battery dead in minutes?

Chase75Vette said:

I have a c3 L-82 vette that was sitting for 15 years, i am now bringing it back to life. Its got the stock 350 in it with 67,000 miles on it. My current issue is my battery drains very quick when the car is running i have tested the battery at 13.80 when its off its at 12.83 but when i turn the key to crank the car it goes down to 3-4 , this is a new(rebuilt) battery. and from what i saw the alternator seems to be charging, any help would be appreciated thank you

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where Are you measuring the voltage at ?
are you using a decent quality multi meter?
a decent battery generally won,t go below about 10-11 volts
you can watch the linked videos and isolate the cause in well under 30 minutes , loose and corroded cable connections are a VERY common issue so clean and verify and ohms test the connections

cars use DC homes use AC current ,know the difference and use the correct meters

http://www.amprobe.com/Amprobe/usen/Contests_Promotions/amp-25.htm?gclid=CJGbirzF59ACFUU2gQodJ6UIqA

http://www.powerstream.com/DC-clamp.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Amprobe-AMP-...1481301013&sr=8-9&keywords=fluke+dc+amp+meter

http://en-us.fluke.com/training/tra...-digital-multimeter-plus-clamp-accessory.html
http://custombatterycables.com/product_info.htm

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/testing-an-alternator.3222/#post-46703

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/chasing-a-crazy-electrical-glitch.986/

http://www.wiringproducts.com/copper-battery-terminals

http://www.jegs.com/c/Batteries-Accessories_Battery-Cable-Kits-and-Terminals/165203/10002/-1?N=1165203&Ns=P_SalesVolume|1&Nrpp=&Tab=SKU&storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&No=30


http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/odd-starter-related-problem.5926/#post-18256

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/remote-solenoid-schematic.4846/#post-13286

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/won-t-spin-or-start.11154/#post-50320

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/battery-charger-for-the-shop.928/#post-55689

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...rical-glitches-in-newer-cars.5492/#post-50908

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tff-8173nep/applications/year/1996

btw the most common electrically related problem I see on a consistent basis is corroded or badly rusted or defective battery connections and grounds so before you go crazy its a good idea to replace those as a first step in any electrical problem diagnoses

cleaning and coating the battery's terminal connections, cable ends, and electrical grounds, and verifying the connections are correctly tightened, goes a long way toward reducing potential starter/battery issues






as always you simply isolate and test in a logical manor to find the cause, random guessing and parts replacement without testing gets damn expensive and your unlikely to randomly guess correctly before it costs you more than it should to correct! ,Id start with having a local auto parts store load test the battery after getting the multi meter out you have , and cleaning all the cable connections carefully and ohms test them
and yes you need a multi meter and if the battery checks out Id be looking at the connections on the starter and the starter itself