is it a problem? Well that depends on your definition of \"problem\"

Is it dangerous? YES.

Are you at risk of killing any and all electric components in your buggy? YES.

Should you do something about it? YES.

Maybe you should disconnect the battery and examine the option of properly rewiring your buggy and then in doing so you may find your unknown draw and cure it. A high scale short to ground could be draining your battery, this could be a wire that has been rubbing on the frame.

66'DB · « **Reply #7 on:** January 31, 2008, 09:01:05 PM »

This is probably a dumb question, but how do I properly rewire my Dune Buggy? Do I get a universal wiring harness from CIP? Or is there a way to wire in fuses? (which circuits need fuses and what Amp rating?)

Chris · « **Reply #8 on:** January 31, 2008, 09:15:30 PM »

you could get a universal harness if you want, here is a 65 beetle wiring diagram

silas · « **Reply #9 on:** January 31, 2008, 11:12:45 PM »

Quote

This is probably a dumb question, but how do I properly rewire my Dune Buggy? Do I get a universal wiring harness from CIP? Or is there a way to wire in fuses? (which circuits need fuses and what Amp rating?)

the only dumb question is the one that is never asked.

is your buggy strictly off-road or is it insured and driven on the street?

if it's the former you could probably make your own harness with just the \"essentials\".

if it is the latter, you're better off getting a complete harness as you'll need everything to keep it legal (headlights, turn signals, brake lights, license plate lights, horn, dash lights, etc...).

every circuit should be fused, but like the diagram that vwchris posted, there are several different circuits that can run off the same fuse.

just because your buggy is a 66, i'm going to post up this wiring diagram from a usa spec 66 beetle (it's pretty much identical to the one vwchris posted)...

do you know who wired your buggy and where they got the harness?

do you have any pics of your buggy? i'd love to see it.

66'DB · « **Reply #10 on:** February 01, 2008, 05:59:06 PM »

Quote

the only dumb question is the one that is never asked.

Yeah, but I still get laughed at sometimes.

The guy who I bought it off a couple years ago wired it, and I doubt he used any wiring harness. It looks like a bunch of wires that were taped up and saudered together :wacko:

It is a strictly off road buggy, and it's got no lights or anything on it, just the engine. I'm not sure if it's really a 66', the guy before me told me it was a 66' 1300cc, but the engine code indactes that it's a 1500. Either way, since it's just the bare necessities I need, I should be able to get enough info off the 2 diagrams. I'll try to get to work hopefully within the next couple weekends.

I can't find any of my pics on hand, so I'll post some up as soon as I can. It's not much, the frame is bent etc... so don't expect much, but it's good enough to ride and have fun with! I'm just in the process of starting my own build, I've got an another Sandrail frame (Bugpack Fugitive like) in my shed and I'm finally going to put it to use. If I'm not dreaming, I'd like to put in 5x5's, 091, Toyota 3.0v6 (maybe), A-Arm front suspension (maybe), and I'll try to make it street legal. I'm thinking of maybe starting a thread when the project gets going (hopefully a couple of months), but the progress will probably be pretty slow. For now I'm gathering all the info I need / can get.

Again, thanks for all your guys' help and info, I really appreciate it!

BUSDADDY · « **Reply #11 on:** February 01, 2008, 08:41:08 PM »

Cool, can't wait to see how it turns out.

Please invest in a little fuse block from princess auto or a similar source, those burns on your fingers from yanking the wires as they set your ride on fire take years to heal

, it's even less fun when you're miles from anywhere.

If you don't do anything else at least put a kill switch on the battery cable.

egspot · « **Reply #12 on:** February 02, 2008, 10:29:17 AM »

Quote

Yeah, but I still get laughed at sometimes.

That would be the least of your problems.

Get your self a hardness (and fuse box) and have the leaning experience of wiring it. You have the diagram and you can always ask questions.

Good luck.

James Buchan · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2008, 10:34:42 AM »

You talking code again emelio?

?

Quote

Get your self a hardness and have the leaning experience

egspot · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2008, 09:02:45 AM »

Quote

You talking code again emelio??

:ph34r:

Soo I had a drink and twisted some stuff.....

66'DB · « **Reply #15 on:** February 23, 2008, 06:03:02 PM »

Okay, I finally found a pic. Like I said it's not much, but it's still lots of fun, it looks a little better right now (that's a fairly old pic.)

http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=h...hpim0220an2.jpg

Still haven't gotten around to re-wire it... Hopefully I can find some time, sometime soon.

66'DB · « **Reply #16 on:** March 24, 2008, 04:05:59 PM »

Well, I'm finally going to princess auto tomorrow to pick up another multimeter...

As I mentioned earlier every time I connected the positive lead to the battery, I got a small spark. After a little playing around, I disconnected my voltage regulator (motorola external voltage regulator, see pic.) and it stopped sparking. I tried connecting 2 of my old voltage regulators (which I know don't work), I still had a spark, however it was a bit smaller...

Is it possible that incorrect wiring or defects in the alternator could cause this? Or do I have three defective voltage regulators?

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/...ium/1948109.jpg

66'DB · « **Reply #17 on:** March 30, 2008, 06:55:12 PM »

Okay, I finally got a few minutes to see what's going on with my new multimeter. Disconnected, my battery reads 12.67volts, when I hook it up without the ignition connected, the voltage drops to roughly 12.38volts. When I disconnect the voltage regulator the voltage goes back up. I also noticed when I connect my multimeter to the negative terminal of the battery and the other end to the body, it reads 1.5volts. So, if I'm not wrong one of the positive leads is leaking into the body. When I get some time, I'll head out and start pulling off more wires...

(lol the last three pasts are mine...)

BUSDADDY · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2008, 09:47:03 PM »

Did you try disconnecting the voltage regulator when you had the meter between the battery and body? Sounds like you are getting close to an answer, reg. or alternator.

66'DB · « **Reply #19 on:** March 31, 2008, 06:14:56 PM »

Yes I did try disconnecting the reg while I had the meter on the battery and body and it reads 0volts. So, I'm thinking the problem is within the alternator, whether it's a connection or a defective alternator (although it does charge the battery...)

I'll try to head out and do some more 'investigating' hopefully within the next few days...

Thanks again for all the help, I'll post an update as soon as I got one.

66DB · « **Reply #20 on:** May 12, 2008, 05:14:40 PM »

I had to get a new account my old account 66'DB won't work. (Every time I try and log in it says invalid character in user name, If there's a way to fix it that's be great)

Anyway, finally figured out what's wrong with my dune buggy, turns out the armature in the alternator is the what's killing my battery. For now I guess I'll just keep the idle up and my battery disconnected during storage until I can get around and find a cheap alternator.

Again thanks for everyone's help.