I had a problem on my camaro that the battery wouldn't charge even though all the wires and altenator were good. I would slowly drain the battery until it would have to be recharged. I took it to an electronics shop and they fixed it by replacing a fusable link between the battery and alt. Well I was installing subs in a 91 cavalier and it has seemed to do the same thing. If anybody would know where to for the fuse or if it could be something else I would love to know. Thanks guys.

 

I have sorta the same problem as you, somethin is draining my battery while the car is not running and today it finally totally juiced it, my auto shop teachers said that it could be the alternator or a short in one of the wires, well good luck.

 

There are fusible links between the starter and alternator and on some cars between the alternator and the battery. These links don't normally cause a drain, but they will cause all kinds of charging problems because they are hooked directly to the battery. Drainage on the battery is most likely a grounding problem.

 

Yeah its not really a draining problem like you say, but it won't charge for sure. What do the links look like, I have looked and I don't see anything that looks like a fuse of any sort? Thanks

 

The fusible links are look like regular wires with a metal bulge built into them. That bulge is the fused link. It is a metal shunt with less resistance than the wire and it will severe internally thus breaking the flow of current. Fastest way to test them is to an Ohm meter check on each end of the wire. If no ohm reading then the link is blown. As I said though...that shouldn't give you a drain.

 

Another thought...the cavalier may have a larger fuse in the engine compartment in the power distribution box or engine fuse box. These look like the smaller interior fuses, but are about 2 times as large. Also, if you are asking the car for lots of juice, make sure you have a good battery or go ahead and put a larger new battery in. Otherwise, you will fry your alternator in no time.

 

Thanks mtccl, I have looked at those links in the lines before and wondered what they were. I just thought they were a connector. But thanks for the help. I disconnected the battery agian to rest the computer and checked all the connections and everything looked good...I think it is fixed because everything has been working fine for a few days now.