Battery draining... Wired wrong???

OK, gentlemen... I'm puzzled here. My battery is draining down, and I'm not sure if the wiring from the alternator was done correctly. (I'm a new owner to this CJ and all current work was done by previous owner.)
I believe I have the 3-wire alt., the 'yellow' wire from the battery output of the alt. goes all the way to the voltmeter in the dash. There is a black wire that goes from the opposite terminal of the voltmeter to the positive side (terminal ties into positive lug of battery) of the starter solenoid. With the ignition off (no key inserted) I have power to the battery post of the alternator.:? BTW, the voltmeter does not register current when off, or when Jeep is running. All suggestions, comments, and clues welcome!

 

Disconnect the negative cable on your battery. Now connect a test light between the cable and the battery post. If the light glows you have a draw somewhere.

 

I should be able to connect a multitester and get the same 'draw' indication... correct?

 

Yep. I don't remember for sure but I believe the specs say you should not have more than a .050V draw.

 

dont you mean amps

 

Oops yeah nice catch. Should be 50 milliamps.

 

Yes. Be careful though - make sure your multimeter has a fuse in the amp circuit. To me 50mA seems like a lot for just leakage - I'd expect it to be an undetectable drain on the mA scale.

If you find a significant drain, then try to divide the circuits to localize it. SOmetimes a damaged alternator can drain the battery, so it may not be wired wrong.

 

Tim, I agree 50mA is a lot. I always went by 25-50mA on non-computer controlled cars as acceptable and 100mA on computer controlled cars. Just my opinion though.

 

I don't doubt that I have a drain... my Optimus could barely turn the rig over. I'm still suspect of the PO's wiring tho. The Alt. has wire from battery post running to voltmeter, and from voltmeter to positive side of starter solinoid. Everything I've looked at on these posts and on the web makes me believe it was done wrong. If it was an ammeter I could see it possibly being close? Maybe I need to just pull the dash back and start tracing wires. I've even thought of the 12-circuit wire harness from Painless...

 

So did you ever get a chance to test with the light or meter? If so what was the verdict?

 

Got your post last night, and I'm at work right now. Will test as soon as I get home, and will keep updated. One good thing though... at least I'm not dealing with a 'brain' in my '73!

 

OK, update... definately have a drain. Now to isolate where it's at. Oh, and now to make a correction, I DO have an ammeter, not a voltmeter like I was sure I had. I'm still not sure it's wired exactly right, but I've found some great threads to recheck. Thanks for all the help so far!

 

Start pulling the fuses one at a time until the draw goes away. That will give you a place to start.

 

The PO did the wiring himself, and the engine bay looks pretty clean, but the under dash is scary! His statement was that the old CJ's didn't have a fuse block, all inline fuses. I agree'd to a point... guess I'll lower the dash so I can get to everything and do as you say, start tracing down the culprit. I wonder... does this mean I can quit fixing the leaky shower fitting 'cuz I have to work on my Jeep?R)

 

Yeah that makes sense to me. I know it would go over well in my house.R)

Let us know how it turns out, I'm curious.