Battery drain, yay.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 76
From: Portland OR
Battery drain, yay.
I had my passenger door open and heard an awful buzzing coming from the footwell. Relay 42 was going crazy. I pulled it out, put it back in and it seemed ok. A few hours later I was going to drive it but when I went to move my seat, it didn't. I put my volt meter across the battery and got 4V.
Put it on the charger, got it to 100%, left it overnight and I was at 3.2V this morning. So I will get a new relay, I will also replace the security relay because I haven't done that yet.
Anything else, other than the painful process of trying to track it down? Thanks.
Put it on the charger, got it to 100%, left it overnight and I was at 3.2V this morning. So I will get a new relay, I will also replace the security relay because I haven't done that yet.
Anything else, other than the painful process of trying to track it down? Thanks.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,117
Likes: 793
From: Espanola New Mexico
Always start with having your battery charged and load tested to ensure its not the battery. I see you mentioned using a voltmeter, connecting it in series with the negative battery cable and battery terminal and selecting 10 amp scale and meter lead terminal on meter to measure current draw. Positive battery cable connects to engine compartment fuse center and passenger side fuse box, lift supply cable to passenger side fuse box to help determine which fuse center has the excessive current draw, and lastly sleep mode current is about 25 milliamps on our cars.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 76
From: Portland OR
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 76
From: Portland OR
Napa tested the battery and it was good. The relay was $22 and seems to have cured it. It was charged last night, took off the charger and showed charged this morning. So far so good.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 76
From: Portland OR
I put it on the charger when I got home from Napa at about 4. Was showing charged when I went to bed, so I took it off. First thing this morning I hooked it back up and still showed 100%, so I drove her to work.
Went to lunch just fine, too. As long as she gets me home, I'm happy.
Went to lunch just fine, too. As long as she gets me home, I'm happy.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 441
From: Arizona
I would still probably buy a new battery. (Unless your car has had electrical problems in the past) battery testers from napa and auto zone aren’t too sophisticated.
Last edited by STRMLNE; Jan 10, 2020 at 05:38 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 985
Likes: 305
From: Southern Norway , Europe
This is a good and quick way to locate parasitic current on cars .
Using this way instead of pulling fuses it is easier to avoid to wake up the BCM through the trouble shooting
Measure the mV over each fuse and compare to values in fuse charts linked to in the video description .
The correct parasitic current draw can be measured after the BCM has gone to sleep (15 min).
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...lp-please.html
Using this way instead of pulling fuses it is easier to avoid to wake up the BCM through the trouble shooting
Measure the mV over each fuse and compare to values in fuse charts linked to in the video description .
The correct parasitic current draw can be measured after the BCM has gone to sleep (15 min).
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...lp-please.html
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,306
Likes: 746
Mine does the same thing when my battery is low enough to die soon. Fully charged, it's fine. How old is your battery? If it's older than a few years, it's probably suspect for not holding a charge. Any time I've had an odd electrical issue on any of my cars, it's always been the battery. Even if it "should" be fine.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 76
From: Portland OR
It seems I might just be an idiot.
When I opened the door and the light was out and my seat didn't move, I assumed it was again dead. So I drove my truck. After work I put it on the charger and the charger said it was near full.
The negative terminal wasn't fully seated and wasn't making a good connection. So I tightened it and everything seems fine. There is call for snow the next few days, so I will check my voltage daily until then.
The battery is maybe 6 months old. I have never had a battery last more than a year since I have had this car (6 years).
But the relay seemed to have fixed the original issue. :
When I opened the door and the light was out and my seat didn't move, I assumed it was again dead. So I drove my truck. After work I put it on the charger and the charger said it was near full.
The negative terminal wasn't fully seated and wasn't making a good connection. So I tightened it and everything seems fine. There is call for snow the next few days, so I will check my voltage daily until then.
The battery is maybe 6 months old. I have never had a battery last more than a year since I have had this car (6 years).
But the relay seemed to have fixed the original issue. :
Last edited by 66dts-v; Jan 14, 2020 at 09:57 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,117
Likes: 793
From: Espanola New Mexico
I don't know how it happens, or what causes the battery terminals to come loose, my battery is held down and doesn't move, but every so often I have some weird problems that are corrected by tightening the battery terminals.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 76
From: Portland OR
I have stripped more than one of those bolts, too. Pain to replace, so I don't overtighten. It felt right because the plastic lip on the cable wasn't flush with the battery.
Hope for the best.
Hope for the best.
Last edited by 66dts-v; Jan 14, 2020 at 11:06 AM.
