Alarm was draining the battery

The spark tells you that something is still connected and consuming power.  If you have a modern radio it may be connected constantly to keep the station presets alive.  Same deal with the Alarm - some part of it is alive all the time.  Or, if you have courtesy lights and the door was open, well......

Still, 8 mils of current isn't a whole lot and your alternator should have re-charged your battery in between stops - or at least enough to crank over OK.

Might be prudent to have an automotive electrical guy do a load test on your battery.  It may have a cell going south or your alternator is acting up - Does your alternator light come on before you start the engine?

Yes the alternator light does come on before I start and then goes off.  The battery is a pretty new red top. 

The radio is modern and does have presets but that shows no current passing at the 400 mil meter setting.

One thing--I have read the if you hook your negative upo to the battery before hooking the positive it won't spark.  But I used my negative side to check the draw so the positive was hooked up when AI recoinnected the negative?  

Thanks-Gordon

Gordons probably correct in that the battery or alternator is going south.....   8mil. is "no load" in today's cars.....   If you did not see a current reading on the 400ma. scale, you probably do not have a short....    Get ye to PEP Boys, Autozone, Etc... for a load test on the battery....   If the alternator is puting out over 13 VDC with the engine running, its probably good....   Just a few thoughts...

You should always connect the Positive first (and remove it last) on a negative-ground car. That way if you hit the wrench against the chassis, metal body, or anything grounded when tightening the Positive cable, you don't cause a dead short. If you're lucky, you'll just get a big arc flash and part of your wrench will disappear. The tiny little spark you get from the Negative cable is nothing compared to doing that and doesn't hurt anything.

Leon--thanks for the info.  I took the car to Auto Zone and everything looks fine. Amps and cold crank amps were fine and the alternator is putting out 13.9v.  I saw no drain al all on the 400ms scale after s###-caning the alarm so I'm gonna call it OK.  (Old Marine term for throwing something away.)

Just wanted to make positive that Ralph is set for the Carlisle run.

"if you hook your negative up to the battery before hooking the positive it won't spark."

That......is an old wives tale.  Current is current and will "spark" wherever it has sufficient inducement to do so.  "+" lead or ground makes no difference.

I like Justin's answer, though - it just makes sense.

Yup, I'm with Justin and Gordon too. That's the way I was taught. If there is a draw, there will be a spark, proportional to the draw.

Jack, alternator sounds ok. Check your battery voltage after sitting overnight, neg. cable disconnected. It should be 12.6 volts or thereabouts. If it is below 12.3 the next morning you're probably going to be in the market for a new battery.

FYI, I use a battery float charger in the off season which keeps the battery in tip-top shape. I highly recommend using these, they add to battery longevity.

Ditto Yup,ever try to disconnected the spray nozzle from a garden hose with the pressure on.. the electrons spill out.

Nein, Nein, Nein - Ralph is not an allowed name for a German car!  Make it Ralf, Rudi, Reinhart, or Rupert.  I always though they were female - Heidi, Hilga, or Gilinda. 

Ralph was last week.

This week it's Fred.

Jack, you don't need no stinkin' alarm....no one has the stones to mess with that car.

How about Adolf? 

Al--truth is that the only time that alarm ever went off was when I set it off my damned self.

On the road I try to leave my Speedster in the loadibng area out front where it's lighted and I use a good car cover with a cable and lock that is visible to passers- by and have never had a problem in 7 years.  Good riddance.

I got a good 7 years from a Redtop. The last 3 I could tell it was getting tired.

~WB

Jack, how old is your battery?

On names, my license plate starts with ETH so I started calling her Ethel! You know, Ethel and Fred Mertz?