RE: Battery Failure Mode

[Ben Dixon <Ben@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

not really much help on a 164, but you never know...

I had a similar problem on my '68 1750 GTV.  Battery was slowly getting
worse, and eventually died completely.  It was a fairly old battery, so
I replaced it.  while putting in the new battery, I noticed that it the
terminals sparked when I connected them.  Quick check with a multimeter
revealed a current draw of about 1.5A - with everything switched off!
no wonder my battery had been going flat.  So i went through the
fusebox, pulling fuses until I found the circuit responsible for the
power drain.  It turned out to be the circuit with the windscreen wipers
and the brake lights.  on close inspection, it was revealed that the
brake lights were staying on faintly all the time, causing the drain.
Problem was found to be a faulty brake light switch -  which is a
pressure switch plumbed into the front brake lines.  a new one was
bought the following day, but on the way home, the brakes got very
spongy.  when I got home, I discovered the brake light switch had failed
totally, and was leaking brake fluid all over the place!  I put in the
new switch, bled the brakes, and everything is now perfect again.

I dont know if the 164 uses a similar brake light switch, or if it seems
to be as prone to failure as the one on 105's, but form talking to other
owners of 105's, its not an uncommon part to fail.  its mounted on the
firewall, quite close to the exhaust manifold, and becomes very hot.
Ive made up a small heat shield for the new one, so hopefully I wont
have the same problem again.

Good luck!

Ben
'68 1750 GTV

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