General Electrical Questions

FSJKyle

New Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2011
Location
Concord, Nc
Im posting this to try and figure out a a power draw that I have on my 88 Grand Wag. Sparring you the long story Ill just ask the question.
When the battery is connected and the key is not in the ignition(thus no "on" or power) should the turn signal <-,-> work/flash? (not the hazard)
If not where would the turn signal lever/switch/whatever be getting it power from?
 
No it should not work with the key off. Hazards yes. It could be getting power anywhere along the wiring due to a short to positive or it could be in the ignition switch, or in the turn signal switch itself. But unless the turn signals are in the on position they aren't your draw. Get a volt meter and set it on amps and put it in line with your positive battery cable. (Battery terminal to one lead, through your meter to the battery cable at the other lead. Then start pulling fuses and watch for the amp draw to drop off,then you've isolated the circuit with the problem, and go from there. How fast does the battery go dead? I mean it should be pretty obvious on this truck where the draw is since there aren't any computers. It's got to be a light bulb or something like that. Could also be the diodes in the alternator are bad and it's trying to turn like an electric motor. Check to see if the alternator is hot when the engine is cold.
 
Ill Check the alternator after the battery has been hooked up to see if that might be it.

I have done the voltmeter/fuse check and didn't find anything with all the fuses.

BUT I didn't pull out the turn signal flasher/fuses could this be what I overlooked?

And what do you mean by "But unless the turn signals are in the on position they aren't your draw"

it takes about a week to die out, I measured it the draw is only around 0.1 Volts.
 
It the turn signal stalk switched on? (Like you're turning left and you pulled the stalk down.) For there to be a draw, there has to be a load on the circuit that is on, like a light bulb or a coil on a relay, (but that would turn on the load that the relay controls.) If the turn signals were the draw, they would be on. Probably very dim, but you'd see it at night. How old is your battery? It's possible it just won't hold a charge any more if it's got some age on it. How much do you drive the truck? And is it fuel injected? Is there a glove box light that could be on? Does it have an aftermarket radio that could've gotten wet and is drawing power? Also try using amps instead of volts to check. This will tell you how big the draw is, (It's obviously not VERY big but that truck should really have a 0.00 amp draw)
 
Not sure if the 88 had a amp meter or volt meter. I don't know what year they made the change but if it has an amp meter look hard at the wiring behind the dash. That's a know issue. With the full size jeeps. Do a search on ifsja.org for a full write up and explanation.
 
Update and Answers TY For Helping so far

I checked the turn signal fuses and was not getting any draw there. (Even though they still flash) The battery is either from 2008 or expires 2008 but seems to do fine in my other car so... The truck engine has been rebuilt and Im also currently waiting on my transfer-case to return from the shop. It has not been "driven" driven in over 3 years. The engine runs great however, getting it to turn the wheels ive run into time consuming problems besides this one. There is no light in the glove that stays on, the radio has been taken out.

LOL which setting on the volt meter is amps? been awhile plus I hate electrical, go figure.

for lugnut in the dash is a volt meter

Also my friend told me to put a new starter relay in for the hell of it, now the truck doesn't want to turn over. The discovery is that when I was putting all the wires on the relay I put the on connected the battery first then went to put another and it started sparking, tried some different ones and they did not spark. So this tells me wherever this wire goes is the draw. Im going to put some pics up soon when I get my camera back so maybe someone will know what this wire goes too. Aslo I measured the power out the wire and there is two draws because they didnt add up to battery total power.

Also there was constant power to the ignition coil for the spark plugs, should that be happening? might be draw number 2?
 
No the coil should not have voltage until the key switch is turned on. If it has power with the switch off it will burn up your coil and kill your battery.
 
sounds like a faulty ignition switch if you have several different electical systems gettting power.
 
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