Carl,
If you connect an ohm meter between the + terminal and the + battery
cable, all you'll do is either burn out the fuse in the meter, or burn
out the meter itself!
First, disconnect the + battery cable from the battery!
With the engine/ignition/all accessories off, there should be no
electrical draw on the battery. In that case, you would see an open
circuit between the +battery cable and ground. An open circuit will
register infinite resistance (ie, no current can flow!)
If you can measure a finite resistance, or if the meter pops up with
"no" resistance, you have something in your electrical system shorting
to ground.
One way to track down the short is to remove the fuses one by one. If
the short is on one of the fused circuits, when the "correct" fuse is
pulled the meter should go to the infinite resistance setting. If
you're lucky and this does the job, trace all the wires/switches on that
fuse circuit.
If not, you have to work your way through the rest of the systems.
If you still can't track down the problem, put an ammeter between the +
battery terminal and the + battery cable to measure the current. I'd
start with an automotive type ammeter (at least 30 amp rating), the
combination meter guages usually can't handle more than a fraction of an
amp. This'll give an idea of how bad the short really is.
Worst case, put a cutoff switch on the ground (-) cable, and just plan
on having to remember another step in the startup/shutdown sequence.
The local Walmart was carrying a Calterm brand switch for about $10. To
top it all off, the package states: made in England (!!!)
Jim
Forwared Message
=====================================================================
Hello group - I'm about to diagnose a severe battery drain problem and
want to make sure that I am approaching it correctly. If I attach an
ohm
meter in series between the + battery post and the + cable, I should see
no reading (with car and accessories off). I do. So, I am going to use
the wiring diagram and disconnect circuits one at a time until I see no
flow. Then I will try to narrow it down until I find the culprit. Is
this the correct method??
Carl Huppert
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