90 SE w/ 161K
No mods.
Last week the battery went dead, car jumped car OK, but still bad the next day.
I had the battery checked, and it showed bad.

Put in new battery last Wed. and Sat it wouldnt start again.

Ive charged the battery and it charges OK.
I checked the alternator with a Snap-on meter with the alt. lead you stick on the back of the alt. and hold the button to see if the LED comes on.
It shows its OK.

I had a fusable link totally fried and have temp hardwired past it.

After charging,I put a meter on the batt. and it showed 12.83. dropped to 12.62 in about 2 hrs. Then it startd fluctuating between 12.62 and 12.52. Not any regularity, just noticed it would flop back and forth every once in a while.

Any suggestions where the draw is from.

BTW, there is a spark when I drag the + wire across the + term with everything off.

Could the alt still be bad?

Im going to see where the batt. level is tomorrow morn. to see if its down a bunch.

I dont really want to drive it much with the fusable link bypassed.
I would think if something fried it, it could be a fire hazard.

 

Do you have any amps, neons, car radio, alarm leds anything running while the car is sitting? There sounds like something is drawing the power out of the battery. Can you drive around with it or does it die while driving? If it does get the alt checked other then that I would have no clue.

 

nothing like that other than the stock radio(which doesnt work)

I havent driven it with the charged battery to see how long it lasts.
I cant afford any more tow bills

 

you need to test the current draw of the car with everything off. if the meter shows more than 0.3 amps with everythign off it will drain your battery

i would also replace your fusable link and find out why it blew something tells me its part of your problem

 

are all of the groundwires firm and clean and bolted properly? are there *any* frayed ground wires? you could be having a great battery connection, a fresh alternator, but if the grounding is weak, you will get a drain.

particularly check the grounding to the distributor.

 

Autozone will test the battery, alternator and starter for free. Of course check the grounds and figure out why that fusible link blew in the first place. AAA may be a good investment in the future for an older car, I think it's about $75 dollars per year.

 

Well, the battery was dead again this morning.

I pulled all the fuses in the box (under-dash) and it still sparked.

I guess I can try the other box by the battery.

No one knows of a "common" problem this might be?

I guess I could try and find a wiring diagram and see what all went from the link that was blown.

 

Could be a lock actuator, ABS, or the ECU, probably in that order. But let me get this straight. You HAD a form of protection under the hood in the form of a fusible link. That blew, indicating a problem. You then REMOVED this protection and are now driving the car with no idea what the link is for or why it blew. Do I have this right? I'll let the fire department know you're coming. . .

 

All correct, but Im not driving the car.

I will have to get it home though, about a 5 mi drive.

I just need to see what the link was going to and try to track it that way.