99 FRC battery drain
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 986
Likes: 23
From: Florence SC
99 FRC battery drain
I sold my Arctic white FRC back in January 2021, I have just bought it back, kinda got sick when I sold it. When I had the car before the battery would be dead after a week or so when the car wasn't started, I never look for a problem as the battery was disconnected most of the time, this seems to still be a problem. The other owner did replaced the battery and alternator with new units thinking they might be the culpret. As I walked by the car last night, in my shop the side window was down I noticed the DIC light was on, although very dim. The unit was warm to the touch, I'm thinking this shouldn't be happening. Any Advise where I should start looking for the culprit or would this be normal? Thanks
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,138
Likes: 802
From: Espanola New Mexico
It's never that easy, if proficient with DVM you should perform a current drain measurement while the car is off. With the DVM configured as a ammeter disconnect the negative battery cable and connect the meter in series with the battery terminal and cable, normal current drain should be 25ma after car has entered sleep mode should be around 15-20 minutes. I do suspect that there is a problem with the dash cluster unfortunately. I
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 986
Likes: 23
From: Florence SC
OK, I already know something is killing this $300 battery, and i know the DIC light doesn't cut off although its very dim and warm to the touch. Any Idea what tells the DIC to power down? With all of this said, I did install a newer model C5, Z06 cluster in this 99 FRC about 6 or 7 years ago. The cluster is separate from the DIC, you think this might be the culprit? I have the original Cluster, it was a bitch to change. Thanks for the input...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,138
Likes: 802
From: Espanola New Mexico
It could be a incompatibility problem with the newer cluster you installed maybe somebody with more knowledge about this will chime in. The BCM is what controls the cars systems to turn on and to shutdown after a predetermined amount of time and enter what we call sleep mode
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