06 DBS 1 week
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,391
Likes: 23
From: Santa Barbara CA
OK I disconnected the Alt. no change, I thought I would try pulling some the relays in the under hood just to get a clue, no change.
Then I latched the door lock as per instruction to gain access to passenger fuse area, still no change.
I took the approach again of removing the bigger relays & fuses just to try & get a clue, no change.
All right now it is time to start pulling fuses, started with door locks, no change, then the CTSY/LAMP......a change!
My cycled down draw had been steady @ .180 A, when I pulled the fuse it cycled down to .120 A. Not a huge change but finally a change. What normally happens is every 2 minutes something wakes up, a current spike to 2.66 A then it begins to cycle down, this time with the fuse removed it cycles down to .120 A then after 2 minutes it cycle down to .01 to .02 A.
Now the interesting part, it does not cycle back up every two minutes, now it takes 10 to 11 minutes before it spikes up then cycles down. The good news is it cycles down in approx. two minutes to the .01 to .02 A draw
There is nothing on I can see, I do have a vert so maybe I have trunk light on. My hood is unplugged so it is not that.
Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this area & clues as to what else is on the circuit would be very much appreciated.
This exercise really demonstrates how quickly the battery will discharge in these cars. I have no idea why the system will cycle every two minutes, however that constant spike every two minutes isn't good.
Thank you for tips & clues trouble shooting this, I've had this problem for 2 seasons.
It will be even better in the end if I don't involve a dealer!
Then I latched the door lock as per instruction to gain access to passenger fuse area, still no change.
I took the approach again of removing the bigger relays & fuses just to try & get a clue, no change.
All right now it is time to start pulling fuses, started with door locks, no change, then the CTSY/LAMP......a change!
My cycled down draw had been steady @ .180 A, when I pulled the fuse it cycled down to .120 A. Not a huge change but finally a change. What normally happens is every 2 minutes something wakes up, a current spike to 2.66 A then it begins to cycle down, this time with the fuse removed it cycles down to .120 A then after 2 minutes it cycle down to .01 to .02 A.
Now the interesting part, it does not cycle back up every two minutes, now it takes 10 to 11 minutes before it spikes up then cycles down. The good news is it cycles down in approx. two minutes to the .01 to .02 A draw
There is nothing on I can see, I do have a vert so maybe I have trunk light on. My hood is unplugged so it is not that.
Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this area & clues as to what else is on the circuit would be very much appreciated.
This exercise really demonstrates how quickly the battery will discharge in these cars. I have no idea why the system will cycle every two minutes, however that constant spike every two minutes isn't good.
Thank you for tips & clues trouble shooting this, I've had this problem for 2 seasons.
It will be even better in the end if I don't involve a dealer!
It looks like you are heading the right direction
I am a little confused, though. Is the draw okay with that fuse pulled, or is it still cycling back up and down? From what I'm reading, it is greatly improved, but still doing something strange.
I would also suggest getting the factory wiring diagrams so you can see what that fuse powers. Once you are confident that you have the circuit nailed, you need to eliminate individual components to narrow down the part that is causing the problem.
Keep us posted
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,396
Likes: 52
From: Sicamous BC
Well it cycles. I don't really have a totally understanding to the timing.
I've only read discussion regarding the initial couple of minutes, is that because no one else has actually waited or watched?
I just connected my meter with the fuse pulled & the door latched opened. The initial draw was 2.56, withing a couple of minutes it cycled down to the .120 A. I waited for few minutes, it cycle back up to 2.56 then cycled back down to .01 A within a minute.
I also think the cycle time is related to battery voltage, maybe it wants to shut down but it won't due to excessive draw?
My experiment now is to open the trunk & measure that draw.
I've only read discussion regarding the initial couple of minutes, is that because no one else has actually waited or watched?
I just connected my meter with the fuse pulled & the door latched opened. The initial draw was 2.56, withing a couple of minutes it cycled down to the .120 A. I waited for few minutes, it cycle back up to 2.56 then cycled back down to .01 A within a minute.
I also think the cycle time is related to battery voltage, maybe it wants to shut down but it won't due to excessive draw?
My experiment now is to open the trunk & measure that draw.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 21,502
Likes: 461
From: Southern Utah
I was thinking about the Onstar...which I do not have, so if you have Onstar, then a little more draw should be normal. If you allow the two trunk lights to go on when you open the trunk, I'm sure you will see at least 3.0 amps on the meter.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,396
Likes: 52
From: Sicamous BC
Fuse back in.
Trunk open 5.9 Amps
Close trunk 4.68 A
Then interior lights shut off 2.68 A
Now it cycles down to .02 to .03 A
So now this is crazy, I proved the cct was a problem. I tested the fuse in & out a couple of times with conclusive results. It would not idle down below .12 with the fuse in & cycle every couple of minutes.
Now that I've messed with the trunk things changed.
The idle current was .01 to .02 with the fuse out, now it is .02 to .03, not a big change but I think enough to indicate something is different.
Of course the battery will last longer than a week in this condition.
Now for giggles I pulled the fuse again, cycled back down to .120, within a couple of minutes cycled back up then back to .01 to .02 A.
I think for verification I will put everything back together less the interior fuse & monitor the battery voltage for a few weeks.
While that is going on I will try to learn anything about cycle periods other than the initial couple of minutes.
I can see why a few members have battery issues, of course with a tender you never have to correct the problem.
Trunk open 5.9 Amps
Close trunk 4.68 A
Then interior lights shut off 2.68 A
Now it cycles down to .02 to .03 A
So now this is crazy, I proved the cct was a problem. I tested the fuse in & out a couple of times with conclusive results. It would not idle down below .12 with the fuse in & cycle every couple of minutes.
