Battery drain[850][1997]   Allan Z -- Wednesday, 1 August 2001, at 8:43 a.m.

 Help! I replaced the alternator about 4 weeks. Last week the
 battery was dead totaly drained. I took it to Advance Auto where I
 bought it. They put it on the machine and recharged, said it was good.
 Today it is dead again. There is something that is drainng the battery.
 Has anyone had a problem like this. I have an appointment with Volov for the 70,000 mile maintaince plus this. Thansk.

 Allan Zeigler
 --
 Allan Zeigler

 Allan,
 You have to find the source of drain. There have been reports in the past of the glovebox lamp being the culprit due to the door not shutting all
 the way, also the trunk lamp has been known to fail (switch in latch)leaving the lamp on all the time. One way of trouble shooting is to put a
 voltage meter on the battery and measure the drain. Then start pulling fuses untill the voltage increases indicating the source...
 --
 Tony G, '94 850 GLT, '82 240 DL (mint) July '99 "Rolling" cover

 Tony, you mean current meter, not voltmeter. I don't think voltmeter will help here.

 Tony Giverin wrote:

 > One way of trouble
 > shooting is to put a voltage meter on the battery and measure the
 > drain. Then start pulling fuses untill the voltage increases
 > indicating the source...

 --
 Vladimir. 1998 S70. Base, 5-speed manual.

 A DVOM will work. It measures small variations in voltage caused by parasitic loads.
 --
 steve

 Do you have the CD Changer in the glovebox? if so, the door will not contact the glovebox light switch and keep it on....that was my
 problem..just a thought.

 Mike

 A simple meter substitute is to rig a 12v auto lamp between the ground battery terminal and the auto frame. The bulb brightness will change
 with the load when pulling fuses, etc. If the bulb is on full bright probably indicates a problem. Should be somewhat dimmed.

 If a lead acid battery is discharged to aprox 10 volts, it will never take a full charge or have the capacity it once had. That is a no load voltage.
 It may even be 11 volts, but its in that range.
 Craig
 --
 Craig V40 00 Cold Weather OBC

 Vladimir,
 Well, a voltmeter with a fine enough resolution will measure small changes in voltage, measuring an increase in voltage when a drain is
 disconnected. Hoever, to be more correct I should have said MultiMeter. This is what is usually sold in stores. MultiMeters will measure both
 AC&DC voltage, Ohms (resistance), continuity, audio frequencies and more depending on the model...
 --
 Tony G, '94 850GLT, '82 240DL (mint) July '99 "Rolling" cover

 Tony, I agree, since the last time I checked, V=I*R stil held true. I just thought that had it been me troubleshooting this, I would have connected
 an ammeter, since then I know that more than 100 or 200mA of current when nothing is on is probably a sign of trouble. With voltage, I am not
 sure what the nominal voltage is supposed to be. I suppose I could disconnect the battery, measure it and reconnect and then measure the
 voltage drop, but I wouldn't know how much would be "too much". Sorry, didn't mean to criticise, just thought an ammeter would be a better
 tool here.

 Cheers
 --
 Vladimir. 1998 S70. Base, 5-speed manual.

 Am I missing something here? Please correct me if I am wrong, but a voltage drop between a ground terminal of the battery and the auto
 frame should be exactly zero volts. If it isn't and the lamp indeed does light up, you have bigger problems than a current leak, you have
 grounding problems.
 

 --
 Vladimir. 1998 S70. Base, 5-speed manual.

 Whoops, my note should have mentioned disconnecting the battery ground cable at the battery. The bulb is then rigged, one bulb connection
 to the battery and the other to a car ground so that all current will pass thru the bulb. I like to play on the ground side for safety, but of course,
 the plus terminal could be used for those seeking a greater thrill.

 Well Allan,
 To get back to your original question, and not a case study on multi meters. What you want the repair shop / dealer to look at when it's in for
 the 70 k is the positive batt. cable right after the 90 degree bend at the
 terminal. If the cable is hot to the touch there after the car has been
 idling for only a few minutes...there's your problem. Also if you put a
 voltmeter across the battery (before touching the cable) and it shows
 let's say 13.3 volts, then you wiggle the cable and it jumps to 13.5 volts.
 I'd be even more convinced.

 Volvo has a replacement positive 'batt. cable to starter' repair kit.

 pete