i have a 1963 nova, i changed the alternator and battery same day and then battery drains?
May 132010
i dont have a horn button, but once while i was driving the horn went on by itself, so i unplugged the horn, the horn relay was really old, so i replaced it, i taught that was the problem of my battery draining. but i got new battery and alternator put in, but still drains battery
Both of the previous posters make good points. A poor quality connection, either on the ground side between the engine and the Negative battery post, or between the Alternator output terminal (the large red wire on the back) and the Positive battery post, can keep the alternator from doing it’s job well. Of course, there are other things which can cause the Alternator not to work, like a bad Voltage Regulator (external on your car) not feeding the field circuit that controls it’s output.
On modern cars, you pretty much need an Ammeter to check for a battery drain, but on your car, probably just the clock takes current while the car is off. So if you unplug that first, you shouldn’t have anything else taking current that would light a test light. Here’s an article on checking for drains. You can disregard the stuff about computers and such parts that stay on after the car is shut off.
http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm
Here’s an article on charging system checks, in case there’s no drain. Again, you can disregard the stuff about computers controlling the Alternator, like most are nowadays.
http://www.aa1car.com/library/charging_checks.htm
And if you have access to a Voltmeter, here’s an article about the best way to test the quality of your cable and wiring connections, without having to even take them apart.
http://www.aa1car.com/library/voltage_drop_testing.htm
The car to a company the the engine dyno vid. 1963 Nova SS, custom hood fiber glass hood, new front end, tubbed, caged (8 point), racing seat, stripped interior. 468 cu engine, two speed power glide, ford 9″ and some big bloody tires…. Pretty much everything on the car is new. It is going to be getting an engine refresh, new aluminum heads, custom oil pan, custom rocker covers, 4 stage dry sump, new torque converter, new custom read end and a new drive shaft.
Brian Lunn’s car.
http://www.v8tvshow.com – Joe Kosiba is one of those guys who likes to keep his stuff in order. His house and truck are always spotless, and his garage is so clean it could double as a showroom. We’ve often found that shops that are too clean never see any work, but Joe also knows how to get things done. Take his ‘63 Nova, for example. He’s owned it for a long time, and it has gone through several transformations over the years, resulting in the car you see in this video. Today it’s an arrow-straight street / strip terror that makes around 1000 horsepower from a small block sucking Nitrous Oxide. In this video, Joe takes the car to the World Street Challenge to run in the Wild Street class where you have to drive the car 30 miles, then run back-to-back dragstrip passes to qualify. Joe’s Nova ended up winning the class with low 9-second quarter mile passes at around 150 miles per hour. If you ask Joe, it’s just good clean fun. You can also see this car featured in the May, 2009, Car Craft Magazine.