Chevy with wiring issues

Try unhooking the charging wire from the alternator.

Until you can find the problem and to keep from having to jump it off all the time, install a master batter switch somewhere in the cab or at the battery. This also works as an exellent theft deterrant. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

On my truck it was the under hood worklight, I left it on and about 3 months later when it sat long enough to draw down the battery to where it wouldnt start i forgot it had a switch. I checked a lot of stuff before I remembered. Do'h

Yeah, I had that problem too. I forgot about it for about 3 weeks on my

96 Tahoe and eventually it got more and more difficult to start until it totally crapped out. As soon as I touched the jumper cables to the battery and saw that light pop on I nearly smacked myself silly. Oh well, it was time to replace the original battery anyway :)

Brandonb

William wrote:

Well I think I found the problem today...I took the ignition swithch and unpluged it.no changes...so the last thing I has was the gauge cluster.unpluged it and draw went away...........so no I have to determine what in the cluster is up.so I take it apart and find out when I unpludg the gas gauge in the cluster my draw is gone....so it has to be in the gas curcit of the truck but I do know there is no power going down to the tanks..just grounds.and I tested the gauge hookup in the cluster ......shouldn't there be no power when key is off to the gauge????? thanks

Try looking at the ground for the sending unit, underneath the truck close to the gas tank. if the ground is shitty, it might cause this....

b

since when does a bad ground (high resistance connection' cause excess current draw ?

HINT : I = E / R

Lets see....I've been in the 12 volt business for 10 years. In those years, I've seen all sorts of things that don't agree with Ohms law, as you speculate.

For example, import pin switches will cause the same problems. Not only will a rusty pin switch pad cause the interior light to work intermittently, or not at all....but it also seems to be the cause of slight voltage bleed. Clean the pad and the surface, reassemble and the bleed is gone.

Unfortunately your ohms law assertion tells us nothing about this. So....I figured if it happens with a pinswitch, it could happen with the sending units ground....thats all.

HINT = not all things in the 12V world make sense

snip Who says voltage has to remain the same through this bad connection/ground? Voltage drops low, current shoots up, usually fuses blow. When they don't, wires heat up & burn things. Bad connections are the main reason houses burn down when electricity is the culprit. I've replaced 3 burnt duplex outlets in my sister's house because the original electrician chose to wire them with the "push in" terminals in the back. All power sent to the receptacle goes through a tiny metal tab. Similar episode at work when 2 coffee pots and a refrigerator were plugged into 1 outlet. Breaker didn't trip, outlet in room on the backside of the overloaded one had burned out, sending black scorch mark

5 feet up the wall. For this incredibly unsafe reason I never use the push in terminals, always use the screw terminals.

if the voltage drops low, current cannot 'shoot up'

usually fuses

You need to understand more about electricity before we can continue this.

uh, yeah

right

I've been into electronics since 1970

broadcast engineer and all that, seen more DC circuits than I care to remember, and one thing is certain:

when voltage goes down, current goes down

HEAT might be created as a result of increased resistance ( P= I x I x R), but let me assure you that a decrease in voltage across a DC circuit is always accompanied by a decrease in current through that circuit

now, do you want to re-phrase your premise about why things get hot, or shall I continue ?

Gotta love know-it-all's eh G? Worse yet, know-it-all newbies who don't know the level of experience of the fella they're berrating. Ream em' a new one..................

Doc

nahh....I just prefer to point out that their 'explanation' is a gross violation of Ohm's Law, and let nature take it's course

But 12V systems "don't always follow Ohm's Law" right? I guess that's why it's a LAW and not a theory?

Doc

Continue if you wish. I am wrong. I genuinely thought I was posting on a different group which I visit & was discussing AC motor circuits. Obviously DC motors simply slow down with a voltage drop. Not the same with AC systems.

according to ohms law, yes it can (and does)

bmoney

Neato....lets see. there are LOTS of gremlins in dc electronics that cannot be explained by ohms law on its own. Ohms Law, unto itself, makes perfect sense. however, mix in age, rust, wear, and the operating characteristics that differ from one circuit to another, and some cases it isn't always the explanation. in the 12 volt industry, we see this almost everyday....stuff that happens and makes no sense at all...

bmoney