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Can a sitting starter drain the battery? help

mpro69rr

mpro69rr

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With everyone's help I'm trying to track down a parasitic drain of the battery. Can a starter just sitting there drain the battery drawing to much Amperage? An alternator can do that correct? When I connect the battery the power drains immediately from the battery.
 
Not unless there's something wrong with it like the stud not being properly insulated from the body of the starter. How quick is it draining? One thing you might try is finding the main feed that powers the car and unhook it while leaving the starter hooked up to see if it's in the electrical system. I rewired mine from scratch so forgive me that I can't remember where that main feed comes from, I'm thinking it either comes directly from the starter lug or the starter relay?
 
747mopar said:
Not unless there's something wrong with it like the stud not being properly insulated from the body of the starter. How quick is it draining? One thing you might try is finding the main feed that powers the car and unhook it while leaving the starter hooked up to see if it's in the electrical system. I rewired mine from scratch so forgive me that I can't remember where that main feed comes from, I'm thinking it either comes directly from the starter lug or the starter relay?
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It drains quick, I didn't think the starter could drain the battery just sitting there but I needed to ask just in case. I think I may end up rewiring, the harness for the engine doesn't cost much. I also ordered a new starter relay.
 
You have more than a parasitic drain in your car, sounds more like a dead short. I would disconnect all 3 bulkhead connectors, as well as the wire from the starter relay that is going through the firewall where it shouldn't be. Then see if the battery still discharges. Process of elimination. But like I stated in your other thread, you need to get the car rewired. You have a dangerous situation as it is not uncommon for these cars to catch fire under the dash. My Grandfather bought a 70 Satellite new and it was always garaged. He passed in 1987 and was still driving it. We sold it to friends and a year later it caught fire because of an electrical issue. If you did indeed buy this car from a dealer, I would be making a phone call to them showing how bad the wiring is. I would be raising a little hell with them.
 
hunt2elk said:
You have more than a parasitic drain in your car, sounds more like a dead short. I would disconnect all 3 bulkhead connectors, as well as the wire from the starter relay that is going through the firewall where it shouldn't be. Then see if the battery still discharges. Process of elimination. But like I stated in your other thread, you need to get the car rewired. You have a dangerous situation as it is not uncommon for these cars to catch fire under the dash. My Grandfather bought a 70 Satellite new and it was always garaged. He passed in 1987 and was still driving it. We sold it to friends and a year later it caught fire because of an electrical issue. If you did indeed buy this car from a dealer, I would be making a phone call to them showing how bad the wiring is. I would be raising a little hell with them.
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You are so correct! I am going to start replacing the wiring when I get the funds. This sounds dangerous, I don't need a fire! I'm going to try what you suggest when I get home. Thanks!
 
if you can borrow an inductance type amp meter you can solve this quickly by checking individual engine harness wires. if not start at the battery and connect an amp. meter in line between the neg batt. post and the neg. bat cable! read what the meter says. if large draw like over 10 amps you could have a short somewhere in the engine compartment between the fuse block and battery,would likely blow fusible link if real bad..!check the live circuits first like alternator,starter,feed to bulkhead connections for,cig. lighter,horn,headlights!start disconnecting until draw stops.
if the draw is 5 amps or less start pulling fuses 1 at a time until draw lessens and keep going through all the fuses to see which circuits are drawing power!
check your dome light dial to make sure dome light isn't in on position and doors closed for interior lighting circuits.
I'm no elect. engineer but I have a lot of history,good luck in the hunt!
 
If your starter is draining the battery immediately, then you should be seeing a huge spark when you hook the cable to the battery post. Are you? And wires will be getting hot, even smoking. How long is it taking to drain it? A good battery would last for several minutes, at the very least. Dis connect the cable from the starter, and see if it still happens.
 
Garys1969RR said:
If your starter is draining the battery immediately, then you should be seeing a huge spark when you hook the cable to the battery post. Are you? And wires will be getting hot, even smoking. How long is it taking to drain it? A good battery would last for several minutes, at the very least. Dis connect the cable from the starter, and see if it still happens.
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Yes, that's exactly what I'm seeing. Sparks at the terminals and a little smoke! It drains the battery immediately. The question I have is could this happen when the starter is just sitting there with no key in the ignition? I know the alternator can do this.
 
If you have the original amp meter,that is the devil that melts the wire from the Alt to the junction block up the steering column then out to the gauge.
 
HEMI-ITIS said:
If you have the original amp meter,that is the devil that melts the wire from the Alt to the junction block up the steering column then out to the gauge.
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Yes, I have the original AMP meter, I will check that.
 
If you want an amp meter,wire it direct to an aftermarket gauge.A voltmeter will tell you if your charging or if something is sucking mucho power when you turn it on.
 
Draining the battery that quickly should be heating something up, a draw that large would likely melt most wires in a car so I'd be suspicious of larger Components. The main feed for the car that goes through the ammeter I believe is 12 gauge, look under your dash and make sure it's not starting to melt at the gauge.

Going back to your question about the starter, again yes it can draw current sitting if the positive isn't properly insulated. Pull the battery cable off then read ohms from the stud to starter body, if it's shorted you should see it on the ohmmeter.

Sorry I haven't seen your other thread but trust hunt2selk's judgement, if he's saying it's that bad then you better just fix it right and be done with it.
 
Last edited:
747mopar said:
Draining the battery that quickly should be heating something up, a draw that large would likely melt most wires in a car so I'd be suspicious of larger Components. The main feed for the car that goes through the ammeter I believe is 12 gauge, look under your dash and make sure it's not starting to melt at the gauge.

Going back to your question about the starter, again yes it can draw current sitting if the positive isn't properly insulated. Pull the battery cable off then read ohms from the stud to starter body, if it's shorted you should see it on the ohmmeter.

Sorry I haven't seen your other thread but trust hunt2selk's judgement, if he's saying it's that bad then you better just fix it right and be done with it.
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Yes, that's what I am going to do, I don't want to mess around with this and have something happen. When the battery is charged it heats up quick. Thanks!
 
To see if the starter is causing the drain, just disconnect the main feed wire going to it. Hook up the battery again and see if you still have a short. If you do, than it isnt the starter.
 
Garys1969RR said:
To see if the starter is causing the drain, just disconnect the main feed wire going to it. Hook up the battery again and see if you still have a short. If you do, than it isnt the starter.
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I was going to do this but I can't reach the leads, header in the way. I will do this once the header is out of the way.
 
Well tonight I got the starter out and hooked up the battery, no draw and everything worked! The starter was bad and causing the parasitic draw! I was surprised that a starter could draw that much amperage, when I hooked up the terminals it would spark real bad. Thank you to all the people that helped me figure it out! By going by your suggestions I found the problem!
 
The answer to my question in the title is YES, I put in a new starter in and it worked, so that was the problem!
 
Glad you found it. I would check the battery cables as they could have been cooked also. The coating will melt off and that can cause more electrical issues.
 
QuickBpBp said:
Glad you found it. I would check the battery cables as they could have been cooked also. The coating will melt off and that can cause more electrical issues.
Click to expand...

Yes I did check out the cables, they look pretty new.
 
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