electric gremlin, please HELP

[ERA_Evil]

a couple weeks ago, my 87 cabriolet, which was made from fuel injection to a carburetor system, started to go bad. the problem is that i turn off the car and it wont start again due to the battery going dry. i jump start it, it works fine rune great, everythings good, but it wont charge the battery. something is draining it, i went through 3 batteris, the last one an optima red top. i put it in, started the car fine, and standing still, i just watch the volt meter star at 13v, and just start going down till like 9v. i changed the meter, for a new one, i changed the alts regulator, i checked for loose wiring at any point in the ignition, in the stereo system, the wiring to the amps, all live wires, everything i could think of and still nothing. if the battery is charged, it drains it while running or standing still. i have no idea what the problem could be. any help really appreciated. i hate having my car in the garage and not being able to use it. what other wires are "live"? so i can check again

and i also have a capacitor with a digital voltage meter so i can keep an eye on the volts, and it always goes down. please help!!!

[TTTurbo1.8T]

Did you try replacing the alternator yet? If not that would be my first guess.

[BadBradokc]

A bad diode in your alternator will drain your battery fast.

[ERA_Evil]

i already changed the alty
still the same problem, although i noticed the ground cable on the strter got quite hot. what can this mean?
which one is the diode? how can i change it?

and i also wnet through 2 voltage regulators

[BadBradokc]

The diode is inside the alternator. So, if you changed it that rules that out. You have a drain somewhere, probably a wire that is grounded, but not strong enough to blow a fuse. To verify this first undo your neg battery cable and hook a test light inbetween your batt cable and batt post. make sure you have all accessorys off. The only drain you might have would be the stereo memory. If your light is lit goto your fuseblock and one by one take out each fuse. If you pull a fuse and the test light goes off, THAT is your circuit that has the drain. Then trace all of the wiring in that circuit and you should find your bad wire. Hope this helps...

[Kaos]

disconnect the negitive battery cable from the body an check for rust and dirt . Had a problem like this on my mazda. also check the conections at the starter where the positive contacts.Thats the problem I had for both my old GT golf an Jetta coupe. Previos owners idiots :~

[ERA_Evil]

ok, so the alts running and good, but the car wont start up, as if the battery ran dead.
i run the car all day, turn it off, and after like 15 o r 20 min, i try to start the car again, but nothing, i turns over a couple time, and after that it drains the battery after what i'd say is like 3 or 4 attepts at starting. and i have to jump start it or push start it. the alts putting around 13.5v, and if i check the battery it reads around 12.5v. is this normal?

also, can any one provide wiring diagrams, the problem is my car used to be FI and was turned to a carb setup, problem is theres wires and connectors all over the place and some of them are creating shorts, which was the problem to start with, but i want to completely remove anything that isn't necesary and just leave all essential cables. but i need to know what is what. its a 1987 cabriolet karmann edition.

thanks in advance to all