Battery draining...any suggestions

[cdubya]

I've got a '97, two door, 4x4 Z71 with 77K on it...I've put a new battery in it (ensured that I fully trickle charged it before installation) and for some unknown reason, I CANNOT get it to keep a charge. Initially, what I found was that one of the map lights was "on", although the light itself was not lit. I rectified that problem. The next thing that I did was to make it so that the dome lights NEVER come on via the override switch on the dash.

Unfortunately, this has NOT solved my problem. Is there a way, via the fuses or something via a test light, to find where this battery "drain" is taking place?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[lesterl]

Pull the fuses one at a time and jump the pins with a test light, the brighter the light the more current it is drawing, a couple circuits will draw current for memory purposes and probably those will slightly illuminate the testlight. Good luck!!!!

 

[rmc-etc]

Did you solve it? My 99 just started to do this, after no mods. I will diagnose all circuits but perhaps one is more likely to be a problem.

 

[Gregski]

did you maybe just have a new radio installed?

 

[rmc-etc]

No recent mods, there is an aftermarket radio which was there when I bought it about 3.5 years ago, but there has been no battery problem. It generally sits for a couple weeks at a time and recently I found a dead battery. It checked out to be questionable so I replaced it and now even with a new bat it is draining so I will have to check the circuits. Just was checking to see if there is some similar issue that is common to these otherwise very useful vehicles.
Thanks, and please reply with anything pertinent. I will post the solution when I find it.

 

[Gregski]

now that I think about it, I had a similar problem in my '85 Blazer I think it turned out to be a door switch for the lights, you may wanna check them out, I gotta barn door on my Hoe but you may have a tailgate switch of some sort to check also

 

[Kalifornia99]

:help:
I'm having the Same Problem with my 99 Tahoe, Went thru 3 batteries, countless trips to the mechanic, it's NOT the ALternator, Battery....Thought I found the problem as the Light on the Visor Mirror was staying on, Disconnected that...still If I don't start the Tahoe for couple of days, I need to Jump it....I read somewhere on the Forum about the Power seats motor goes bad and starts to drain the Battery so that's my next option....

I Have 2 door, 2wd with Tail gate and I haven't seen any lights on back there...
I Disconnected by Amp for the subs to see if that's the problem....NO !!

IF ANYONE finds an answer please post it.....:uhoh2:

 

[lesterl]

Disconnect the positive battery cable, hook one end of testlight to cable, other end to battery, testlight will illuminate, pull fuses one at a time till light either goes out of majorly diminishes in intensity, check that associated circuit. Repeat as nescesarry, can also run a testlight across where fuses were pulled from to see what you get..... Of course do all this with truck off and key out of ignition, preferably with door shut/ door pin switch pushed in.

 

[rmc-etc]

After taking it into the shop, they claimed that the voltage drain was from the alternator. I cannot dispute that as it seemed better after being replaced, but probably wasn't really leaving it turned off long enough for the battery to die (4-5 days).

Just found what the issue really was, one of the windshield visors. The flap that lifts up to expose the mirror was not hitting the microswitch because the little plastic molded hinges had become brittle and cracked. I noticed that the plastic flap was warm and had the culprit. Tried removing the bulbs, but they fought me tooth and nail. Hard to grab as they are small and slippery. So I removed the visor (3 screws), the harness pulls out about an inch and a half and the connector can be disconnected.

No doubt there are other causes, but this one is easy to check for.