Battery draining,found some gremlins...

[white_dsm]

On a 90 eagle talon awd:

Got the battery charged, freakin thing was reading 1 volt. So before I started the car with the charged battery I used a test light to test the fuses, something was drawing power overnight. I ended up finding 2 shorts.

1.) MPI relay- The only pin that lights up is the black and red wire.
2.) Radiation fan relay- the left top pin lights up.


Here are pics for reference:

1.)

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2.)

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Now what? , none of the wires seem tampered with. Oh and btw, car starts and idles perfect. But I don't wanna leave it on because I'm afraid .

 

[white_dsm]

Seems all the big 30/40 amp fuses on the main fuse box under the hood light up too. Any tips???? I'm desperate!

 

[steve]

Keep looking. Nothing you've reported seems abnormal. You need to get a wiring diagram so you know what your looking at.

The Black/Red wire to the MPI relay is the power from the MPI fuse. It's hot all the time (Not Shorted).
You also messed up and got the wrong pin circled the wrong end on the relay. The connector plugs in just like the two pictures the end doesn't swap.

All of the fuses except for those switched by the ignition are going to be hot all the time. Some of the relays that again aren't switch by the ignition will also be hot all the time.

What your looking for is current draw and to measure it you have to put a light or better yet multimeter in series with the power feed, not in parallel from the pin to ground.

The 90's are somewhat unique so you should get the actual 90 wiring diagrams but the 91+ ones are better than nothing.

http://www.ecanfix.com/users/manualcd/gift/dsm/1g_circuit_diagram.pdf
http://www.ecanfix.com/users/manualcd/gift/dsm/1g_charging_starting_system.pdf

 

[white_dsm]

Keep looking. Nothing you've reported seems abnormal. You need to get a wiring diagram so you know what your looking at.

The Black/Red wire to the MPI relay is the power from the MPI fuse. It's hot all the time (Not Shorted).
You also messed up and got the wrong pin circled the wrong end on the relay. The connector plugs in just like the two pictures the end doesn't swap.

All of the fuses except for those switched by the ignition are going to be hot all the time. Some of the relays that again aren't switch by the ignition will also be hot all the time.

What your looking for is current draw and to measure it you have to put a light or better yet multimeter in series with the power feed, not in parallel from the pin to ground.
The 90's are somewhat unique so you should get the actual 90 wiring diagrams but the 91+ ones are better than nothing.

http://www.ecanfix.com/users/manualcd/gift/dsm/1g_circuit_diagram.pdf
http://www.ecanfix.com/users/manualcd/gift/dsm/1g_charging_starting_system.pdf

Can you elaborate on the part in bold Steve? I'm not to familiar with these kinda tests. I need some guidance.

Thank goodness you replied with the relays and things turned on by ignition always being hot. But my charged battery just died, it read 5.4 volts when I checked it. I got a spare dead battery but it has 10 volts to it. So I used that to to do the testing. Main battery charged itself back up to 12volts.

I need to find out what's draining my power. I connected the alligator clip to the negative cable and the pin to the negative terminal and I got a light. When I d/c the mpi relay it did get a little dim. All fuses have been d/c and the light is still there.

 

[steve]

Can you elaborate on the part in bold Steve? I'm not to familiar with these kinda tests. I need some guidance.

Try reading http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...inding-short-partial-short-battery-drain.html

Thank goodness you replied with the relays and things turned on by ignition always being hot. But my charged battery just died, it read 5.4 volts when I checked it. I got a spare dead battery but it has 10 volts to it. So I used that to to do the testing. Main battery charged itself back up to 12volts.

Both those batteries are likely dead. As in really dead. Try charging one up and see how long it will run the headlights. The should for hours. Once they are dead they can self discharge.

I need to find out what's draining my power. I connected the alligator clip to the negative cable and the pin to the negative terminal and I got a light. When I d/c the mpi relay it did get a little dim. All fuses have been d/c and the light is still there.

That's what I mean by in parallel. Your test light is in parallel with the load in the car. All your measuring is that there is a voltage potential between that point and ground. What you do to look for power draw is to connect the light or meter between the power source and the load. A light will burn if the current exceeds the bulbs operating current and a meter will tell you how much current is being drawn. Read luv2rallye's tech article.

 

[white_dsm]

Ok, I'm reading that article right now.

