positive ground to negative done wrong???

[finally]

I know I saw an article telling how to do this but for the life of me can't find it... Someone guide me to where its at or how to double check it was done correctly?

Here is why I want it. PO supposedly converted to negative ground but brand new battery lost all its juice while the car sat for several weeks. My guess is that he only did part of hte conversion OR I've got another wiring issue. Thought I'd double check the conversion first.

Thanks!

 

[skywords]

I believe there is an article on the subject at the Sunbeam Specialties site. Under tech tips or such.

Here it is:

http://www.team.net/www/rootes/sunbeam/alpine/mk1-5/techtips/cvtgrnd.html

 

[Nickodell]

I know I saw an article telling how to do this but for the life of me can't find it... Someone guide me to where its at or how to double check it was done correctly?

Here is why I want it. PO supposedly converted to negative ground but brand new battery lost all its juice while the car sat for several weeks. My guess is that he only did part of hte conversion OR I've got another wiring issue. Thought I'd double check the conversion first.

Thanks!

If your battery polarity was reversed you'd have more trouble than its draining over a period of weeks. You may have a problem I had when I converted to an AC Delco alternator over 20 years ago. The first intimation that something was amiss was when the engine continued to run with the ignition off and the key out. Then after I had stopped it by removing the coil LT wire, the battery discharged in a few days.

The cause was voltage feeback from the sensing wire of the alternator. Electricity will happily flow in either direction, and with the engine off it was going from the battery to the alternator and to ground. I solved it by splicing a large diode (from Radio Schlock) into the sensor wire. The first attempt I did it backwards, so current continued to flow. After reversing it all was OK.

 

[Chuck Ingram]

The cause was voltage feeback from the sensing wire of the alternator. Electricity will happily flow in either direction, and with the engine off it was going from the battery to the alternator and to ground. I solved it by splicing a large diod (from Radio Schlock) into the sensor wire. The first attempt I did it backwards, so current continued to flow. After reversing it all was OK.

NICK
The main reason the engine continued to run was because now you had full power to the coil instead of power via the ignition.The sensing wire was also full power and not via the ignitionYou didn't need a diode
I started using the AC delco alternator many years ago and I never had a problem.I have done at least 4 Alpines plus a Tiger.
Now if you read between the lines you can see why older cars were so easy to steal if there was no steering lock.Hood up and one little jumper wire and away we go.I lost my keys once and thank goodness I could start the Alpine and get home via the above method.
I guess we all now should have a lock out of some kind for anti theft.
On the Lister I just take the steering wheel off.
It is a keyed removal system by GRANT.

 

[finally]

Thanks for the link. Based on what I read in there and everyone's comments, it sounds like the conversion isn't a problem but its a wiring issue someplace allowing the battery to drain. Bummer, sounds like a decent amount of work to find... Oh well.

 

[Nickodell]

Chuck: maybe that was why the engine continued to run, but that doesn't explain the battery discharging for which the diode did effect a cure.

And (beating an old drum for the zillionth time) the battery master switch, with removable key, is the answer to theft deterrence. Even if the would-be thief carries a jumper wire, if he tries to use this to bypass the switch all he'll get on trying to turn the starter is a melted wire.