Somethings drawing power?

[Rocsfinest97]

So I've had this problem since I purhased my car, but now its bad, really bad.

Something in my car is drawing a pretty good portion of power, enough so that it now dies overnight if I leave the positive wire on the battery. At first I originally suspected it to be the power lock/security system, so I went in the trunk and unpluged it. That worked for about 6 months, but then the car started to die again, every now and then. After buying a new battery for her, I thought it might solve the problem, but now she dies overnight, and requires a jump every time I go to start her.

Its got a stock security system, and no extra electrical addons, just a head unit but I'm positive that isnt the problem. I've also ruled out the alternator, seeing as it couldnt draw power with the car being off.

Is this a common problem for cobras, and anyone got any ideas? Going to take her to a shop for a inspection, and to get some other things taken care of, but I figure I'd like to get an idea of what I might be jumping into, if at all possible.

Thanks in advance

 

[Chrome98Cobra]

It could be your alternator, when the car is running check it with a volts meter..Do you have underdrive pulleys?
Also, check your trunk light and I think theres a light in the glove box too..Sometimes they tend to not shut off which results in a dead battery..

 

[Tx_Diablous]

It can be the alternator. The alternator turns AC to DC and there are components that can go bad and draw current. If you have an amp meter you can measure the current draw on the batt and disconnect the wires at the alt. If that is not it, start pulling fuses and watch the current draw on the batt and you should find the cause. If that does not work it gets harder but try that first. Also check the HOW-TO, I put fords checkout info there.

 

[Cookieman00x]

Check your alternator with a volt meter. It should read around 14.4-14.8 volts at the alternator and just about the same at the battery ( with the car running) If they both measure alright then I think you might have parasitic drag or loss. Basically there could be some compenent running while the car is off, killing your battery.

Check out Stampede's post ( #2) to find out how to test for it.

http://svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320727&highlight=parasitic

 

[Rocsfinest97]

Thanks for the info all. The ampmeter was my next step, I just have to find some time to start pulling those fuses.

 

[Ciotti]

Start simple, open your trunk and touch the bulb, it should be cold, if it's hot it's been on and is draining your battery. Repeat this with your under hood light, glove box light, every light you can find really