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Found the battery drain

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Found the battery drain

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Old

Dec 28, 2020 | 11:19 AM

#1

Zeke Freudiger

Thread Starter

6th Gear

Joined: Nov 2020

Posts: 6

Likes: 0

From: Texas

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Found the battery drain

Found my battery drain now need a little help on a solution. My 98 is an automatic and the lights that illuminate what gear you’re in will not shut off. Any tips or remedies will be appreciated thank y’all!

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Old

Dec 28, 2020 | 11:38 AM

#2

jcgunn

Melting Slicks

Joined: Mar 2004

Posts: 2,398

Likes: 407

From: Horseshoe Bend ID

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Swap the bulb out with an LED. Will also cut down on the heat which makes the plastic bits brittle

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Old

Dec 28, 2020 | 12:44 PM

#3

oelarse

Burning Brakes

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Joined: Jul 2011

Posts: 991

Likes: 306

From: Southern Norway , Europe

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The gear selector light(dimming) is controlled by the BodyControl Module .
The BCM is partially grounding the light bulb by using pulse width modulation in order to achieve the dimming.
Are you able to dim this light using the dimming **** in the cluster ?

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Old

Dec 28, 2020 | 12:59 PM

#4

Zeke Freudiger

Thread Starter

6th Gear

Joined: Nov 2020

Posts: 6

Likes: 0

From: Texas

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No it stays the same will not dim using the **** on dash

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Old

Dec 28, 2020 | 03:26 PM

#5

oelarse

Burning Brakes

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Joined: Jul 2011

Posts: 991

Likes: 306

From: Southern Norway , Europe

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Seems like you have a short to ground somewhere on the B side of the bulb , maybe internally in the BCM .
Here is the Chevy procedure when the PRNDL is always ON .
Try to check out number 2 and 3 in this procedure

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Old

Dec 28, 2020 | 06:45 PM

#6

Capn Hook

Melting Slicks

Joined: Jul 2008

Posts: 2,036

Likes: 34

From: TX

Default

Unplug the bulb. Do you really need a light to correctly shift into prndl?

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Old

Dec 31, 2020 | 08:53 AM

#7

redzg

Safety Car

Joined: Mar 2017

Posts: 3,765

Likes: 938

From: Orlando Florida

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Unplugging the lamp may be an effective band-aid, but I would worry it’s masking an issue that may be bigger than it seems.

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Old

Jan 4, 2021 | 03:11 PM

#8

lionelhutz

Race Director

Joined: Apr 2007

Posts: 11,150

Likes: 890

From: South Western Ontario

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Pull connector C3 out of the BCM. If the lights go out then it's the BCM, otherwise there is a short on the grey wire from the lights to the BCM.

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