Just got back from my summer vacation to the beach-4 hour drive- drive down great-car ran beutifully-on the way back my battery light came on with just a faint hint of a glow- just about 20 miles from home the battery completly drained out-got the car home though. I have taken the alt out and have had it checked at advance auto-they say it's fine. Now anyone have any ideas on how to track down a short? Should I start by removing fuses and try to find the culprit that way? I have always had real difficulity in finding eletrical glitches.
All help app.
Poolman

Hi,Had this happen to me years ago on a trip to Greece via ferries etc. I too was driving for hours at a time. One time when restarting the battery really struggled to turn over the engine,i thought that it should be charged after so longer running,when i checked the battery it was almost dry,the red charging light was just a glow instead of out,filled up with distilled water. After another 4 hours driving went to start,same again a struggle and no water also this time the battery was red hot. Topped up again with distilled water. Another 4 hours,then it would not start, the battery was shot. Had to have a Ford tractor battery fitted, was fine after that and all the way home. Regards

First you need to check your battery. How old is it. If its about 4 years old. It's a pretty sure bet its the battery. Your battery is not charging is my approach to this problem. Alternator check ok, look at battery.

Thanks for the input guys-I second guessed the people at Advance Auto and took the alternator back to the guy who rebuilt it last year-it checked out but not to his liking-pulled the top and found that the brushes were not sitting as they should-he fixed the problem up and I have just buttened evrything back up and she's running fine again. I haven't checked the old battery but with the one I bought yeaterday to get the car back the last 20 miles the battery light was still on with a slight glimmer-just like it was all the way back up the road at times.
Poolman