Date:         Wed, 7 Jun 1995 10:05:43 -0600 (MDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Jack Reed <jackr@fortnet.org>
Subject:      Re: Elec. Leak Draining My Battery!

Derek,

On Wed, 7 Jun 1995, Derek Drew wrote:

> There is an electrical leak somewhere in my van that drains my battery dead
> over about a 12 to 24 hour period. Short of feeling every thing in the van
> to see what parts are getting hot, I am not sure the best way to trace this
> and I need the help of my VanaNetziens. 

Unless your battery is completely shot, the electrical draw to run it to 
nothing in a day is on the order of the radio or a small light.  Without 
a volt/ammeter available (are you sure you can't borrow one?) pull each 
fuse away from the holding clips then hold a penny or a small piece of 
wire against the clips and watch for small sparks.  At the same time 
listen for things to engage like a relay clicking or humming sound.

Most of the circuits should be dead with the ignition switch off but I 
guess it's possible that there's an internal short in the switch causing 
the problem.  I've never seen one do that though.

DMMs are pretty cheap and would simplify the whole process, especially 
once you determine which circuit is hot.  Tracing electrical shorts can 
be a bear even with a meter, I don't want to think about doing without one.
If you can't afford a meter do you have a scrap piece of electrical 
hardware that you could strip a meter out of?  If you do attach a couple 
of wires to the + and - terminals.  At least then you'd be able to see at a 
glance what's live and what's not.

Once you find the guilty line put the meter terminals (or whatever you 
can fab up) on either side of the components on the circuit.  If it's 
shorted completely you'll see no voltage.  If it's open or not active 
you'll see the entire battery potential, subtracting for line losses due 
to internal resistance, corrosion in connectors, things like that.

Good luck.  Like I said earlier electical problems can be a bear to 
trace.  Just be thorough with your tracing and you should be able to find 
the culprit.

Jack