Battery being drained ...

[draggin49]

So lately I’ve come out to drive my 32 roadster and found that the battery was dead . I didn’t leave the lights or anything on so was confused how it had been drained . Hooked up the battery to a tender and reinstalled it and same thing happened again. I made sure to not use the lights at all . I never had this issue prior to when I had my mechanic rewire the car /install a set of guide headlights.

When I put the key in the ignition , with the lights in the off position and flip the column drop switch from off to the on position, should it be drawing ANY amps on the amperage gauge when at the ON position ? Or should it read zero ?

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by draggin49

When I put the key in the ignition , with the lights in the off position and flip the column drop switch from off to the on position, should it be drawing ANY amps on the amperage gauge when at the ON position ? Or should it read zero ?

You will see a negative deflection on the ammeter if the points are closed. When the points are open you will have no indication (zero) on the ammeter....Sounds as though you have a parasitic drain somewhere. Does your ammeter show a charge when the engine is running?

You might want to cup your hands around the lens' of those new guide headlights to see if the filaments are glowing very dimly with the guide headlights turned off....

[fourfords]

IF you have a Cutout on your generator, sometimes the contacts inside the cutout will stick. I took the handle of a screwdriver and tapped the top of the cutout and it solved the problem. This will stop the battery discharge if indeed the contacts are stuck. Just a possibility.

[flatheadmurre]

If the Cutout is closed you should see that on the ammeter for sure... may be that the cutout is corroded to and that gives you a less drain.
How long does it take for the battery to drain ?

[TJ]

The last thing you had done was have your mechanic rewire the car. There was no problem before that rewire. Take the car back to the mechanic and have him fix the problem as it appears his wire job created this issue.

[rotorwrench]

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It can be checked one circuit at a time if the cut out is working properly. All it takes is one strand of a wire to make contact to ground or a switch that doesn't completely shut off. Some cut outs have a diode to replace the electromagnetic function and they can break down over time and leak current.

This is a good link for testing. https://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic-Battery-Drain

If fuses don't apply, just disconnect each circuit one at a time.

[philipswanson]

Short to ground somewhere if nothing is on.

[1931 flamingo]

Are you running an alternator??
Paul in CT

[gulfoil]

I had this problem several times. Initially the cutout would stick and I replaced it with the Fun Projects cutout, problem solved. Then my dome light shorted out and luckily I caught it before it caught on fire. Lastly one of the horns on my brothers car shorted and was constantly draining the battery.

If you whack the cutout with a screwdriver handle and the amp gauge goes back to normal operation, get the Fun Project.

I ALWAYS disconnect the battery on exiting the car. Take no chances.

[Bored&Stroked]

Another place for a drain in the brake switch - especially if it is a stock mechanical brake setup. You'll need to trouble shoot the circuits until you find where the drain is at (which isn't all that difficult). If you have a stock wiring harness, then there are manual connectors for many of the lights (barrel connectors). Now, if somebody rewired the car (their own way, with their own wiring), then all bets are off. I'd take it back to whomever worked on it.

[Flathead Fever]

If you do not have an amp meter to check for a small current draw take a cable off the battery and connect a test light between the cable and the battery post. If there is a small current draw it will light up the test light as the current flows through the light bulb. Don't try turning anything on that draws a lot of current or your test light will burn out. You can try a dome light or brake lights if you just want to see it light up to prove that this test really works. We use to do this at work as a quick check.

Then start pulling fuses until the light goes out. It worked really well. A vary small current draw will just barely light the test light a dull orange and a larger draw will light it up bright. Another sign of something drawing current is if you get a small spark when you disconnect the battery cable. If there something is drawing current the cable will spark when touching it to the post. If there are battery fumes the spark might make it explode but in 40-year's I never blew-up a battery trying this.

A dirty battery top can eventually drain a battery. The electrons can flow between the posts across the dirty battery top. This takes a long time to drain a battery. But its always a good idea to keep the top of your battery clean.

