Electrical Troubleshooting

[Ameer Antar]

to really know whats going on you need a meter w/ dc amps setting. Do just 
like you said, and you can at least pinpoint what sub-circuit is causing 
trouble. You hook one test lead to the neg. batt. terminal and the other to 
the ground cable. Switch the test leads if you end up w/ a negative reading 
or the needle goes to the left. You need a meter which can at least measure 
10A, but also read mA. Almost any multimeter has DC amps. You can get one 
anywhere. A cheap discount store [around here Ocean State Job Lot] has 
meters for $6. But a slightly better quality one from Radio Shack would 
have one for $25 or so. There are probably ones at hardware and car parts 
places too which might be of even better quality. Might as well get 
something cheap now since you're not gonna need transistor gain or 
capacitance...features found on the expensive meters. I actually have one 
of those fancy multimeters, but it's not of much use on a car, b/c I can't 
measure rpm or duty cycle. Those features are only on automotive meters. 
good luck.

-ameer

At 03:13 PM 10/15/00, you wrote:
>I need a little help troubleshooting a battery drain problem.  The battery
>is being drained overnight.  As a short term solution I am disconnecting
>the battery when it sits for more than a few minutes.  The car is an 87
>5kcstq.  The alternator was replaced about 6 months ago and the battery
>about a month ago.  I believe what I need to do is measure the current
>drain on the battery with the car off and start disconnecting fuses to
>isolate the circuit that is still on and then trace it until I find the
>problem.  Do I need an ammeter for this (and if so who makes a reasonably
>priced and decent quality one) or is there someway of doing this with a
>test light setup.  I seem to remember reading something about doing this
>with a light but cannot remember any details.  Please help with any
>suggestions on the easiest/quickest/cheapest method of troubleshooting this.
>
>Thanks
>Harley