The vehicle in question is the '94 in my signature and I'm a little stumped on where to go from a diagnostic standpoint.
Basically the starter turns over very slowly most of the time and takes 5 -10 seconds to get going fast enough to start the car, other times the solenoid clicks but the starter wont go.
Also when I hook the battery up to a charger it usually draws 6-8 amps leading me to believe either there is a battery drain, after its charged it starts right up
So far I have a newer (1 year old) starter and battery (2 years old) from napa and have replaced the alternator with a known good one and the problem still persists.
Can anyone tell me how to check for a battery drain or any other suggestions on what can cause this??

Thanks

 

There are several things that it can be. It does sound like the battery is low when it sits overnight. One possibility is the battery has an internal draw and won't hold a charge long enough to start later. Second is something in the car is running when it shouldn't be and that's draining the battery down.

To prove the first one with the battery, you can disconnect the neg. battery terminal overnight and hook it up the next morning. If the car fires right up, your Battery is fine and you've got to look for something running in the car when it shouldn't be.

This test is primative, but it will tell you what you want to know. You'll need a regular test light. Disconnect the neg, battery terminal and hook the clip end onto the neg. cable. Then touch the test light to the Neg. battery terminal. If anything is running that's more than the regular keep alive power for radio presets ect., the test light will light up. The brighter the light, the higher the draw. Becasue these cars have some power relays that stay on for a few minutes after you shut the car off, you need to give all that stuff a chance to shut down. After hooking up you test light, with the key out of the ignition, all the doors closed and the hood light disconected, wait ten minutes. If the test light stays lit up, you have a problem.

Finding that problem can be a pain. If you've added anything recently, stero equippment, alarms, try disconnecting that stuff first. Then, start disconnecting things until the light goes out. You said you replaced the alternator with another one. I've seen them be the draw, disconnect it as well. Then try pulling each fuse one at a time. It's a wild goose chase and you have to have some patience and go about things logically. Eliminate any easy stuff first before moving on the the harder stuff.