An Electric Puzzler, a strange draw Options

[tomamafone]

Alright guru's here you go! I have a '75 that i've just started to use as a daily driver. its maiden voyage was 30 mi into LA and back. the next morning the battery was dead. i got her bump started and ran her for about 15min and got the battery charged again. let her sit for 15 or so and the battery seemed very strong. let sit overnight again and its dead. broke out the multimeter and there is definately a draw on the battery while the ignition is off (over 500mA). I've checked both lights (passenger and engine compartments) and they are off.

What other (unswitched) components could be draining my power or "sticking" on?

-Tommy

[Spoke]

Since you have a multimeter, use process of elimination. Try pulling off a fuse at at a time to see if it makes a difference in the 1/2A load. If pulling a fuse doesn't make a difference, then chances are that it isn't the issue.

Even try disconnecting connectors, like the one to the relay panel or the one to the steering column. When disconnecting connectors, you may want to disconnect the battery first, then reconnect the battery after removing the connector. If you run out of things to remove, try disconnecting the starter (disconnect battery first).

Also try jiggling wire bundles as adjacent wires can short with 30+ year old insulation on the wires can become brittle and shatter in the wire bundles. Be gentle with the wires since rough movement can cause additional issues. Any removal or jiggling that causes the current to drop or rise gets you that much closer to the issue.

Spoke