 

[white_dsm]

Alright, so tomorrow during daytime I will use the positive post instead and pull one fuse at a time. When/if I find the fuse that kills the light, I use the ammeter on the voltmeter to check the draw. Right?

I'm naive to this tool, which selction do I turn the switch to and what do I connect the - and + pins to to measure?

 

[AZTECH]

when you turn the car on does the alternator charge the battery. if not it could be the alternator fuse in your fuse box under the hood. its a large fuse 100amp

 

[white_dsm]

Hmm, the voltage fluctuates between 11.4-11.8. My alternator fuse is 80 amp, it seems fine.

 

[vinnybean]

If you are testing voltage at the battery terminals, and its 11.2-.8 while running your alternator is not charging your battery. It could also be that your battery is junk, or there is a open/high resistance in a wire that controls alternator output. ex. the big red wire that attaches from battery + to alternator output. A charged battery should be around 12.3-12.6 volts. Maybe slightly lower but not significantly lower. With your car idling you should see above low 13's volts at the battery terminals, again probably a little more depending on what accessories you have running.

 

[steve]

Hmm, the voltage fluctuates between 11.4-11.8. My alternator fuse is 80 amp, it seems fine.

That's not charging. You have to be above 13.4v to charge a good battery and less than 14.8v to avoid cooking it.

 

[white_dsm]

Oh well I forgot to mention, I just bought the car 2 days ago. I noticed the alternator belt is kinda messed up, missing chunks in the teeth. Will that cause the alternator to produce a low output? Autozone tested the battery, said it was good.

 

[vinnybean]

I personally ran into a similar problem. I installed a new alternator belt, and did not adjust tension on the belt correctly. The belt made a ton of noise, and eventually began to slip so bad my alternator was not charging my battery. The radio and other accessories killed the battery so much the radio shut off and the car began to misfire(due to lack of power to the injectors). I tightened the belt up and although the new belt was chewed up i have not replaced it yet. You can tighten the belt up and see if it helps out.

 

[white_dsm]

Well I'll try it out, but I don't think that's gonna explain why my battery is draining. I'm gonna have to find out what's stealing energy, that little thief.

 

[white_dsm]

Ok, well I did the test using the + cable and terminal and I had a very dim light. All fuses unhooked and still the same thing.

Then the last one was the alternator fuse so I d/c the cable running from the alternator to the fuse box and the light went away. So bam, it had to be around there. All connections were secure. The only thing showing was a little bit of wire between the +cable and the clamp where it sleeves into. No biggy wasn't touching nothing. D/c the connection, light still on, d/c the little generator looking thing, still on, then d/c the + cable and light went away.

I used a completely different wire to touch the alternator to the positive connection and used the test light to touch the terminal, light was on but dim so the original wire wasn't the problem.

Come to find out the alternator was draining my power, ironic because it's supposed to give power. With the fuse box still connected I checked the - side, no light and positive no light. Alternator ftl.

I'm gonna get it checked to be sure at autozone and I'll post back.

 

[white_dsm]

Ok,

Got a brand new alternator, and no more draw. The room fuse (10amp) is drawing power. I took the fuse out for now and the light on the test light goes away.

Anyway, connected everything, alternator is in. And car doesn't start!

Checked all fuses and they're all good. I did wonder about something. On my old alternator it had some little black generator looking thing on the back side of it and it had a wire coming out of it with a loop on the end. And that loop was connected where the + cables were connected, on that bolt that comes out of the alternator.

I got my new one and it didn't come with that black thing, but I re-used it anyway.I forgot how it's mounted but it's screwed into the alternator and clipped on to the bolt like before.


So my car is cranking but not firing. Battery was just charged too, reads 11.9 before crank. Autozone said it was good. Don't know if my MPI went bad or not, is there a way to test it without taking it to the dealer?

 

[white_dsm]

Ok, fixed some things. Found out that the MPI isn't functioning properly.

The coil circled in red is the post that doesn't close when car is turned on. Is that the fuel pump or the mpi relay?

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I folded a tiny piece of paper to close the connection so the car starts and power is good, when I turn it off I take the paper out so it doesn't stay connected.

Why doesn't it close, is it in the wiring or just a defective relay?

Also, I need the bottom bolt to a 90 alternator. What's the item number or numericals for it?