Steve wrote:
<<From:    Steve Mozurkewich <stevem@WWNET.NET>
Subject: Battery is dead again

Ok. It's dead. Again. I'm Pissed. Something is sucking power when my van
is just sitting. I drive the van once or twice a week. Any ideas? Please
help!!!>>

I've just gone through a very frustrating year, starting with frying the
alternator shortly after leaving for Washington state from southern
California last January.  Six months later, the battery was dead.  My
local mechanic said the alternator was shot and replaced it with some
POS (so described by a mechanic in Mammoth Lakes after, once again, a
dead battery).  The guy in Mammoth said the exciter wire to the
alternator wasn't putting out 12v, which he said was called for.  He
jury-rigged something--sorry I can't be more specific--and two days
later the battery was dead.  When I returned to my local mechanic--yes,
one can drive 300 plus miles on a freshly charged battery--he apologized
for not putting in a rebuilt Bosch alternator, which he said they
usually did; he checked everything out, put in a rebuilt Bosch and it's
been fine since (almost a month now).

If something is draining the battery, that should be an easy find for a
qualified mechanic.  If, as in my case, the alternator light doesn't
come on when in fact it's not charging, or barely charging, that too
should be easy to spot if they just dig a little.  One listee suggested
replacing the charge indicator bulb, suggesting that if its resistance
was high it could affect the exciter wire voltage.  Whether it was
simply putting a rebuilt Bosch in or not, I don't know, but I'm using
the a/c (we're having a little bit of late summer weather) , playing the
stereo, and starting in the morning.

Good luck.  By the way, Costco sells a neat little battery booster/250
lb. inflator/trouble light for about seventy bucks.  I bought one just
for insurance, and was pleased to find that the pump has no problems at
all putting 150 lb. in my bicycle tires.

Bob Trousdale
'90 Westy