I got my engine all buttoned up and ready to start ie; filled with oil and coolant. Tried turning it over with the coil disconnected to allow oil pressure to build up. It turned over a few times and the battery basically quit. I recharged the battery to full charge overnight and tried again. Had the same problem, the battery drains down to the point where it won't turn the starter any longer after only a few turns of the key. I also tried recharging the battery again and had the same results. Essentially, I think I have something hooked up wrong. It has been several months since I took everything apart for the work and to make matters worse, I had some help with the disassembly so I don't exactly know how everything came apart. I relocated my battery to the trunk and that might be causing some problems as well. I have tried to follow the wiring diagrams in the factory repair manuals but to tell you the truth, I haven't found one that exactly matches my car. The car was an automatic and had A/C at one time. I am at a stand-still until I get this figured out. If anyone needs more info, please post a follow-up to this. Thanks in advance.

Just tried to start my 02 after having the engine rebuilt, 5 speed installed, and repainting. The problem is that the battery is drained every time I attempt to turn over the engine with the starter? Any suggestions?

Two things to thing about. Are you sure your battery is OK? The only way to be certain is to have it load tested. Most car parts stores have testers and will test it for you at no charge. You can do a quick-and-dirty test by putting a meter on the battery. A lead-acid battery should read 12.6V when fully charged. Howevever, even a battery showing 12.6V could have a weak cell or two.

You mentioned you moved the battery to the trunk. I presume you used a kit or made up your own from the right gauge wire. Are you certain of the integrity of the connections? It is unlikely but possible that a poor connection is heating up and causing excessive resistance or an open circuit when you crank the motor.

What aspects of the wiring are you uncertain about?

Chris B.

'73 ex-Malaga