Thanks for the feedback. I'm planning to run the meter test tomorrow and will keep you posted.

As far as the battery goes, it is brand new (one month old), so it is likely okay, but I’m willing to test it, if someone would tell me what to do. As for the alternator, can I test it myself, but again would need to know how?

The battery does seem to get charged up when I drive the car, but knowing for sure if the battery and alternator are okay would definitely be the right way to go.

Here's my first (or maybe second) dumb question: what do you mean by reading the codes from the DIC? What does DIC stand for (I should probably know this)?

I know a little about plugging a device into a car's computer and reading codes to find problems, but that’s about all. (When I was growing up, cars didn't have computers. Ha!)

Oh yes, as you know, there are two fuse boxes according to the owner’s manual; I know where they are. But do I need to pull fuses in both boxes?

I'm assuming the answer is yes....

 

I'll go to AutoZone and get the battery and alternator checked for a small fee before I do the meter test.

 

autozone will / should do the test for FREE!

Yep,,,,C5's are special. for 50K you get your very own Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) test center. Follow these direction off this website:

This is the absolute best C5 Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) web site!!!

http://www.corvettedoctor.com/Code_Main.html
http://www.corvettedoctor.com/index.html


Go to “technical data base” and then to “Corvette ECM Computer Codes”. Then select your year car. Read the instructions and then scroll down to the "READ MORE" window to view the code definitions.\

Here is another very good site:

http://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_cod...d-ii-codes.php

Make sure to include the H or C suffix!!

Sound effects are cool too! 

Yep,,,you probably should know this!!

Yep,,,pull fuses one at a time from both boxes until the current drops off. Each time you pull the fuses wait for the BCM to go into sleep mode!

 

Terrific stuff! I'll check it all out.

Right, AutoZone did it for free. The battery and alternator checked out fine.

 

Make it simple, disconnect the negative lead (black) on your battery. Hook one lead of your meter to the battery terminal that now has no cable connected, the other lead to the cable you disconnected. Don't disconnect the red (positive) cable on your battery. With the switch off, the doors closed, the HOOD LIGHT OFF, your reading should be app 20 ma (.02 amps). You are just disconnecting the cable and placing your meter in series with the negative cable so that the current that normally would flow through your battery cables will now also flow through the meter and now can be read. Again, you're not connecting anything to the red battery cable or connector. You can use clip leads, or have someone hold it for you, or any way that will make the meter leads touch the two points. I've heard stories about headlight motors, modules, clusters, even alternator diodes causing a drain. It make take a while, but if you find a large drain and pull fuses and disconnect things while watching the meter, you'll find it. Don't totally rule out the battery even though it tested good. If your drain is ok, I'd borrow or buy a battery to try. Please post what you find.

 

Thanks for this information. It helps to confirm that I'm on the right track so far. You mentioned several interesting things, especially headlight motors.

I had to have the passenger side headlight motor replaced recently and the horn, too. Also, both sun visors are broken, so the mirror lights in the visors use to stay on until I duck taped the switches to keep them off all the time, until I can have the visors replaced. I recently had the driver-side door lock switch replaced because the lock/unlock function wasn't working right.

So, there have been a few "electrical" repairs that have been done within the past couple of weeks. Those problems have been corrected as far as I can tell, except for the visors, which only have a temporary fix for now.

I've only had the car for a month and have been trying to resolve the "little things."

But when I first bought the car (a month ago), I'm sure the drain problem was there from the beginning. Once, when I went to test drive it at the dealer, it wouldn't start. That was a sign of things to come....

I'm interested in seeing what the meter test reveals tomorrow.

 

Well, I connected the meter as discussed and got a reading of .474, a fairly major drain it seems like.

I'll start pulling fuses now.

More later.

 

One of the links in this thread talked about locking the door latch to keep the passenger door from turning on the interior lighs during the meter test and pulling fuses. How is this done?

 

Thanks for all the help with the meter test everyone!

The meter test is done. It was a success, as far as I can tell.

According to the meter, there was a .474 battery drain when the system was asleep -- way more than the norm of around .02.

To my surprise, the first fuse I pulled, #3 (Lumbar Seat), dropped the asleep drain to .028, which seems pretty normal.

I checked the switch on the passenger side seat and sure enough several were not working.

