C4 Tech/Performance L98 Corvette and LT1 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine

'86 L98- Battery Draining

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Old Feb 28, 2014 | 07:25 PM
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Default '86 L98- Battery Draining

Anyone have any idea where I should start looking. The battery in my car drains down when the car sits for more than one day. I verified that there are no lights staying on, I can't see any accessories that are staying on. Any ideas?
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Old Feb 28, 2014 | 09:45 PM
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is the battery in good shape?
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Old Feb 28, 2014 | 09:54 PM
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http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...battery-drains
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Old Mar 1, 2014 | 01:17 AM
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The prime suspects in the order of most common:

Power antenna motor not shutting off.
Power seat motor not shutting off.
Bad diode in alternator.
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Old Mar 1, 2014 | 05:45 AM
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Originally Posted by hooked073
is the battery in good shape?
The battery is in good shape, it's practically new. I thought there was a problem with the battery & took it to a couple of places & had it tested. Both places said that the battery is good.
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Old Mar 1, 2014 | 05:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Cliff Harris
The prime suspects in the order of most common:

Power antenna motor not shutting off.
Power seat motor not shutting off.
Bad diode in alternator.
I eliminated the antenna, it hasn't been connected in years.
I will check the power seat motor, shouldnt, I be able to hear it running. When I was verifying that none of the interior lights were staying on, I sat in the car with all the doors closed & checked each light, I did not hear any motors running.

Bad diode in alternator? The alternator is also basically new, it seems to be charging the battery fine, the problem comes when the car is not run for a couple of days. As long as I run the engine, the battery gets charged with no problem.
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Old Mar 1, 2014 | 08:13 AM
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Unplug the under hood lights and see if that helps.
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Old Mar 1, 2014 | 08:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Cajun CB
Unplug the under hood lights and see if that helps.
I disconnected the underwood lights already a few months ago.
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Old Mar 1, 2014 | 09:25 AM
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I followed the procedure in this link, it was very helpful. I am able to narrow down the high amp draw to two circuits in the fuse box, LCD fuse & CTSY fuse. I looked in my Haynes manual but it doesn't show the circuit for the LCD. The circuit for CTSY, are all the interior lights & radio clock. I verified that all the interior lights were off but I was still getting the amp draw.
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Old Mar 1, 2014 | 01:25 PM
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I would add the Climate Control to that "suspect list", if you have the C68 option. See Blower Motor Module.

PS. Might want to verify the battery, condition before and after. A bad starter solenoid can have intermittent resistance and mimic low cranking amperage.

Last edited by DanZ51; Mar 1, 2014 at 01:28 PM.
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Old Mar 2, 2014 | 02:27 AM
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The LCD fuse is for the instrument cluster. It keeps the cluster powered all the time so that it can remember your mileage and other stuff. The current draw should be pretty small.

The CTSY/CLK fuse supplies power to a LOT of circuits. Basically everything that has power on it all the time.

You can test the current draw by removing the fuse and then putting your DVM probes on the fuse connectors. Set the DVM on the current range and you'll probably have to move one probe to the current jack in the DVM. Polarity doesn't matter -- if you have the probes reversed the meter will just show a negative number.
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Old Mar 2, 2014 | 08:35 AM
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My 86 had a 350 ma draw and would kill the battery in a day or 2. found the problem to be the alarm system. Pulled the panel and took the fuse out. Problem solved.. thats just a suggestion..
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Old Mar 2, 2014 | 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by dlee425
My 86 had a 350 ma draw and would kill the battery in a day or 2. found the problem to be the alarm system. Pulled the panel and took the fuse out. Problem solved.. thats just a suggestion..
I'm thinking this is causing my problem. It is an aftermarket Viper alarm system however the problem just started happening about a month or two ago but the alarm has been on there for about a year! Disabling it will be the next thing I try.
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Old Mar 3, 2014 | 12:09 AM
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The fusible links behind the battery
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