Fred is dead!

[oldbee]

Jeez, I hope Fred’s battery is unhooked while sitting….. That’s what I always do with mine, fire is what I don’t need.

 

[moparedtn]

Jeez, I hope Fred’s battery is unhooked while sitting….. That’s what I always do with mine, fire is what I don’t need.

It was not, unfortunately - leading to the draining of the battery, unbeknownst to me.
I hadn't planned on Fred sitting so much this summer, but between life events and the ridiculous
weather, there he sat...
Turns out though, it was a good thing. Might have saved the car really.

To top things off, my wife has already volunteered to get under the dash tomorrow and check out
the gauge (I don't "fit" under there anymore - part of being 2 1/2 years past my warranty).
Already decided we're going to do the "move one wire over to the other terminal and nail them together"
technique - I'll worry about a replacement gauge some other day.

 

[oldbee]

It was not, unfortunately - leading to the draining of the battery, unbeknownst to me.
I hadn't planned on Fred sitting so much this summer, but between life events and the ridiculous
weather, there he sat...
Turns out though, it was a good thing. Might have saved the car really.

To top things off, my wife has already volunteered to get under the dash tomorrow and check out
the gauge (I don't "fit" under there anymore - part of being 2 1/2 years past my warranty).
Already decided we're going to do the "move one wire over to the other terminal and nail them together"
technique - I'll worry about a replacement gauge some other day.

Told ya before, she is a honey!!!

 

[1967coronet]

Glad you got it going Ed.

 

[moparedtn]

Glad you got it going Ed.

Thanks, but nothing is going yet - it could very well be that the short is beyond the amp gauge I suppose,
but that is the next stop on the hunt since it's the first place current goes from the fusible link.

I still gotta find the damn short is the bottom line. Can't run the car like this.

 

[roadrunnerh]

Fred isn't dead yet!

 

[1967coronet]

Thanks, but nothing is going yet - it could very well be that the short is beyond the amp gauge I suppose,
but that is the next stop on the hunt since it's the first place current goes from the fusible link.

I still gotta find the damn short is the bottom line. Can't run the car like this.

Ed you can test with a multi meter set on DC amps.
Unhook your neg cable off the battery then place your meter leads inline between the cable and post.
A decent size draw or short will show up as current. If you find a leak you can pull a fuse one at a time to narrow down the offender.

 

[Don Frelier]

I would suggest removing the battery charge wire from the alternator and testing for a short.
That seems more likely than a bad ammeter and far easier to remove and test.

A smaller battery like a lawn tractor or maybe a battery charger might be a good idea for testing so you don't damage wiring. ( Less available short circuit current)

Just a couple ideas.