The forward and backward switch works, but the other ones don't work. It looks like the switch (in that seat) needs to be replaced.

I have removed fuse #3 for the time being to eliminate the battery drain until I can replace the switch.

I'D APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON REPLACING THE SWITCH, SUCH AS WHERE TO BUY IT, COULD I INSTALL/PROGRAM IT MYSELF, OR DO I NEED TO GO TO THE DEALER.

By the way, I figured out the door latch issue.

The good news is finding the drain fast (hopefully there isn’t another drain somewhere).

But doing this sort of thing for the first time had its challenges.

For instance, I accidentally dropped a bolt (for the battery terminal).

It fell somewhere under the tray the battery sits on. So, I had to remove the battery and the tray to get the bolt.

Other than that, the door latch issue and the tight location of the fuse box, the experience wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be.

But if I had to keep pulling fuses, the job would have been a pain, but still way better than going to a shop.

 

Good job! When I was looking for the link, that I posted earlier I came across another thread where someone had a problem with the seat motor or switch (can't remember which), so that's probably a good place to start looking. Hopefully you found that thread also, before you started troubleshooting. You need to do some more testing to be sure it's the switch before you order one. It could be the motor.
Check with member Gene Culley for the part you need.
http://www.gmpartshouse.com/
If your going to work on your car, the GM service manuals are money well spent. I paid $75 for the 3 volume set on ebay, and I think you can get them on CD now for even less.

 

Nice work. You could just leave the fuse out if it doesn't control anything else. How often do you ride in the passenger seat? Post what you find, it could happen to anyone and you might save them a lot of time and money. Great to hear that you were able to find it yourself. You must be a lucky person to pull the right fuse first. Buy a lottery ticket. You just need ONE to win.

 

I got lucky, I guess. I'm always a little skeptical when things seem too easy. Only time will tell if I really found the drain, that is, when I don't drive the car for three days and then see if it starts up. If it does, then I'll celebrate! (I know it could still be the battery or something else.)

Then I'll buy a lottery ticket and see what happens.

I did a search for the seat motor, but didn't find anything.... but I'll keep looking.

I'll get those manuals too, hopefully this week.

In the meantime, does anyone have any ideas on testing the seat motor?

 

Here is a point of reference on how long the battery should last between drives. My 97 with the original Delco battery would go for 4 or 5 weeks in a cold garage and still start. The 03Z with an aftermarket Delco AGM battery will do about the same although with winters being so temperate the last few years I haven't really left it sit for that long.
Bill

 

The switches should be fairly easy to troubleshoot. Disconnect the wiring harness from the switch assembly. One pin goes to one side of all the switches. On mine it's pin 7 (ground). Set the meter to Ohms and tone (beeps when you touch the two leads together). Hold one lead on pin 7 and the other lead on one of the other pins. Toggle the switches, and when you close the corresponding switch, the meter should beep. This is where the manual would really help, because it will tell you which pin on the connector, goes to which switch. If the switch was stuck on all the time, it would hold the relay that powers the seat motor energized, possibly causing the the current draw your seeing. Other possibilities would be: a bad relay (common and nomally open contacts stuck together), bad motor, bad seat control module or about 100 other things. Start with the easy and cheap things first. Check the switch. Swap the relays, and see if the problem moves. You can also tap on the top of the relay while measuring the current, and if it jars the contact loose, the current will drop to normal levels. Sometimes they are welded together though. Tapping the top of the relay won't work.
The motors should have two wire and are driven in either direction by reversing the polarity.
+, - >>>drives forward. -,+>>> drives back. You can unplug the motor and momentarily connect 12 volt power the the pins on the motor connector to see if it's working. I hope that helps. Good luck.

 

Yes, this definitely does help. I'll get my manuals soon, in about a week. The manuals plus your explanation of how to troubleshoot the switch/motor problem should help me get to the bottom of it.

When I get the manuals, I may have a few follow-up questions.

 

I ordered the GM Service Manuals today. The total cost, with tax, shipping, and processing fees, was 152 bucks.

Here's the link I used: http://www.chevrolet.com/contactus/servicemanuals/

I checked e-Bay and found several manuals that were a little cheaper, but not much....

Couldn't find a CD-ROM version though.

Shipping is 7-10 business days.