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electrical question 200 1989

posted by  Volvodad on  Wed Mar 2 14:54 CST 2005
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last visit: Thu Oct 23 16:18 CST 2014
[RELATED]

Perfectly normal to see full battery voltage between the neg post and its disconnected cable. The meter completes the circuit from the positive post through the clock, to chassis ground, to the neg. cable.

If you have no amps (clock will draw a little, but maybe your meter is not that sensitive), it sounds like there is no unusual situation draining the battery.

A bad battery can drain itself and not hold a charge overnight. But as long as you don't turn the engine off, it acts as a (somewhat feeble) electrical energy reservoir - in reality the car is running on the alternator.

Acid (sorry!) test: disconnect the battery neg cable as soon as you switch off for the day. If next morning the battery is dead - with no possibility of drainage by the car - it's new battery time.
--
Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F, dtr's 83-244DL B23F, 'my' 94-944 B230FD; plus grocery-getter Dodge minivan, hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)






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