Thread: Electrical Question

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I have a 32 Ford Phaeton with a 350 Chevy. I have been having battery problems lately...hard to start if I haven't run it in three days or so. To the best of my knowledge the only things drawing current when it is shut off is the clock in the dash and the clock in the radio. My question is what is normal current draw with everything off. I disconnected the ground wire and put a meter inline to measure the current. It would draw about 10 milliamps. When I would first connect the meter it would go up to about 200 milliamps then quickly drop down to a steady 10 milliamps as if it was charging a capacitor or something. Any help would be appreciated.

The two items you mention do not draw enough to cause any problems. I would suggest:

Checking to see if the battery is draining itself (internal drain......shorted plates)

Checking to see that the alternator isn't draining the current through a bad diode.

You are on the right track with your amp-draw test. Start unplugging things and see if something stops the draw. Also, take the cables off the battery for a couple of days and do a load test to see if it is killing itself.

Don