Bert,
When the car fails to start what happens exactly? Does the car crank
slowly? or not at all? What does the dash volt meter show with the key in
the run pos? and the CRANK pos? How about when the car is running?
When you checked for current between the neg term and the battery did
you
set your meter to the current scale? How many miliamps did you read? If
you perform the test you described with the meter set for voltage, it will
surely show 12v potential between those two points, even with a miniscule
amount of current. Most modern cars normaly show less than 30 miliamps,
the TR6 should be less than that with few circuits drawing power
constantly, (maybe radio memory and electronic voltage regulator)
One thing that comes to mind as a possible current draw that you may not
have considered is the diode assembly in the alternator. If a diode has
failed here it could cause a large draw. To check this perform your
current draw test with the meter set for AMPS both with all the alternator
wires connected and disconnected.
As for the symbol, what manual did you see it in? Factory, Haynes,
Mitchel, Motor? What circuit is it in? A current draw while the car is
off will most likely be due to a failed component, as a direct short in a
wire would blow a fuse or melt a wire. A bad ground is very unlikely to be
the cause of a current draw. ( I avoid sentences like "It could never be
the cause of the problem" but in this case I am tempted).
One final note: When a multi-meter is in AMP mode do not measure
voltage
across the battery, Remember that in this mode the meter acts like a wire
and presents a direct short between its terminals. It must always be
inserted in series with a circuit to measure current.
Let Us know how you make out
Best Regards,
Joseph Garruba
----------
> From: Bert Van der Stee <bvdstee1@yahoo.com>
> To: 6pack@autox.team.net
> Subject: Battery drained after a drive
> Date: Sunday, July 23, 2000 10:17 AM
>
> Hello Six-packers,
>
> I am looking for some advice on the following :
>
> The problem :
> After I drive the 6 for about 20 miles and stop it, I cannot get it fired
> up any more afterwards because of a dead battery...
>
> What I already tried :
> * First things first - check the battery : it still gives correct
voltage,
> a battery tester showed an "OK" on all of the cells as well.
>
> * Afterwards, I turned all appliances "off", disconnected the negative
side
> from the battery and put the voltmeter between the minus side of the
> battery and the battery cable. There was current flowing ! Disconnected
> one by one all the fuses, but even with all 3 disconnected the current
flow
> remains. ==> something must happen between the battery and the fuses
> already. A bad ground ?!
>
> * A visual check on different cables did not show any bad wires or
> anything.
>
> * In the wiring diagram, the first appliance connected to the battery "+"
> side is the starter. Therefore, I tried by removing the cable to the
> starter and replacing this, but no change...
>
>
> So - can anyone help me with an easy solution to find the bad ground, or
> should I try to replace one by one all the wires until solved ? Could the
> cause also be in one of the parts themselves intead of the cables ?
>
> Also, in the wiring diagram in my workshop manual, I find at two places
the
> symbol of an arrow (in bold) pointing downwards. What does this mean,
pls
> ? It is definitely another symbol than the "ground" symbol used in there.
>
> Thanks to all for your help - great help this discussion group by the way
!
>
> Bert
> 72 TR6
>
>
> __________________________________________________
>
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