battery drain from clock? Is this a possibility

T

TTsf

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Quick question out there. Does the clock run continuously and thus drains the battery if car is not started or driven on a regular basis? I rarely have time to enjoy the vehicle maybe about once every two to three weeks at best and sometimes longer. Should I think about either disconnecting the terminals to the battery or adding a kill switch? BTW-my clock does not track time very well so shutting down power is not an issue. Are there other items which may drain the battery other than the clock?

thanks.
 
The power draw from the clock is minimal. With all the modifications that previous owners have done you might want to check fuses 4 and 5 which are live with the ignition off, so if you have tied anything into them they could draw power. I purchased a trickle charger for about $30 that mounts in the engine bay and tops off the battery which will also extend it's life if you intend to let it sit for weeks at a time.
 
battery drain

Mine drains in just a few days, maybe due to the combination of the clock and the new stereo memory. I installed a small Sears trickle charger, but its a hassle when travelling, so I also added a kill switch for those times, but the kill switch kills the radio memory, otherwise I would use it always instead of the trickle.
 
Power drain

TTsf:

Well, what happens every two weeks when you go to start your CS? Is the battery too weak to crank it?

It could be that your battery is old, or has deteriorated from lack of use. Does it get fully charged on those occasions when you do run your CS? If it isn't getting fully charged, then using one of those battery tenders that Tilla mentions is a good idea.

I have added those inexpensive battery shut-off switches to all my cars - the ones with the green knob. These help enforce the discipline to shut off the electrical system when I do any maintenance. They also make it easy to run an experiment as to whether your car will crank any differently after sitting for 2 weeks with the battery disconnected. If no, then the battery is suspect. If yes, then there is a drain somewhere.
 
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