Question 1957 Mark II battery drain too quickly

[foxpoint]

I have 1957 mark II, overy night,the battery can be drained and not started in the morning. I replaced a new commercial baterry recentetly, it still be drained and I have to charge it all time.
I took to the auto electic shop, he spent hours hours, couldn't find out the problems.
does anyone have suggestions how to proceed further?
Thanks
Loren

[Barry Wolk]

Glove box light or trunk light. Do you hear any clicking sounds after the car has cooled down? Does your clock work?

[Graham Rollo]

Also under hood light

[jdsnoddy]

My suggestion is to observe your car in the dark.
As Barry/Graham already pointed out, the mercury switches in
the engine/glove compartment and the trunk fail which allow
The lights to burn continuously. As Barry also pointed out,
The clock runs continuously and is a common drain on the battery. Your mechanic should be able to verify the proper condition of the generator and voltage regulator. And if you have a short, the circuit location of the short.
Bottom line: try to identify the problem in the dark;
Eliminate any burning bulbs, disconnect the clock; otherwise seek professional help.

[Barry Wolk]

Again, try and listen for the sound of an automatic circuit breaker setting or re-setting itself. It takes one hell of a drain to drain a new battery overnight. I assure you the battery is not the problem. They don't drain themselves, especially new ones.

You could have a window or seat switch that's stuck but the seat or window won't move. That creates an overload which causes the circuit breaker to heat up, opening the contacts. When the bi-metal inside the switch cools down and resets itself you have power again. If that happens even once an hour that would drain the battery completely. Grab your I-pad, mix yourself a drink, and spend some time with your lovely. Open the windows. Listen to her. The automatic circuit breakers are located with the door and seat relays in the doors and under the seat. You'll find black wires attached to them. Those are the ground wires for the motors. If there's a short or overload the circuit breaker opens, disconnecting the motor from the chassis, which is the ground.

[foxpoint]

Hi Barry
Thank you for your suggestion as everything you said. I didn't know about the cable running under the seat. so I haven't checked it out. in dark,no any lights on or clicks noise. I have been mad by this bettery drain problem. now, I realized how diffcult to diagnose about the bettery drain maybe on the mark II.
Many thanks
Loren

[foxpoint]

Hi John
Thanks for your message, I tried all above checking, clock does't work, no clicking sounds, all lights are off.

Loren

[foxpoint]

disconected it already.

[Barry Wolk]

If you're not hearing circuit breakers you have a silent draw.

Get an electric test light. Remove one fuse at a time, connect one end of the tester to one end of the fuse holder and touch the probe to the other clip in a darkened garage. If there's a draw on the battery the neon light will light very dim for a small draw and very bright for a battery-draining draw. There are two fuses outside the fuse box, one on the headlight switch and another on the radio.

BTW, for the most part the glove box light being on can barely be detected with the door closed. Same with the under-hood and trunk light. It's also sometimes difficult to detect when the footwell lights are on unless it's quite dark in the space. Al's Mark II glove box light went undetected for a day and it killed the battery. I've also seen trunk and hood lights installed backwards so the the come on when the lids are closed. Simply disconnect them to see if your problem stops.

[Milsteads Garage]

If nothing else seems to work, try checking your voltage regulator.

[Mark Norris]

Hi Loren,

Like most electrical issues its a case of logical elimination ..so first charge the battery, disconnect one of its terminals then see if it still looses charge overnight. Obviously if it does then the batteries is faulty. If not then you know its in the wiring loom somewhere. Then install an ammeter between the battery terminal and the battery cable. If its the loom you'll see a current (leave the ignition off, the current should be very small since only the clock should be on). If the battery discharges overnight then this will likely be 3 - 5 amps. With the doors and trunk lid closed, and the bulbs removed from the under hood lights, check the current. Now start pulling fuses one by one (there is a fuse label in the lid) and note when the current changes. That should at least track down the earth leak to one circuit area.