Battery being drained while sitting...

AdamG · January 5, 2007

The truck - my newely purchased

2005 1500 Silverado LT 4x4 crew cab short bed 5.3L stock truck

51k miles

The problem - if I let the truck sit for 1.5 days or more either the battery had very little life left in it or its dead...

I'm not leaving any lights on, the security system isnt even armed, there is no cell charger in the outlets and no cassette in the deck...

anyone know of such problems?

redvett · January 5, 2007

I would take it to the dealer and have tham check out the battery should be a 5 year or more warrenty. Sounds like a bad cell.

keebler · January 5, 2007

The truck - my newely purchased
2005 1500 Silverado LT 4x4 crew cab short bed 5.3L stock truck

51k miles

The problem - if I let the truck sit for 1.5 days or more either the battery had very little life left in it or its dead...

I'm not leaving any lights on, the security system isnt even armed, there is no cell charger in the outlets and no cassette in the deck...

anyone know of such problems?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Back in 1995 my Suburban would do the same thing. I know the capacity of the battery and the maximum parasitic drain was enough to last for more than a month but the dealer checked it and said everything was fine.

One night I came home and it was -20 F outside. Inside the garage I could see the dome lights on in the Suburban. Come to find out that the dash would shrink enough to cause the door plunger switches to release enough to turn on the lights.

The dealer fixed it with a shim on both doors and replaced the battery. With the new battery it would still go dead in a week or so. Again the dealer said there was no problem but I knew better. One night coming home to the airport from a trip out of town I found the battery nearly dead again. As I searched for my ticket to get out of the parking ramp, I noticed a light bulb burned out on the passenger vanity mirror.

Light bulbs don't burn out by themselves unless they've been on for hours! Suddenly it all made sense -- I looked at the vanity mirror carefully and found that it wouldn't turn off the little lights when it was closed. (Have you ever checked your refrigerator?) Anyway, I found that the hinge was mis-aligned and with a little wiggle I was able to snap it into the place it should have been all along -- problem solved.

Anyway, I would suggest you divide and conquer. Let it sit a couple of days with the battery disconnected to be sure the problem isn't internal to the battery. You could even remove some fuses and repeat the experiment to figure out where the problem might be.

Maybe you can find a clamp-on DC current meter and do some hunting yourself. Fortunately for you, the drain is big enough to spot with even the cheapest meter.

CoastyAV8R · January 6, 2007

I would get your battery tested. Most auto parts store will test it for free and if it's the original battery, it's probably due. Your warranty won't cover certain things after the first 12,000 miles like brakes and I believe your battery falls into that category as well.

I would also look for things like your underhood lamp staying on after the hood is shut, the glove box light staying on after you shut it. Also, if you leave anything like a cell phone, radar detector, whatever, plugged into the power outlet/cigarette lighter it will drain your battery because those are always energized. Keebler's problem is more common than some people think, weird stuff like that keeps it interesting.