2-105 white killing battery

Todd D · Jun 17, 2017

Bought a 2-105 that the guy had wired in a master power switch at the battery to turn off the juice so the battery wouldn't go dead when it sat 2 long. He said it has a dead short somewhere.
Question is how do I go about tracing this this dead short back?

Limited electical knowledge.

Thanks men

Dieseltech · Jun 17, 2017

I use a test light between the ground cable and the negative battery post, if the light comes on there's a draw somewhere. Start shaking wires and disconnecting accessories, when the light goes out you have found the source. Sometimes moving wires around will find a dead short if worn through the insulation.

RBoots · Jun 17, 2017

Try unhooking the alternator. They can go bad and cause a draw, which the previous owner may have incorrectly called a short. Test as Dieseltech describes.

Tramway Guy · Jun 18, 2017

There are not many places where a dead short to ground would not cause a huge problem with perhaps smoke and/or fire. The alternator is one, like (a) diode(s) shorting.

rrlund · Jun 18, 2017

I had to put a toggle switch in my 1550 so I could shut off the alternator when the tractor's shut off. My brother worked in an auto parts store for a lot of years. He said there was a note one time saying that a self exciter would drain the battery over time.

A few questions about the original problem. How long does it take to drain? Does it have a cab with a digital aftermarket radio? I ran a live wire up the cab post on my 2-105 and 2-135 to keep the presets in the replacement radios. I put a fusable link down at the source so I can take them out if they're gonna sit for a long time like the 135 does over the winter.

gary66 · Jun 23, 2017

brilliant, Dieseltech

2-105 white killing battery

Todd D

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Dieseltech

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RBoots

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Tramway Guy

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rrlund

Well-known Member

gary66

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