Just the tip of the ice cube...

[oldie moldy]

My good old clunker of a canoeing truck seems to have developed a slow electrical leak somewhere. Nothing desperate but over a week or so the battery has a hard time starting the thing up and running. I went down to NAPA and got a disconnect switch.



The installation was easy, the only wrinkle is that if the way the switch comes from the package doesn't fit your particular situation you can unscrew the two metal ends from the non-conductive plastic base and change them about for a better fit. It's funny but the instructions didn't say anything about that.
I read somewhere that car/truck thieves don't like to fiddle about and if a car won't start they will often just leave it. A switch like this might help for that reason.
Only thing is, if you're absent minded like me, you've got to remember that you opened the switch when it's time to go home.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[Rippy]

I read about trouble shooting a slow voltage leak but haven't tried it yet. (I have one of those switches on a project car). You put a amp meter in line from the battery, in your case between the two haves of the switch when disconnected. Observe the amp reading (leakage) then pull fuses one at a time checking each time to see if the amp draw stops. When the amp draw stops after pulling a particular fuse then you know which circuit the leak is in. Narrows it down any way. Good luck if you try this Rob.

Oh, you'll remember to close the switch before you go home at some point, it just might not be in the right order.

 

[oldie moldy]

Dave, That's good advise about narrowing it down, I really ought to fix the problem, where ever it is. You see, my truck is a Ford Ranger and I fit under it, just about, on the exhale, if I'm not wearing too many clothes. Then there's the problem of looking while dropping dirt in your eye.

When I was a kid the local mechanic worked under cars from a pit/trench made into the ground with concrete. You've seen them. Boy, would I like that in my garage, you could cover it with thick plywood when you didn't need it.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[yellowcanoe]

I have a neighbor whose house was built for a mechanic and has a pit trench in the garage! And an aging 300000 mile truck (15 years old) with a slow electrical leak. I suppose there is no excuse now...

 

[Tracker]

Your battery looks fairly new but if it's an older battery it might just be getting old. I've noticed on older batteries in vehicles that sit for a while between starts that even a very small draw will drain it enough to not start.

 

[Guest]

"older batteries in vehicles that sit for a while between starts that even a very small draw will drain it enough to not start."

my better half is experiencing that very thing with her passat...at least that's the hope. new battery goes in tomorrow.

 

[oldie moldy]

It is a new battery, purchased because I thought that the battery in the truck probably ought to be replaced because it it was slowly loosing it's charge if left setting. Took the old battery and slow charged it up full, it's been setting in my shop, still full of juice several months later. Looks like I've got a spare battery. After the new one went flat, that's when I put in the switch. On the spare battery I did make covers for the terminals out of some old hose, just worried that somehow something conductive might ground the battery out. Never seen that happen but I doubt it would do anything good.

Best Wishes, Rob