Anthony Toal

Okay, first what equipment are you using (Fluke, Knight, Southwire, etc) and how are you reading the draw with it? From what you shared so far, it may seem that a hot wiring is either shorting or grounding. Next thing you can do is Ohm the lug on the alternator to housing of the alternator, you may be experiencing a float.

CTSvOH

I am using a craftsmans multimeter. I am using the 10a setting and connecting one end to the negative terminal of battery and the other to negative battery cable. How do I ohm the lug on the alternator?

Anthony Toal

Okay, so just to confirm, you are putting the probes in series with the cable and the battery? Such that battery cable <---- probe <---- DMM ----> Probe ----> Battery terminal. Also, I would use the positive side, electrons actually work backwards then what everyone thinks, the whole negative charge argument and how it should be laid out, though your value shouldnt change if the draw is there. The other problem using the negative side is that if you do have a short, the grounds can act as a float and give you a weird reading. This is all through my own experience, so take it with a grain of salt.

The lug on the alternator is where you connect the power wire to, sorry, but that what I call them, lugs. Take positive probe (red) to the lug, with power wire disconnected, and then the com probe (black) to the housing of the alternator. You may have to spin the alternator some, you should get OL or 0ohms. What I am trying to confirm is if you have a bad winding and it is brushing up against something it shouldn't and that could be why every time you did your test you did or didn't have a draw, although if the diode is good, the alternator shouldnt be in play period, one of the wires could either be shorting or grounding and you plugging and unplugging them can make that change. Time to do the wiggle test! Your next bet is just get another alternator and slap it on their and see what happens, if nothing changes, return it and start over.

CTSvOH

I am making my connections just as you described. I will try using the positive side of the battery and see what happens with that. I have been wiggling the power wire around and it hasn't had any effect. I wonder if I take the alternator to a parts store and have them test it if it will show anything?

Anthony Toal

it is possible, typical symptoms of bad windings is low output voltage, not working or even over heating. I have even seen a light show, real bad case.

isis

iTrader: (1)

I'm pretty sure the car's brains wake up off and on throughout the first little bot the car has been turned off. I wonder if it also happens when you reconnect the battery. This is a tough thing to troubleshoot on a car like this. I sent my Lincoln Mark VII to auction for something similar and that would've been way easier to find I bet.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

Well first thought is a connection issue with due inside re alternator of the lead on the harness. Sounds like a new alternator is in your future. Or just always park on an incline but that's mildly inconvenient

CTSvOH

As soon as the battery is connected the car "wakes up" for a few seconds then goes back to "sleep".

I did the parasitic draw test using the positive terminal on the battery this time. The draw was the same, still getting getting a draw when the alternator is connected and then the draw goes away when it's not. I didn't bother trying to trouble shoot it any further. Now I am just waiting on Rockauto.com to accept my warranty exchange. When I get the new alternator I'll let you guys know if that fixes the problem.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

Is it a gm one? If not there is your problem

CTSvOH

ACDelco

Sssnake

From your other thread.^^^^^

I still believe that alt needs a PWM signal NOT a battery hot. Connecting like you did would very likely cause the parasitic draw you have now. Also, once you put in the new alt you will likely get a similar result. Now the alt may be bad but the symptoms you are now describing are exactly what I would expect (along with a few others) by using the "fix" you implemented.

CTSvOH

I did away with that wire. I am thinking that was probably the cause of my problem since the parasitic draw happened shortly after I added that wire.

FuzzyLog1c

iTrader: (4)

Yes, you need a control signal. On my Mechman alternator, I opted for their AVBM II voltage controller, which allow you to adjust the desired output voltage through the same type of 4-pin connector.

Great catch, sssnake.

CTSvOH

Man this car has had electrical issues since I bought. Slowly and painstakingly I am knocking them out. It's probably one the reasons the person that had it before me let it go.

FuzzyLog1c

iTrader: (4)

To be fair to the V1, any modern domestic or import car will have electrical problems if the alternator control signal is interrupted.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

I vote for a one wire!! Lol

AAIIIC

iTrader: (19)

My is at Lindsay now to troubleshoot something else, and I asked them to locate the parasitic draw (it would kill the battery in a day if I didn't drive it). They found 2 loads - headlight washers relay and Onstar module - creating a 300ma draw. I don't use either of those, so I told 'em to just leave those disconnected. With those disconnected, it's down to a 13ma draw.

Hindsight being 20/20, wish I had thought to pull the relays/fuses for stuff I never use, on the off chance those components were the source(s) of the parasitic draw - I could've ruled some **** out without impacting my use of the car at all.

Anthony Toal

I can see Onstar pulling a load, but why the headlight washer? seems odd to why it would pull a load unless it is used

AAIIIC

iTrader: (19)

I agree, it seems weird, but it was also pretty small. The total draw was 300ma, and 270ma of that was from the Onstar module.

CTSvOH

My headlight washer weren't working until I replace the fuse. Though the fuse that I took out still works fine. Anyway, I am still waiting on my alternator to be replaced under warranty and of course they're out of stock at the moment.