On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:32:28 -0800 (PST), ransley
wrote:

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v .

I wouldn't depend on those percentages. What are you using to give you
percentages. As to the voltages, are all of them with the car off?

(I didn't think you could get 13.3 with the car off, but one of my
meters has a low battery now, and it's showing 2.3 volts for a good
flashlight battery. (Maybe that's because it's a cheap digital meter,
but still.)

Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short.

I agree that you should check this out. For one thing, you'll learn
things so the next time this happens, you'll know a lot more.

Just take off one of the battery cables and put an ammeter inbetween
it and the battery post. Start with the high range, like up to 2
amps if you have a jack or scale like that, 200 milliamps if you
don't, and if you don't get a reading, change to the next lower scale.

Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

Pat Goss, who used to have a car show on 980AM in DC and gave the best
advice I've ever heard, especially for the shade-tree mechanic, said
one could judge the drain from a battery when the car was off by
using, and hears the problem, I don't remember the number exactly, a
#52, 53 or 57 lightbulb**. This is one of the small spherical ones
with only one contact at the bottom. Only room for one contact because
it's small. They used to be used as dashboard lights. If it lights,
there is too much drain. I checked once how much current it took to
light the bulb, but now I can't remember. **I could go to the store
and see which of this is a cute, little, very round bulb, but I keep
forgetting. If anyone knows which one I mean, please let us know.

I have a bulb like that, in a socket with wires already, somewhere in
this house and I may need it myself as soon as the weather is warmer,
because since New Years, my battery goes dead every night. Thank
goodness for Battery Buddy, not cheap but worth every penny of it.
When the voltage from the battery gets too low, it disconnects the
battery, while still leaving just enough for me to start the car
(after I open the hood and press a button on the thing.) It's worked
for me 50 or 80 times counting 10 times this year and 40 or more about
6 years ago (when I was getting a new car and didn't want to buy a
battery for a car I was going to scrap. I was right too because the
new, used car came with an almost new battery.)