Battery keeps dying

[krummel21]

I just noticed that if I let the car sit over night it will be dead. I don't know if this has to do with it but I replaced the alternator wire with a thicker gauge. At the terminal there were 2 pairs of wires. I found that one was from the stock alternator line. The other seems like it is for the starter. I set a voltmeter between my new alternator wire and the positive terminal, it said it was pulling 8v the starter wire was pulling 3v. Why would either of these be pulling voltage with the car off? Or was I testing it in a wrong way?

 

[asexton6969]

Thanks to wiki....funny thing is both my dsm's have this issue...

How to Find a Parasitic Battery Drain - wikiHow

 

[dsmloverguy90]

the test that i would do is to start the vehicle and put your volt meter on the pos and neg terminals of the battery to make sure that your alternator is charging.

if you dont have over 13.5 volts test for voltage between your alternator stud and the neg terminal of the battery.

 

[krummel21]

with the car on it was showing 14.35 volts at the battery. I also did the amp test but I couldn't get it to go above .18

 

[luv2rallye]

Sorry guys but he is right. Your flowing the same amount of current through a thicker gauge of wire. It is actually harder for the current to flow through a larger wire.....It adds resistance.

Asexton6969 YOU ARE WRONG! Larger wire = less resistance. First thing you learn in any electrical book or class. Stop spreading completely wrong information or you will be banned.

Your battery dead could be either a weak battery or a current drain. For current drain or partial short you can also look here: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...-partial-short-battery-drain.html#post1496998

 

[95redturboawd]

This happened to me, if you have an amp make sure it's wired correctly, and make sure the clamp things on the posts of the battery are tight.

 

[asexton6969]

Sorry I retract my earlier statement. I did not mean to say resistance I however meant to say efficiency. If you use a rediculously large wire then you would lose efficiency as more electrons are required to flow through the wire.

Please, inform me that I am incorrect. Provide me with resources to show the correct answer. DO NOT threaten me. This website is to help and inform others. Not bring them down. As a wiseman I would hope you should know that. Especially with the extensive knowledge you have.

 

[Defiant]

Sorry I retract my earlier statement. I did not mean to say resistance I however meant to say efficiency. If you use a rediculously large wire then you would lose efficiency as more electrons are required to flow through the wire.

A "rediculously[sic] large wire" such as the whole chassis for the ground wire?

Your ideas about electrical conduction are askew.

 

[krummel21]

Why would my alternator be pulling 8v? Is that the correct way of checking? I tried doing like was posted earlier but couldn't get anything over .19

The car actually tried clicked when trying to start last night. I ended up coasting it down a hill and bump starting it and drove for 2 hours on the highway. I unplugged the battery last night and I hooked everything back up today and the car has less charge than it did before I drove. Would this mean the battery is bad?