cj5 electrical drain problem

[principalb]

Greetings everyone, I need some help, I bought a 75 cj5 with a straght 6 258 Ci motor. The battery has died - often even after just driving the vehicle and parking it. Go to turn it over and it is dead. I have replaced the battery, the coil, the ignition coil, the alternator, and have even placed a power kill switch on the negative side of the terminal on the battery. Yet the battery dies within about 30 minutes after driving it and this by the way is intermittent happens often then not lets say the car sits for a few days all of a sudden its fine, then drive it then go abck to drive it 40 minutes later and voila dead. . I literally watched the radio shut down in about 40 minutes while washing the car. My mechanic ran a voltage meter on everything and cannot find a drain. My thoughts are that maybe it is in the ignition switch perhaps bad battery cables? I did notice that the battery was hot even after the kill switch on the negative side was applied whihch means to me something is pulling the juice and pulling it quickly. The starter motor is not running by the way. so I think that was eliminated. But what can drain the battery so quickly. Any thoughts?

 

[SteelHeadz]

If the battery is disconnected through a kill switch on the negative or positive terminal then there is no way that the vehicle in question could cause the battery to die from extreme discharge. I would have that battery load tested several times and see if it passes. If there is a parasitic drain causing the battery to discharge when hooked up, monitor the battery voltage with a meter while puling a fuse one at a time to determine if the fuse pulled made a difference. Just make sure the fuses are installed back in their respective positions.

 

[principalb]

If the battery is disconnected through a kill switch on the negative or positive terminal then there is no way that the vehicle in question could cause the battery to die from extreme discharge. I would have that battery load tested several times and see if it passes. If there is a parasitic drain causing the battery to discharge when hooked up, monitor the battery voltage with a meter while puling a fuse one at a time to determine if the fuse pulled made a difference. Just make sure the fuses are installed back in their respective positions.

OK so this is what I have discovered this evening. I replaced the ignition switch to eliminate that. I also replaced the wire=s leaading from the battery to the starter solenoid. I eliminated the kill switch. I have identified the battery getting hot and the alternator getting really hot just sitting there. I then pulled the hot lead off of the starter selenoid leading to the post on the alternator. When removing it and placing it near it sparks. I then removed the wire One of two leading to the male tabs on the alternator this was also connected to the post on the alternator, and no spark. Then I tried to follow the thinner wire Of the two and I think it either leads tothe ignition pack or the fuse panel. Funny thing is that I dont see a regulator Is the alternator have a built in one? Even so, I dont have extra wires that would go to a regulator. The strange piece is the removal of the extra hot lead (which looks like at one point there was another and it was cut off leading somewhere else) when the car starts up it still is charging fine according ot my amp meter on the dash. Soooo if I leave the wire disconnected, do I have a fire hazard? Still wondering about that regulator I am not seeing?

 

[principalb]

OK so this is what I have discovered this evening. I replaced the ignition switch to eliminate that. I also replaced the wire=s leaading from the battery to the starter solenoid. I eliminated the kill switch. I have identified the battery getting hot and the alternator getting really hot just sitting there. I then pulled the hot lead off of the starter selenoid leading to the post on the alternator. When removing it and placing it near it sparks. I then removed the wire One of two leading to the male tabs on the alternator this was also connected to the post on the alternator, and no spark. Then I tried to follow the thinner wire Of the two and I think it either leads tothe ignition pack or the fuse panel. Funny thing is that I dont see a regulator Is the alternator have a built in one? Even so, I dont have extra wires that would go to a regulator. The strange piece is the removal of the extra hot lead (which looks like at one point there was another and it was cut off leading somewhere else) when the car starts up it still is charging fine according ot my amp meter on the dash. Soooo if I leave the wire disconnected, do I have a fire hazard? Still wondering about that regulator I am not seeing?

zoh and by the way the car drove aboutt 20 minutes and I had dinner, then drove it back 20 minutes. Put it in the garage, turned the radio on and in 30 minutes the battery was dead.. This is beofre my last attemps as stated above.

 

[SteelHeadz]

Either you have a hard short between the battery and the alternator or there's a 12v ignition circuit that's constantly staying on when the ignition switch is in the off position. A test lamp or a multimeter can verify the ignition switch outputs are at 0 volts with the key in the off position. Make sure that the ignition switch is adjusted properly on the steering column bracket.