i checked my battery after charging it 2day, and i saw a 10 milliamp drain. BUT NOTHING WAS ON!!! it seems i have a short to ground somewhere.

has anyone else had this problem with early z's or other 30+ yr old cars? how would i track this problem down?

once i have the car street legal ($330 registration, $130/month insurance), i won't hafta worry about it, as the small current drain can be replaced by the alternator. but i'd like to get to the bottom of this, for peace of mind.

That isn't just a Z or old car problem. The only thing I can suggest is hook up your ammeter and start pulling fuses one-by-one. It's time consuming, but it usually helps pinpoint the fault. Note I said 'usually' - there aren't any guarantees with automotive electrical.:tapemouth

I don't know what vehicle you are having trouble with but if it is fitted with an electric rear window de-mister and the power is left on to the element, this will kill any battery. Some cars will only power the de-mister for a set period of time or switch it off next time the ignition is turned off. Simpler setups just have a rocker or toggle switch which may not even be illuminated to warn you of power on. As mentioned in another post, start pulling fuses to isolate the offending feed. Then start disconnecting wiring loom connectors on the feed to further isolate equipment. Use of a 12V test lamp or Multi-meter would help.

With patience, you will narrow it down.

I had this same problem. Drove my mechanic and I nuts.

We finally solved it this way, he hooked up a test light in line with the positive pole of the battery and the positive battery wire. This way we could monitor that the draw was / was not there as we unplugged and replugged in components.

We eventually traced it to a bad accessory relay. That's the one mounted on the top of the passenger kick panel, all the way on top. The minute we disconnected it, the light went out. Hooked in a new one, made the contact to ground to finish the circuit, and VOILA no drain.

Note that the clock will still drain intermitently if functioning properly, but it is NOT a continuous drain.

Hope this helps.

Enrique Scanlon