Like many listees, I have an Optima Yellow Top under the driver's seat to
use as an auxiliary battery. I had my mechanic arrange it so that the
interior lights, stereo, and inverter would draw power from it when the
ignition was off. However, I've never managed to get it to stay charged. The
first Optima Yellow Top I bought died after a couple of years and would not
take a charge. When I was at GoWesty for some other work I had them check
the wiring and they said it looked fine. Nonetheless, the Optima - which I
thought could not be killed - was dead.

It was thought initially that the culprit was a small dash display from my
CD changer - it was an LED readout that said "Stand By" whenever the CD
changer was off, so it was a small but constant drain on the aux battery
system. Recently I got a new stereo and had them remove the CD changer to
eliminate that draw. Then I bought a new Optima and put it in two weeks ago.

When I got in the bus yesterday, I noticed that the interior lights didn't
come on. Bad sign. I have a voltage meter I can check the aux battery with
and it was down to 7 volts. I have no idea what could be drawing any power
from the aux battery now.

Any similar experiences or suggestions? I'm frustrated that I can't get the
system to stay charged. When I take it back to my mechanic this time I'd
like to be armed with some ideas on what the problem might be.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Chris Paquette
'88 Westy, "Rocinante"
Los Angeles