[alfa] Battery Drain Revisited

[Steve & Zita Waclo <z_waclo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Dean:
Thanks for the advice on my battery situation. Will
put all your suggestions high on my list of items
needing attention. BTW, the TSB I mentioned, which
applies to Spiders and Milanos is #89.02 from 3/3/89.
At the risk of running afoul of Alfa's copyright
restrictions, here's the first portion of the text:

"Both Spider and Milano models have a normal draw on
the battery of less than 20mA (.02 A) with all systems
off. This draw (usually .010 - .020 A) is caused by
the electric clock, radio memory, etc. After-market
radios and burglar alarms may increase the draw above
the average of .010 to .020 A. As a rule of thumb, a
40mA (.040A) draw will substantially discharge one of
our batteries if the car is not driven in 3 to 4
weeks". The remainder of the TSB goes on to describe
the technique for checking the drain and it's just as
you related in your response. I took a harder look at
the specs on my meter and discovered it's OK to 200mA,
so I put it into the circuit with results similar to
yours. A substantial initial surge (off scale, but
enough to momentarily light a test lamp) followed by
stabilization at 28mA. Going to keep the battery
disconnected for now till I have the time to look for
the offending 8mA.   

The AC has not operated on this car for quite a few
years and in my explorations, I found two interesting
items: the 20A AC fuse (very old, with deteriorated
plastic) on the left fender was blown and there is a
worn through wire feeding the condenser fan which may
have shorted to ground. This may be of interest to
anyone with AC. The wire is near the right side horn
Best seen from below) and was trapped between the body
and the two refrigerant lines feeding the condenser. I
cut the wire and pushed the vulnerable section section
down through a 6" piece of vinyl tubing before making
a repair. Probably should have held off on this post
pending actual results, but I'll let everyone know
what happened next time the car gets fired up.     

Spent all day on my back on a cold garage floor hand
pumpimg 80W90 into the gear box. Didn't take that long
to pump the fluid, but even with my trolley jack maxed
out (with piece of 4" lumber on top) I could still
only get the jack stands to provide minimal clearance.
Have an '87 Toyota 4x4 that I can roll under any time
I want to. The Alfa reminds me of my old RX-7 and GT6+
as far as undercar access.

Thanks again for the information Dean.

Steve Waclo
Carson City, NV
'87 QV   

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