I did it this evening in the dark, and when I put my lamp circuit tester on it, I realized the circuit is pulsing dim-bright, dim-bright, dim-bright. A little little one, or a substantial one? Im guessing open ground somewhere. I'm losing my mind and cant afford to pay for maybe. Pull fuses in the interior fuse panel one at a time and repeat the battery cable-spark test until you have no spark anymore. I checked the draw on the battery when everything is off and it draws about 200 mA when the vehicle is locked and about 65 mA if left unlocked.
The parasitic current drain should not exceed this number. So I was going to focus on what was causing the 0. I would look into that first. Or an electronic component may malfunction and cause a parasitic drain that is larger than normal specification. When coupled with an inductive amp probe, fuse loops are also very useful for measuring an exact amperage draw through a specific fused circuit. By the start of the second load test about 5 min later we had it smoking.
At the very least, this battery should be recharged and tested before proceeding with a diagnosis. I took the battery back 2wice and they said the battery is good and my charging system is also good. But, in long-term parking situations, parasitic drains may discharge the battery enough to cause a no-start condition. The current now flows through the jumper wire. I can go about two days with out starting my truck and its dead. Select Diagnostic Information and Procedures. Now start removing and replacing the fuses one by one until the light goes out; that one will be the circuit with the drain.
I usually reside over at rec. They randomly send the signal so sometimes its 1 day, sometimes its 2, sometimes a week, etc. After shutting the ignition off, turn the test switch off. I'm losing my mind and cant afford to pay for maybe. Mechanical voltage regulators incorporate a voltage cut-out relay that isolates the battery from the electrical system when the ignition switch is turned off. He was sooo happy because he was fixin to pay for an electronic check to find the reason for his battery drain. The load test did not show a dead cell in the battery and it was making 790 cranking amps 800 cca battery.
It should be at least 13. Posted on Sep 04, 2009 Hi, there is a park relay in middle of the interior relay box under the dash to the left of the steering column. At that time you will have found the problem circuit. I am going to go like that for the next couple of days to see if that is the issue but if it is, is there any way I can find the fuse for the On Star System so as to disable it? Adahr, we've been having database problems. I unhooked it and it was problem solved.
Just like the title says I have a big drain some where and its killing my battery. As I write this, mine is still in the mail. On future cars of course. The first step in diagnosing a parasitic drain is interviewing the customer to determine the average number of days and the driving conditions under which the battery drains. The source of that figure was an article written by someone named Larry Hammer, and can be found at this website:. If you find and area that responds to the wiggle test, then inspect the area of the harness and connections for any faults listed above. I would call around and find a reputable shop that will do a battery load test and a starter draw test and a charging system test.
I suppose the next thing to do would be to try to find grounds to the chassis, and see if any are loose. When you find the circuit, the light will go dim or completely go out. Now, since its being drained I assume you'll see some kind of amperage draw. A typical drain today actually falls into the 7-12 mA range, even though some vehicles do approach the maximum. I had the battery load tested, and i removed the alternator and had it tested.
In automotive terms, a parasitic drain is an electrical load that draws current from the battery when the ignition is turned off. If nothing is detected then you need to find out where the draw is coming from. This car has those full-time running lights that cannot be turned off, but can't find any lights on with engine off - I've even disconnected engine light under hood and turned off interior dome light, to reduce drain. Pulled both cables off the alternator, still draining current. Also my radio and turn signals do not work and the fuses are ok. Check the customer's vehicle, battery installation could take up to 45 minutes.
These tests will give us an idea of what's going on. Now I had the same problem on my 01. Now that the problem is fixed, my TrailBlazer draws less than 10 milliamps — after the computers on board shut things down this takes about fifteen seconds or so. Refer to Corporate Bulletin Number 02-06-03-006A for more information about this tool. That is less than a month so it seems kind of high.
The following is a summary, not the complete procedure. I usually reside over at rec. Acceptable Current Draw: After a little research, the 25 - 35 milliamp figure mentioned above still looks like a good rule of thumb to me. Speedometer and tach have acted up before, rapidly jumping and reading the wrong speed, but not for a while. It is the old Analog system and I am not using it.