Key buzzer and draining battery
 

Hello!

I had this problem with the key buzzer staying on....after not being able to pull out the pink wire from the connector, I simply just cut off that pink wire...
After this the buzzing stopped but I wonder if this could have someting to do with that my C3 (-74) has started to drain the battery?
Or must this draining battery thing be caused by something else?

Found out while surfing on the net that you can easily test if your car is draining the battery....so I took a test light and placed it between the negative pole and the negative cable -but it did NOT light up so i guess my C3 is not draining the battery??

About the battery (it´s over 3 years old).
When I have charged it it will read over 13 volts when fully loaded. But when I have started the C3 four-five of times and it has been sitting for a couple weeks it has just been dead....so i guess it´s time for a new battery?

Not sure about how things are in Finland but places here that sell batteries usually offer testing services. I have trickle chargers on all my cars that sit, even my 2015. Battery disconnects are a good idea. Even a clock will drain the battery eventually.

I think that I also could get the battery tested here in Finland in a shop.. But since the car passed this test with the test light connected to the negative cable I guess the C3 is not draining the battery?! I wonder how trustworthy those tests are?

i vaguely remember the test light test and it never worked for me.
and i can't see it working at all.
some dig volt meters have a setting that reads amp draw.
i have one but i use a amp gauge from a broken battery charger.
hook it between neg post and cable.
it will show any draw in amps.
solved my issue this way.

as far as the buzzer, it is where alt and volt reg hook up.
i located the wire there that fed the buzzer and unplugged it.

i guess the buzzer could drain bat if enough time goes by.

The 'test light' method does work but what it DOES NOT do is tell you how many amps the system is drawing. This is when a specific tool is used so you can read the milliamps of draw on the system.

The reason I do not use a the test light is because the 1984-1996 Corvettes have a built in power drain and it can fool you due to it will light up the test light BUT it will not drain the battery over night or even in a week or so. YES...most cars do have a power drain of some amount and many are there to keep a clock working....while some use a little bit more pwoer to retain memory in electrical parts.

You are aware...that IF your interior lights work...and you disconnect the negative battery and use the test light method WITH the door open.... the test light WILL shine. Or you can simply also pull your headlight switch and the test light will also shine.

YES...the key warning buzzer can eat the battery quickly......easily over night.

To get the key warning buzzer to stop making noise.... you can simply pull out the wire in the steering column wiring at the connector on the underside of the column to stop it IF you cannot find it and unplug it. Removing that wire from the connector is simple to do.

DUB

On my C3 the interior lights don´t work..

1.Since the "test light" method did NOT make the test light to shine I guess that is a good thing?

2.I cut off the PINK WIRE in the harmonica connector under the dash to eliminate the key buzzer....That solved the buzzing sound but could something with the buzzer STILL draw amps??

Just because the test light method did not shine...I still check it and make it shines by turning something on so I know the test light is connected and working.

If the ground signal to the buzzer is removed...which is what you did by cutting the pink wire.......it cannot turn on,....thus the key warning buzzer can not work and it can not draw power.....assuming ALL of the cars wiring is correct and someone has not gotten in there and messed around with wires.

DUB

I just tried to turn on the parking lights and tested with the test light -and it lit up like a star! And when I turned off the parking lights the test light went dark ! So I guess the C3 is not draining the battery.. =)
I guess then it must be the battery that is at fault.

The battery is at least 3 years old. When I have charged it it will read over 13 volts when fully loaded (don´t know if that reading can be of any use?)
And after when I have started the C3 about four-five times and then it had been sitting after that for a couple weeks, the battery has just been dead!

I just replaced my battery a few weeks ago, even though after being on a charger and it went to full charge, went to start it a day later, nothing. I have a bypass switch so there is no possibility of draining. So yeah, time for new battery.

I think the thing about a charger is it can tell you when the volts have been brought back up, but that doesn't mean it has the amps to crank our V8 engines.

I believe DUB in one of his posts above encouraged the use of a digital volt meter (DVOM) to check that possible amperage draw. If your test light had actually turned on when you did the test you would have an amperage draw that would kill the battery most likely overnight (depending on the batt. charge level). Since the light didn't shine, that does not necessarily mean there isn't a draw. Actually, anything above a .2 to.3 amp draw on our older vettes would be a concern. I would try to borrow a meter to eliminate that totally. DUB gave you good advice.

I have this digital multimeter but I don´t know if it can measure amperage draw?? If it can -could you please tell me what option to select on the multimeter before measuring?

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...9edfce2adc.jpg

I know some guys have these high-tech DVM's and can use them but I have a specific tool I use to check amp draw so I have not clue on how to use what you have and would have to read the manual that came with it or call the company who made it an talk with them.

If it were me...I would put it on the DCA scale with the headlights on and have it set on 20 and read it and go from there....then turn of the headlights and see what it reads. Obviously you have your battery cables attached I presume for this test.

I have no clue o=if the test lights out there on the market are all the same in regards to the light bulb they use to make it shine. I do know that the Snap-On ones I have will barely glow if all I have is just the clock running. But I still do not use that as a guiding factor and I still attach my tool and read what the actual amp draw is.

As I have been told long time ago...when charging a battery it is best to charge it for a longer period of time at a lower amp setting instead of blasting it with a lot of amps. I was told the lower amp change gets deeper into the plates and gets the actual amp load of the battery up instead of it just being surface charge.

Take the battery out if you have not and have load test put on it. And not that this makes any difference but as I have also been told and never really cared to try to confirm it. But every time you crank your engine due to the amount of amps it takes to do that. You really need to drive your car for about 15 minutes or so to put back into the battery what it just used to crank the car.

DUB

That meter is more for electronics, but it will work. Referring to the photo, the red test lead is shown inserted into the A (amp) connection meaning it will measure basically in milliamps. This setting is good for small measurements. Do not use this setting if you have a large amperage draw thru the meter, it will blow the fuse. If you know you will be drawing a large amount of amps or more than 1 amp (something turned on), move the red lead over to the 20A setting so you don't blow the fuse. I am hoping it is fused, I couldn't find the manual online for that model.
What I would do is start with the 20A to measure the draw with everything off, doors closed. If the meter shows a very small amount, switch the lead to the A setting. The photo shows the selection switch on the 200m or milliamp setting. The switch is correctly set for direct current amps (DCA). You could start with the 2 setting then range it down by just turning the switch back down to the 200. All that really does is move the decimal point for you. Hope this helps.

I have now tried this...in 2 setting it shows .006 and in 200 it shows 06.4 What do these numbers tell us?



E

I would rather use a multimeter instead of a test light to check for faults.
I typically use my multimeter but have to be really careful because of amp limitation before I blow a meter fuse. This past year I found this circuit tester at Harbor Freight:
https://www.harborfreight.com/30-amp...ter-67724.html

I bought one since it's under 15 bucks and then used a remote-fuse-holder to which I attached a couple of multimeter probes. I can now read amps up to like 30.... or, if concerned, I can swap out the fuse in the unit itself for something lower. Just for fun, but it is digital too.... and, yes, I plan on using some soldered-on better multimeter leads.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...62ffed6a7a.jpg

If you have a newer stereo with memory, it's fine. 6.4 ma is next to nothing. It would take months to drain a battery at that rate.

My C3 has still got the original radio.. But if 6.4 ma is very low then it must be 99.9% a bad battery!

Yes.

When you switch the setting knob, it just changes up the decimal point. As posted by B2B, the 6.4 milliamps (thousand = 1000) is a very low draw.
Yes (as posted before) get the battery tested, but I would also check and clean all batt/cable connections.