62 Valiant 200 / 170 cuin /6 - Odd smell - then dead battery
Could the voltmeter I added be draining the battery?
Does the voltmeter shut off with the key? If not, the answer is yes, voltmeter will drain the battery
WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON?
What wiring changes from stock have you made?
What have you done to check this?
What you need to do is, shut EVERYTHING off, and check trunk/ underhood lamp if present, glove box lamp, everything. Remove battery ground cable. Connect a 12V test lamp in series with the battery. A real lamp bulb, not an LED. Does it light? If not take your multimeter and set it up for maximum current and put that in series from the battery NEG to the ground cable. Be careful, as a multimeter in current mode is a DEAD SHORT when doing this so be methodic and careful about connections. If you do not read anything on the high current (10A or 20A) scale, switch down to lower ranges.
Make sure voltmeter is off or disconnected. Now pull fuses one at a time to see if problem goes away. If not, disconnect alternator output wire--the big one on the stud. Be careful not to short the wire to ground.
