Packard Forum Index » General

If I start with a fully charged battery about 6.3 and then start the car and run it at idle for about 15 minutes..the battery will drain down to around 6 and unable to start the car again..the battery seems to be draining when it’s running…it was suggested that i may have a bad solenoid at starter…it was stated that I should not be getting voltage at starter while the key is off…I am getting full battery voltage where battery cable is nutted to starter..but I thought power at the starter from battery is normal but I really have no idea…the battery is new…

Quote:
What you DON'T want to do is to start blindly throwing parts at it in guesses. Continue with the diagnosis to find exactly what's wrong first, then fix or replace as needed. Even if the solenoid turns out to be bad, it would not cause the ammeter to misread.

With limited knowledge I am just taking and following suggestions right now…I don’t have the experience …starter seemed like a good place to start seeing that I don’t have a battery drain with the car off..

Yes but do diagnostics first rather than buying parts that were mentioned only as a possibility as something to check. Not to make myself sound like an old timer (even though I am) but perhaps a little experienced advice might help give you a bit more confidence. I got my first car at 14 and did all the work on it myself without help, guidance or even a manual (other than an old beat up Motor's manual that was a decade too new) and, of course, there was no Internet either. Just think things through and that's how you learn, then ask for help when you're stuck. People here are happy to teach so I'm not saying don't ask but rather to also try to apply your abilities, which you may not even know you have, first!

Not disagreeing with Don but it seems like there must be some starter problem. There's pretty much nothing else in the car that can actually drain a car battery that fast.

For a 50 amp hour battery you would have to draw 200 amps to drain it in 15 minutes. This would melt wires or blow fuses anywhere but the starter power circuit.

How hot are the battery wires getting? I calculate about 15 watts of dissipation, each, but it could be much higher at the terminations if they were done improperly or got oxidized over time. Did you happen to notice anything?

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/archi ... tent.php?op=&catID=50&ContentID=265

Ok..I think so…I bought a cheap battery load tester..I charged up the battery to 6.3 volts…probably could have waited longer and it would have charged to 6.4…anyway… the load tester read the battery as charged reading right in the middle of the GOOD ..then with the key off..I hit the start button with ignition off for about 20 seconds..the voltage dropped to 4 volts on load tester..did this three times..by the third attempt the battery had drained to around 6 to 6.1 volts max. After some time the standing battery actually gained a little voltage on its own sitting with everything off. I m thinking I’m having a draw issue with starter? Also during the test the starter stayed activated even when I stopped pressing the on button for about ten seconds before it released? Hopefully this is some good info as to where I should go with this..tks

Edit..took starter in…the shop thinks the 12 volts damaged the starter and may be the current draw culprit..hoping so..

Just saw the end of your post…no I didn’t notice wires getting hot..but I’m doing everything solo so I’ll try to check again…tks

Send a link to this load tester. Usually a load tester is self contained. Using the starter to do a load test should be an alternate method where you can get by with only a volt meter.

Also your comment that the starter is staying on for 30 seconds is very concerning. How hard is it for you to remove the starter and bench test it?

I pulled it already and shop is evaluating it now…hope to have it back over weekend..I will post how I do with it..thanks!!

Got starter back and big difference…starts five times stronger …took for an hour and came back with battery charged at 6.4 volts so a major improvement…I believe the starter was causing major electrical draw…now that ammeter works..I do notice that when I press the brake pedal the ammeter moves left into the discharge area..when I let go of brake it returns to normal…maybe the brake switch is going? Brake lights work fine…anyway it appears my major problem has been solved so big thanks to all that helped in this forum….I have learned a lot..tks