Try leaving a cable off the battery and see if goes dead overnight. If it does the battery is probably no good. The only way to really know is to fully charge it and then load test it at half of its rated cranking amperage for 15-seconds. Then let it rest for 15-seconds and repeat the test. On a 12V battery if the voltage drops below 9.6 the battery is no good. I'm not sure what the reading is for a 6V battery? It could be half of 9.6?

I had recently had a battery dead overnight and I tested the vehicle for a current draw with my meter and there was none. I load tested it with my Sun Vat 40 and it was no good. The "kid" at Auto Zone tested the battery with his hand held tester and said the battery was good and they would not warranty it. I tried to educate the kid that there is no way you can load test a battery with a hand held tester. You cannot put a large enough current draw on it to see how much capacity the battery has.

I went somewhere else, bought a new battery and that solved the problem as I knew it would . A 16-year-old kid telling a ASE Master Mechanic with 40-year's experience that I was "wrong" because his little toy tester's "green" light said the battery was good. That's all he knows, "green" good, "red" bad.

[Red98]

I agree with FlatheadF. When confronted with a suspected leak draining the battery, one disconnects virtually everything then gradually adds circuits back until the sutuation is found.


Removing everything first checks whether you battery is any good. Next add back only headlight circuit. ... ...

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Flathead Fever

Then start pulling fuses until the light goes out.

Good general advice on later model cars, but not for early Fords. The earlier V8s have only one Fuse and only protects the lighting circuits. Later Ford used a Circuit Breaker and still later two Circuit Breakers, still only protecting the lighting circuits.

If it is wired anything like the original, here is the wiring diagram. I am not familiar with 32 wiring, but I don't even see a Fuse.

[draggin49]

Sorry I couldn’t reply sooner . I meant to post this , picture .
So when I put my key in the column drop , and flip the switch to the ON position this is where the amperage gauge reads .
This is with the lights in the off position

[petehoovie]

Looks normal to me....

[draggin49]

In route to the mechanic who wired the car . I don’t have any tools or a good spot to work on the car . I’m gonna relay your guys thoughts to him from the posts , thanks for your guys help!!

[koates]

Originally Posted by draggin49

Sorry I couldn’t reply sooner . I meant to post this , picture .
So when I put my key in the column drop , and flip the switch to the ON position this is where the amperage gauge reads .
This is with the lights in the off position

Yes that 3 or 4 amp discharge is the ignition coil current draw but only when the distributer timing points are closed. if the points are open then NO current draw. The points can be open or closed depends on the position the engine is stopped at when last turned OFF, Regards, Kevin.

[Flathead Fever]

Originally Posted by JSeery

Good general advice on later model cars, but not for early Fords. The earlier V8s have only one Fuse and only protects the lighting circuits. Later Ford used a Circuit Breaker and still later two Circuit Breakers, still only protecting the lighting circuits.

If it is wired anything like the original, here is the wiring diagram. I am not familiar with 32 wiring, but I don't even see a Fuse.

I know there no fuses on Early Fords. If there are no fuses then you just disconnect each individual circuit. It accomplishes the same thing. I was not sure what "rewired" meant? Does it mean all the original wiring was replaced with reproductions or does it mean some guy down the street got out the rolls of wire and the crimp connectors and went to town on it. That is usually what is done on the Early Fords I see. When I've gone to the Early Ford V8 show here in SoCal. The last couple of times there was not "one" original '32-'34 Ford there. Some nice original or restored '40 Fords and '46-'48 sedans.

Disconnect the battery and see if it goes dead. At the same time you have a cable off check between the battery cable and post for a draw with a meter. If there is no parasitic draw were done. Its the battery. You need a DVOM for working on cars or just guessing. You can get by with the test light trick but its not going to tell you how much of a draw there is.

If there is a draw and there there are no fuses remove the wires from the generator and regulator. Then try the ignition circuit, lighting circuit, horn circuit, starting circuit, brake light circuit. Wiring does not get much simpler than an Early Ford. This is as simple as it gets.

[draggin49]

Sorry I didn’t clarify , mechanic didn’t just rig it with wiring he had on his own. I bought the complete wiring kit from Macs

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by draggin49

Sorry I didn’t clarify , mechanic didn’t just rig it with wiring he had on his own. I bought the complete wiring kit from Macs

Let us know what you find out.