Eezy Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 For some reason my truck dies if i let it sit for more than three days. At first i thought it was the battery, so i went and bought an optima red top thinking that would solve my problems. Well, the battery still dies. well i put it off for longer than i should have and now i think my battery has gone bad. So i tore into today to try to find the problem and i couldnt find anything. I searched the forum and found something about a draw test but thats all i found. How do i go about doing this? what do i connect the voltmeter to so i can get a reading? and then i just start pulling fuses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70chevy03ss Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 I had a similar problem a while ago and it turned out that my A/c controls were not shutting off. The lights I mean. Maybe something like that is happing?? Hope that you find the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rays B4U Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 I have heard of some BCM's on other GM vehicles not shutting down properly causing batteries to drain. Don't know if it happens on the Silverados's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cramer Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 Do you have an alarm or remote start? I know that sometimes the bypass module takes a dump and will draw a load that is enough to drain the battery. Also make sure that all the power and neg wires are in good shape. There might be corrosion inside the wires that isn't allowing the battery to charge fully. Test the alt, and if that tests out ok start doing a voltage draw test. Follow your volt meter's instructions on how to do the draw test. Also make sure that you don't have a light bulb that is blown as that can draw power sometimes. I had the same prob a few months ago and I thought it was my batt. Had it tested and they said it was ok but needed charged. Alt test came back good, so I did the voltage draw tests and found nothing. I was convinced it was the battery so I swapped out the 4 month old Autozone battery and put in a Optima red top and haven't had a problem since. It is really frustrating but hopefully it is something simple and inexpensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eezy Posted April 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 Took the truck in today and the guy there told me that there was nothing they could do. He said that all vehicles when parked would draw on the battery eventually causing it to drain especially since i have a system and an aftermarket alarm. I told him how long the battery was lasting and he said to buy a new battery and a battery tender or i could take out my alarm and stereo system. I still think it should last longer than five days, so i disconnected the alarm and i'ma do a draw test tommorow. I don't have any lights out or anything like that. I have a feeling its the alarm system, i have a crimestopper informer II. Also my gauges have been messing up, they will just go dead and then the next day they will work. Could that have anything to do with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportin83 Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Took the truck in today and the guy there told me that there was nothing they could do. He said that all vehicles when parked would draw on the battery eventually causing it to drain especially since i have a system and an aftermarket alarm. I told him how long the battery was lasting and he said to buy a new battery and a battery tender or i could take out my alarm and stereo system. I still think it should last longer than five days, so i disconnected the alarm and i'ma do a draw test tommorow. I don't have any lights out or anything like that. I have a feeling its the alarm system, i have a crimestopper informer II. Also my gauges have been messing up, they will just go dead and then the next day they will work. Could that have anything to do with it? make sure that your radio is dropping the 12 v remote turn on wire when turned off. if the amps are not shutting down this will drain power. put a volt meter on battery and shut vehicle off and let sit around 5 mins and voltage should sit steady anywhere from 11.8 to 12.4 and then if it slowly drains then start disconnecting stuff to see if you can get it to quit. could be bad alarm, or a stuck relay in fuse panels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stg313 Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 I have 2 amps in my truck with the power split at a pointless digital reader thing...... After my battery died twice with this setup I decided to ditch my underhood fuse for a circuit breaker that I could just trip when I know my truck is going to sit for a while. Havent had a problem since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex.t Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 i had this same exact problem and it ended up being my radio was staying on when the truck shut off even though nothing was showing on the front(time or station) so in turn the bcm was staying on and killing the battery. if you want you could take it into chevy and they should be able to find the draw for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Took the truck in today and the guy there told me that there was nothing they could do. He said that all vehicles when parked would draw on the battery eventually causing it to drain especially since i have a system and an aftermarket alarm. I told him how long the battery was lasting and he said to buy a new battery and a battery tender or i could take out my alarm and stereo system. I still think it should last longer than five days, so i disconnected the alarm and i'ma do a draw test tommorow. I don't have any lights out or anything like that. I have a feeling its the alarm system, i have a crimestopper informer II. Also my gauges have been messing up, they will just go dead and then the next day they will work. Could that have anything to do with it? Sounds to me like this guy didn't want to be bothered attempting to find your problem. Any knowledgable mechanic should have the ability to trouble shoot and perform a draw test. I am glad you saw the light at the end of the tunnel and walked away from him. A person like that shouldn't be in business, because he doesn't have the best interest of the customer in mind. The only way you are gonna find you problem is with a draw test, and it could be anything dragging it down, the cluster, stereo, BCM, etc. could all be culprets. Let us know what you find...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scootertrash19 Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Sounds to me like this guy didn't want to be bothered attempting to find your problem. Any knowledgable mechanic should have the ability to trouble shoot and perform a draw test. I am glad you saw the light at the end of the tunnel and walked away from him. A person like that shouldn't be in business, because he doesn't have the best interest of the customer in mind. The only way you are gonna find you problem is with a draw test, and it could be anything dragging it down, the cluster, stereo, BCM, etc. could all be culprets. Let us know what you find...... I agree, also dont ditch the red top, put it on a charger, low setting, and leave it for a day or two, usually they will come back to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportin83 Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 a optima red top should have a 3 year over the counter swap out if its bad. and if you take it to shop that sold it they have a machine that can test and recondition it at advance auto and o reillys around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eezy Posted December 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 So i did the draw test on my truck today it was reading .09 amps and when i disconnected the aftermarket alarm it went down to .06 amps so i then pulled the radio and radio amp fuse and it went to .01 amps. Im not sure if this is normal any advice would be great. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desrtrat Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 I agree, also dont ditch the red top, put it on a charger, low setting, and leave it for a day or two, usually they will come back to life. here is some info on charging a gel type battery . with some of the new "smart chargers" have issues on bringing a dead battery back to life.. http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_1009_how_to_charge_a_agm_battery/index.html hope this can help someone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulguy Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 So i did the draw test on my truck today it was reading .09 amps and when i disconnected the aftermarket alarm it went down to .06 amps so i then pulled the radio and radio amp fuse and it went to .01 amps. Im not sure if this is normal any advice would be great. Thanks You should really be testing with a meter that goes down to single millamps, try to borrow one. So you said your truck was sitting a 90ma with everything hooked up? Ya that'll kill a battery in a day or two. Should be less than 30-40ma with everything hooked up. What kind or alarm? What do you have for stereo gear? Did you make sure the bcm went to sleep to record any readings? A common culprit is the deck interface adapter, sometimes they can draw alot of power. I would pull the deck and check that first. I alway latch the drivers door latch closed so that i don't wake up the bcm everytime i get in to check draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eezy Posted December 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 My alarm is the crime-stopper II with remote start and auto driver window roll-up. The in-dash is a Pioneer avh-p4000 i also have two 10" subs with a 750w amp and three additional screen..two in the headrest and one at the bottom of the dash near the center console. As far as waiting for the BCM to rest i would hook up the meter and wait for it to go down because it would be over 1 amp at first, i would usually wait a few minute or maybe a bit more. I'm not sure how long it takes for the BCM to go to sleep. How do i check the deck interface adaptor....with the draw test and unplug it? I will borrow a better meter also....is that so i can get more accurate readings? Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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