Finding Shorts Re: <VV> batteries

[FrankCB at aol.com]

Ed,
    Were both batteries charged up AFTER you installed  them?  "New" does NOT 
mean "fully charged" when you are referring to lead  acid car batteries.
    My method of finding this kind of "leak" is to  disconnect the positive 
lead to the battery and starting with the  highest amperage range on the DMM, 
measure the current flow between the positive  post of the battery and the end 
of the positive cable.  You may see 500 ma  or 1 amp or more.  Switch to a 
lower scale range if it barely registers on  your meter.  Then with the meter 
still connected, start pulling out fuses,  one at a time and check the meter 
after you pull each one.  Reinsert each  fuse if the meter reading doesn't change. 
 Once you find the fuse whose  removal causes the battery drain to cease, 
then you know that the shorted wire  or device is controlled by that fuse.  You 
can leave that fuse disconnected  while the car is not running and only 
reconnect that fuse after you start the  car.  But then you have to disconnect it 
each time you leave the car for  more than a few minutes.  Or, you can choose to 
"dig deeper" and locate the  specific fault in ONE of the circuits or devices 
controlled by that fuse by  disconnecting EACH of them until you find the one 
that eliminates the battery  drain showing on the DMM.
    Good luck,
    Frank "divide and conquer" Burkhard
    CORSA & NJACE
 
In a message dated 9/12/2006 11:10:47 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
MarPack57 at aol.com writes:

Working  on a 63 vert. A month ago brand new 51R battery from Wal-Mart. Dead 
in two  days. Last evening got a replacement (same battery code etc). 
Installed  
last night, today at 5PM dead dead dead. Only lights that are in-operable  
are 
the brake lights. Should I suspect the switch? Or????
How does one  track this down, Have already checked the glove box light, 
lighter, high  beam switch, has new cables etc.
Ed in  fla