Short causing drain on battery?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 48
From: Lake Saint Louis Mo
Short causing drain on battery?
99 with battery less than 1 year old (I know it could still be bad).
When I disconnect the battery I get a pretty good arc. The headlight actuators make noise and rotate. (don't know if that's normal or not)
Bottom line, if It sits for a day, it won;t start.
Should I start pulling fuses until the ark stops when I connect the battery?
Where is the best place to start? or
Can you recommend somebody in St.Louis to take it to?
Larry
When I disconnect the battery I get a pretty good arc. The headlight actuators make noise and rotate. (don't know if that's normal or not)
Bottom line, if It sits for a day, it won;t start.
Should I start pulling fuses until the ark stops when I connect the battery?
Where is the best place to start? or
Can you recommend somebody in St.Louis to take it to?
Larry
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,987
Likes: 18
From: DuBois PA
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Connect an amp meter in series with your negative battery cable, at rest you should be reading 20mA anything higher, start pulling fuses till you get a 20mA reading. That would be alot easier and safer then watching the arc...
I would obviously start with the headlight motor uses! LOL
I would obviously start with the headlight motor uses! LOL
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 7,370
Likes: 8
From: Slave to the evil empire
Cruise-In V Veteran
St. Jude Donor '04
Connect an amp meter in series with your negative battery cable, at rest you should be reading 20mA anything higher, start pulling fuses till you get a 20mA reading. That would be alot easier and safer then watching the arc...
I would obviously start with the headlight motor uses! LOL
I would obviously start with the headlight motor uses! LOL
Are you disconnecting the positive battery cable to see this arc?
If so thats extremely dangerous, you should always disconnect the negative cable first.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,356
Likes: 1
From: Chesapeake Va
Connect an amp meter in series with your negative battery cable, at rest you should be reading 20mA anything higher, start pulling fuses till you get a 20mA reading. That would be alot easier and safer then watching the arc...
I would obviously start with the headlight motor uses! LOL
I would obviously start with the headlight motor uses! LOL
And using an amp meter will tell you exactly how much of a draw, which in turn should help you narrow it down. If it dies after sitting just a day, its got a pretty good draw. Its more that your interior lights staying on.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
You CANT just stick an amp meter in the circuit and expect to see 20 ma!
The BCM will go active when you connect the circuit and turn on all sorts of stuff. The first reading you will see will be around 7 - 8 amps. Then as the BCM starts to shut things down it will drop down in steps until about 3-5 mins later when the BCM goes into the security mode. MAKE SURE that you disconnect the hood light!
If it's right close to 20ma, your good to go! If you open the door, the BCM will need to cycle back to the security mode to get the correct reading.
There are things that get stuck on.
Seat control modules, Headlight control module, etc...
There are a bunch of post on this in the search files.
BC
The BCM will go active when you connect the circuit and turn on all sorts of stuff. The first reading you will see will be around 7 - 8 amps. Then as the BCM starts to shut things down it will drop down in steps until about 3-5 mins later when the BCM goes into the security mode. MAKE SURE that you disconnect the hood light! If it's right close to 20ma, your good to go! If you open the door, the BCM will need to cycle back to the security mode to get the correct reading.There are things that get stuck on.
Seat control modules, Headlight control module, etc...
There are a bunch of post on this in the search files.
BC
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,021
Likes: 133
From: Conejo Valley CA
Here's my take on this and it is definitely worth at least checking out for your situation...
I have a relatively new battery and a while back, the car would sometimes start and other times not start. When the car did not start, it appeared as if the battery was dead. So what gave?? I had the battery tested and I also tested to see if the alternator was working. All passed with flying colors.
In my case, it turned out that the battery connection was the problem. It turned out I had to tighten the battery cables really good. Now here's the thing... the battery cables were not loose to a point where they were dangling, the connector screws were just not really tight. After tighting up pretty good, no more problems. I suspect if I were to clean terminals on the battery cables with a dip in baking soda and water, I might not need things so tight. All I know is ever since I cinched the cables to the battery really well, no more problems.
I have a relatively new battery and a while back, the car would sometimes start and other times not start. When the car did not start, it appeared as if the battery was dead. So what gave?? I had the battery tested and I also tested to see if the alternator was working. All passed with flying colors.
In my case, it turned out that the battery connection was the problem. It turned out I had to tighten the battery cables really good. Now here's the thing... the battery cables were not loose to a point where they were dangling, the connector screws were just not really tight. After tighting up pretty good, no more problems. I suspect if I were to clean terminals on the battery cables with a dip in baking soda and water, I might not need things so tight. All I know is ever since I cinched the cables to the battery really well, no more problems.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 48
From: Lake Saint Louis Mo
Thanks all.
It all started with the driver seat moter stuck. I have noticed in the past that it does that when the battery is low? I have removed the fuse for the seat motor (#4 on the inside box). I have been removing the negative cable. I agree with the post that many things actuate when the circuit is first connected and wasn't sure if the headlights was normal. I had the automatic lights on and turned them off, as well as entry and all I could find that might cause this.
So how do I test for drain after all has settled down?
Connect the meter from where to where?
Larry
It all started with the driver seat moter stuck. I have noticed in the past that it does that when the battery is low? I have removed the fuse for the seat motor (#4 on the inside box). I have been removing the negative cable. I agree with the post that many things actuate when the circuit is first connected and wasn't sure if the headlights was normal. I had the automatic lights on and turned them off, as well as entry and all I could find that might cause this.
So how do I test for drain after all has settled down?
Connect the meter from where to where?
Larry
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,375
Likes: 328
From: CA.
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15
My drivers side power seat was on all the time & adjusting ---Battery kept going dead--- unplugged it under the seat all is fine---under the seat i thought was better so I could change it easier if I had to without opening hood---
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Disconnect the neg battery cable. Connect an amp meter between the neg terman and the neg cable.
It doesnt matter with the polarity. It will just read NEG or POS after the reading. You are just interested in the at rest/sleep reading. That will happen after about 5-10 min after connection of the ampmeter. Yes the headlights will jump when it first connected.
BC
It doesnt matter with the polarity. It will just read NEG or POS after the reading. You are just interested in the at rest/sleep reading. That will happen after about 5-10 min after connection of the ampmeter. Yes the headlights will jump when it first connected.
BC
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 48
From: Lake Saint Louis Mo
Follow uo on my problem:
It was not the head light motors.
It was corrosion on the positive battery post.
It is interesting that after correcting the problem it didn't arc when I connected the negative cable.
I'm also convinced that, at least on my car, the driver seat motor relay doesn't want to turn off when the battery is low.
Larry
It was not the head light motors.
It was corrosion on the positive battery post.
It is interesting that after correcting the problem it didn't arc when I connected the negative cable.
I'm also convinced that, at least on my car, the driver seat motor relay doesn't want to turn off when the battery is low.
Larry
