Battery Drains...

[jigsy19c]

Hi all,

 

First off. It's a 2000 Silverado, 4.8l, 5speed, 4x4, regular cab. Bought it in April.

The original battery was always losing its charge, so I finally got around to changing it in August. It's not a daily runner (I use it on the weekends mostly) and the battery just won't keep a charge. It's now at the point that if I don't drive it after 3 days, I have to boost it.

 

I've put an amp meter on it and I get a drain of .7A to 1.5A. This is key out of the ignition.

Pulled the fuses (in the engine compartment), one at a time until I had none left. It made no difference on the ampmeter.

I replaced the battery thinking it was defective. This new one lasted awhile but now it's down to 4 days.

 

I'm almost at the point now of setting up an old fashioned pull switch to disconnect the battery when it's parked (Think Frankenstein...).

 

Sorry about the long post but I could really use some help.

Any and all ideas on what it could be? Door sensors, light fixtures, etc.

[Bostonsfavson]

Certainly sounds like the alternator or regulator, but you say the battery is draining with the ignition off and no accessories running? Hmm.

[Draenor]

Do you have any aftermarket electronics?

 

 

 

You could also install a trickle charger instead of a disconnect. It would save you from resetting the radio and the ECM.

[Ranger]

There could be a bad diode in the alternator. I've had that problem before with other trucks.

[jigsy19c]

That is correct, the "ignition key is off with no accessories on". The only thing on is the clock on my radio and to be sure, I had it out for a couple weeks to test out the theory that it might be the culprit. I don't have any aftermarket electronics on the truck. It's stock.

 

I'm not familiar with the alternator diode thing. Should I reconnect the battery, disconnect the alternator and see if it drains again?

 

As for Draenor's suggestion of a trickle charger, I thought about it. Even one of those solar ones. (saves connecting/disconnecting from an AC outlet) but I'd really like to fix the truck as opposed to jerry rigging it.

 

Thanx guys for the feedback...

[BigJayDogg3]

They have those "battery tender" things (I think that is what they are called) and you can get one where you hook up a permanant

"pig tail" to the battery and whenever you drive up, you can hook up the quick connect thing and go on about your business. I know you said you want to fix the problem, but I'm just trying to give you stop gaps while you try to identify the culprit.

[anealysr]

I've had that problem before. What I did was start disconnecting things until I found what was causing the drain. In my case it was a shorted starter once and a chaffed wire the next.