Now that I've messed with the trunk things changed.
The idle current was .01 to .02 with the fuse out, now it is .02 to .03, not a big change but I think enough to indicate something is different.
Of course the battery will last longer than a week in this condition.
Now for giggles I pulled the fuse again, cycled back down to .120, within a couple of minutes cycled back up then back to .01 to .02 A.
I think for verification I will put everything back together less the interior fuse & monitor the battery voltage for a few weeks.
While that is going on I will try to learn anything about cycle periods other than the initial couple of minutes.
I can see why a few members have battery issues, of course with a tender you never have to correct the problem.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,396
Likes: 52
From: Sicamous BC
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,396
Likes: 52
From: Sicamous BC
Quick update.
Ended up on the dyno, lots of starts & stops. No time to charge the battery back to a proper starting voltage.
So I pulled the interior fuse & connected a DC MA in series, monitored the battery voltage with another meter. The car sat for several days.
My battery voltage was 12.56, the system would cycle a couple of times & finally idle down to .010 to .020 MA draw.
I just spent some time with it after several days, the surface voltage was down to 12.25. So it is down .3 v from the 12.56, previously with the interior fuse in it would have dropped over a volt in 5 or 6 days.
Previously at a surface voltage of 12.25 there would be constant cycle, as if the system is trying to shut down due to excessive draw. Now that my draw is minimal as in .010 to .020 as compared to .080 MA the cycling seems to have stopped.
After this I started the car easily, no barely turning over, no BS about fobs blah blah. After several days the car started perfectly.
My conclusion besides I have an obvious draw on that circuit is that if you have above normal current draw something begins to constantly wake up & shut down constantly. That constant cycling adds to the killing the battery in a much shorter period of time.
Ended up on the dyno, lots of starts & stops. No time to charge the battery back to a proper starting voltage.
So I pulled the interior fuse & connected a DC MA in series, monitored the battery voltage with another meter. The car sat for several days.
My battery voltage was 12.56, the system would cycle a couple of times & finally idle down to .010 to .020 MA draw.
I just spent some time with it after several days, the surface voltage was down to 12.25. So it is down .3 v from the 12.56, previously with the interior fuse in it would have dropped over a volt in 5 or 6 days.
Previously at a surface voltage of 12.25 there would be constant cycle, as if the system is trying to shut down due to excessive draw. Now that my draw is minimal as in .010 to .020 as compared to .080 MA the cycling seems to have stopped.
After this I started the car easily, no barely turning over, no BS about fobs blah blah. After several days the car started perfectly.
My conclusion besides I have an obvious draw on that circuit is that if you have above normal current draw something begins to constantly wake up & shut down constantly. That constant cycling adds to the killing the battery in a much shorter period of time.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,391
Likes: 23
From: Santa Barbara CA
Quick update.
Ended up on the dyno, lots of starts & stops. No time to charge the battery back to a proper starting voltage.
So I pulled the interior fuse & connected a DC MA in series, monitored the battery voltage with another meter. The car sat for several days.
My battery voltage was 12.56, the system would cycle a couple of times & finally idle down to .010 to .020 MA draw.
I just spent some time with it after several days, the surface voltage was down to 12.25. So it is down .3 v from the 12.56, previously with the interior fuse in it would have dropped over a volt in 5 or 6 days.
Previously at a surface voltage of 12.25 there would be constant cycle, as if the system is trying to shut down due to excessive draw. Now that my draw is minimal as in .010 to .020 as compared to .080 MA the cycling seems to have stopped.
After this I started the car easily, no barely turning over, no BS about fobs blah blah. After several days the car started perfectly.
My conclusion besides I have an obvious draw on that circuit is that if you have above normal current draw something begins to constantly wake up & shut down constantly. That constant cycling adds to the killing the battery in a much shorter period of time.
Ended up on the dyno, lots of starts & stops. No time to charge the battery back to a proper starting voltage.
So I pulled the interior fuse & connected a DC MA in series, monitored the battery voltage with another meter. The car sat for several days.
My battery voltage was 12.56, the system would cycle a couple of times & finally idle down to .010 to .020 MA draw.
I just spent some time with it after several days, the surface voltage was down to 12.25. So it is down .3 v from the 12.56, previously with the interior fuse in it would have dropped over a volt in 5 or 6 days.
Previously at a surface voltage of 12.25 there would be constant cycle, as if the system is trying to shut down due to excessive draw. Now that my draw is minimal as in .010 to .020 as compared to .080 MA the cycling seems to have stopped.
After this I started the car easily, no barely turning over, no BS about fobs blah blah. After several days the car started perfectly.
My conclusion besides I have an obvious draw on that circuit is that if you have above normal current draw something begins to constantly wake up & shut down constantly. That constant cycling adds to the killing the battery in a much shorter period of time.
Next step is to find out what exactly is powered by that fuse. There may be several components, and you will want to disconnect them one at a time. Hopefully it is not one of the main fuses for the body module, or something like that. What in the car works/does not work when the fuse is removed? Might be an indicator of what it powers.
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,396
Likes: 52
From: Sicamous BC
So far that cct kills all the interior lamps & the garage door opener.
It was suggested & I never thought to check for a center console light & the glove box.
I did fully charge the battery a few days ago, the surface voltage dropped to 13.36 when the charger was disconnected. Within 3 or 4 days it was down to 12.8 - 12.9. It seems to have stabilized in that area, I will watch for a few days.
It was suggested & I never thought to check for a center console light & the glove box.
I did fully charge the battery a few days ago, the surface voltage dropped to 13.36 when the charger was disconnected. Within 3 or 4 days it was down to 12.8 - 12.9. It seems to have stabilized in that area, I will watch for a few days.