I am having an issue with my battery draining over night. so today i hooked my amp meter in-line to the battery to try and see where the amp draw was comong from. i found that when i connect the wire from the back of the altanator to the positive side of the battery i get a 3 amp draw. and if i disconnect the 2 wire connector from the top of the alt the amp draw goes away. this is all with the car NOT running and the key NOT in . what could be causing this, is this a bad alt. or something else. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

the 2 wires on the plug, one has 12 volts all the time(it's the larger diameter wire) the other is alt sense and it also turns the alt off. That is key or ign sw controlled. Make sure it has no voltage with the key off. If thats OK than the gen is likely bad, probably the reg module internal to the gen

 

thanks for the reply, i pretty much figured that was the problem but wasn't sure. the alternator isn't but a year or two old (guess i shouldn't have bought the remanufactured cheaper model). i just wonder if the stereo system is the blame, 3 large amps on a stock powered alternator?