[Vwdiesel] 89 Jetta naD Battery drain

[Erik Lane]

My first step with something like this is definitely to put the ammeter on
it. But I would *HIGHLY* suggest investing in a clamp on DC ammeter. It
shortens jobs like this to a few minutes of moving the clamp from one wire
to the next before finding the culprit.

I have this one and am happy with it:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482369000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=03482369000P

Good luck!
Erik

On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 6:40 PM, James Hansen <jhsg at sasktel.net> wrote:

> With the car, and keyswitch off, pull the wire from battery to the
> alternator.  That sounds about right for a bad diode in the alternator.
> -james
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com] On
> Behalf Of Doyt W. Echelberger
> Sent: May-02-11 12:56 PM
> To: Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> Subject: [Vwdiesel] 89 Jetta naD Battery drain
>
> Several times in the past month the battery on my 89 Jetta Dna (100K miles)
> has been too low to crank over the engine. And the battery is about 2 years
> old, in warranty and tests good.
>
> I tried to remedy this situation by checking the charging system (which was
> OK), actually measuring the battery ability to charge and discharge,  (no
> problems), and then for good measure and (because it was Easter and the
> switch felt loose) I replaced the ignition switch module.  The tear-down
> proved me correct. The old switch WAS broken and didn't crisply click
> through the starting stages.
>
> OK, that should have fixed the problem, right? The glow plugs were staying
> on and were eating up the battery, right?
>
> Yesterday I went out to start the car and the battery was too low to crank
> it over, just like before. But I DO have anew ignition switch.
>
> I figure the next step is to test every circuit with an ammeter for current
> flow, with engine off and nothing turned on, starting right at the positive
> terminal of the battery.
>
> But I thought I'd poll the list first, for BTDT and alternate approaches. I
> KNOW you guys, as a group, are way smarter and more experienced than I am.
>
> Doyt Echelberger
>
>
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