Parasitic battery drain - what am I missing? (Page 4/5) Alex.07.86GT SEP 29, 09:20 PM quote Originally posted by Rsvl-Rider: Thanks for all the good advice guys but for now I am just looking for an answer to the question I posed a couple of posts up.... Can I safely rule out the battery and alternator based on the following experience... NO! more testing needed! Disconnect your oil pressure sender and see it you have a drain! Rsvl-Rider SEP 30, 11:30 AM quote Originally posted by Alex.07.86GT: NO! more testing needed! Disconnect your oil pressure sender and see it you have a drain! Yes, I get that more testing is needed. What I am trying to do is find out if I have successfully eliminated the battery and alternator as potential causes. 2.5 SEP 30, 02:05 PM quote Originally posted by Rsvl-Rider: So, for about three weeks now I have been disconnecting the positive battery cable ....I have not had a single instance of a dead battery. Then yesterday after working on the car a bit I cleaned up the ground connection from the battery to the chassis and decided to leave it overnight to see what would happen. No other troubleshooting yet. This morning the battery was dead. I assume the positive cable was hooked up as well as the negative the night after you cleaned the neg connection? If there is a circumstance where the battery does not drain, the battery is good. So the question is does disconnecting only the positive battery cable overnight and not getting a drain prove the alternator is not the drain? Rsvl-Rider SEP 30, 04:12 PM quote Originally posted by 2.5: I assume the positive cable was hooked up as well as the negative the night after you cleaned the neg connection? If there is a circumstance where the battery does not drain, the battery is good. So the question is does disconnecting only the positive battery cable overnight and not getting a drain prove the alternator is not the drain? Yep, After I cleaned up the ground the battery was completely reconnected overnight. The next morning the battery was dead There has never been a battery drain when the positive cable was disconnected. It started and drove fine every time after reconnecting the battery. And since the battery always had enough charge to strongly fire it right up over those couple of weeks where I was disconnecting the battery overnight I would think that would indicate the alternator is good too. Just trying to confirm these thought before I go chasing all the possible gremlins. Thanks for your help... 2.5 SEP 30, 05:13 PM I would think the alt would drain it thru the positive cable, but maybe someone can clarify that. a helpful link: http://home.comcast.net/~fierocave/bat_leach.htm Alex.07.86GT SEP 30, 05:36 PM quote Originally posted by Rsvl-Rider: Yes, I get that more testing is needed. What I am trying to do is find out if I have successfully eliminated the battery and alternator as potential causes. lets try again. battery stays charged when battery is disconnected. = BATTERY IS GOOD! Battery is drained or lost power when left connected = Alternator could be the problem. More testing needed. Rsvl-Rider SEP 30, 11:30 PM quote Originally posted by Alex.07.86GT: lets try again. battery stays charged when battery is disconnected. = BATTERY IS GOOD! Battery is drained or lost power when left connected = Alternator could be the problem. More testing needed. OK, that finally got through On to the oil pressure sender check... Thanks. fastblack OCT 02, 12:01 AM Read through this post: http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/130049.html Had a battery drain problem that I was tearing my hair out over and finally figured it out. davespades1970 JAN 15, 06:55 PM What about on a 88? Parts diff? theogre JAN 15, 09:10 PM quote Originally posted by davespades1970: What about on a 88? Parts diff? 88 use CS130 alt but rest is same to look for Battery Leaches also CS Alternator CS doesn't die and drain the battery like many others but still need to check. Best is get small DC Amp Clamp meter so don't need to unplug or cut wires. Quick example: https://www.amazon.com/Uni-...itance/dp/B00O1Q2HOQ w/ 2 to 100 DCA Is first listing found, others could be used here but Bigger clamps have issues reading under ~ 5 to 10A. Note: Most Amp Clamps are AC Amps only and won't work.