BC94Formula

im having problems with my car losing charge while sitting but as soon as its boosted it runs fine (i know i need to get a battery but im very broke right now and gas prices arent helping)...volts are where they should be while driving and at idle...i just noticed this a second ago though...when i put the key in and turn it to on...not turning it over...just to the on position, the tach jumps up to 1krpm...its never done that before...anyone have any ideas

shoebox

Sounds like a parasitic drain from a bulb left on or a device that is malfunctioning. You can use an ammeter in series with a battery cable to see how much drain there is. You can then pull fuses to isolate what circuit it is on. Then trace from there.

BC94Formula

i guess i should have mentioned that this all started after i pulled my stereo amp, but i was wondering more about the tach jump before attempting to start it than the loss...just hadnt had time to hunt down where the loss was coming from and am going to hook up the amp again tomorrow...i just didnt see disconnecting a sub amp draining the battery...but who knows...its a 140k mi lt1

BC94Formula

thanks shoebox...gonna try to hunt the loss this week...any ideas on the tach jump?

slopokrodrigez

Had a problem with the connection at the battery on my p/up. When ever they get corroded, not allowing enough current, the tach goes up accompanied by a lot of clicking when cranking. Not only could your battery be bad, you could have a bad connection at several points. The positive cluster at the fender or the ground strap from the frame to the engine in addition to the connections at the battery should be removed and cleaned.

Your problem could be the battery will not take a charge even though the alternator may be working correctly. To see the condition of the battery on your own, have someone crank the engine while you put a voltmeter across the battery. If the voltage drops below 11 volts, it is not providing enough current under load.