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Major battery current draw

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Old May 25, 2009 | 07:11 PM
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Default Major battery current draw

Hi folks,
I purchased a 2001 c5 coupe Saturday that had been garage kept and had 40,000 miles on it. I drove it home and it ran great. I got in it on Sunday and the battery was dead. I measured voltage and the meter showed 2.3 volts. The Delco battery was 5+ years old so I replaced it with a new one. Every thing seemed fine. Everything worked as new. I got in the car today and the new battery was dead. I charged it to 13.2 volts and used a multi tester between the negative battery cable and the negative battery post to measure amp draw. The reading was -5.4 amps. I disconnected the alternator and pulled every fuse and relay from both fuse boxes one at a time. The only fuses that made a noticable drop in amp draw were the #5 Radio/CD player fuse, the #25 BCM- Ignition 1 Instrument Panel control fuse and the #27 HVAC Controls fuse. This dropped the amp draw to -.68 amps. I installed the #25 and #27 fuses back and left the #5 Radio fuse out. The reading was back to -4.5 amp draw. I let the car sit for 30 minutes to allow the BCM to go to the sleep mode. The amp draw was at -2.2 amps. I checked the battery cables and wiring harness below the battery. There had been no acid leaks. There was no moisture around the BCM. All wires looked like new. I connected a scan tool and no codes showed up. Everything checked out ok. I don't think there was a problem with this car before I bought it. It was showing fuel milege and trip data in the display. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Old May 25, 2009 | 08:11 PM
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Thanks for the info. Yes, I had the meter connected for the 30 minutes without disturbing anything. I may have multiple problems. I have cleaned the grounds but that hasn't helped. I'll keep trying. Thanks again.
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Old May 25, 2009 | 10:40 PM
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Thanks for the info 8vette7. I did check all lights and light switches. I still have a 2+ amp draw after everything shuts down. All relays and fuses related to the seats and radio/cd have been removed. Maybe I need to check the solonoid switch or the ignition switch.
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Old May 25, 2009 | 11:26 PM
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From: Anthony TX
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Things that I have seen cause issues are:

Drivers seat contorol switch mallfunction allowing the seat motors to run after shut down!!!

Unplug the seat control connectors and recheck the readings.

BC
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Old May 26, 2009 | 10:36 PM
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Yes, the trouble was in the seat motor circuit. I disconnected all seat fuses and relay and battery seems to be holding a charge. Thanks for all your help.
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