Tahoe battery drain

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by carpenterkc

i had the battery load tested, and i removed the alternator and had it tested. The load test did not show a dead cell in the battery and it was making 790 cranking amps(800 cca battery).

I retested the draw with the alternator off----still .03 amps. I pulled every fuse in the fusebox under the hood, and the panel at the end of the dash. No change from .03 amps. I pulled one fuse from the remote start system and the draw dropped to .01 amps.

Can a battery not show a dead cell and still be going bad?? The reason i ask is that this is the third battery i've put in the tahoe since 2005 when i bought it. And it seems that the longer the battery is in there the more pronounced the problem becomes.

does it go dead with battery unhooked or with remote fuse pulled?

If so you have a bad battery.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by carpenterkc

I had the battery load tested, and i removed the alternator and had it tested. the load test did not show a dead cell in the battery and it was making 790 cranking amps(800 cca battery).

I retested the draw with the alternator off----Still .03 amps. I pulled every fuse in the fusebox under the hood, and the panel at the end of the dash. No change from .03 amps. I pulled one fuse from the remote start system and the draw dropped to .01 amps.

can a battery not show a dead cell and still be going bad?? the reason i ask is that this is the third battery I've put in the Tahoe since 2005 when I bought it. and it seems that the longer the battery is in there the more pronounced the problem becomes.

.030a is 30MA. this is a small amount of current. yes when these are in security mode the draw is more. 200 ma is not all that high to cause a no start after one day.

.2amps is 200MA 1 amp is 1000MA...........

I suggested that you check out the alternator output as this is possibly not charging correctly. at cold start the volts with full load all devices on ac max voltage should be 14.75volts DC. with an air temp of 50-60 deg F.. after the engine has been operating for an hour recheck the voltages should be 13.75 volts DC at 60-70 deg f air temp.

with the load tester the battery is under high current drain. any opens or shorted cells will show.

my 2000 silverado LT is with the second battery 135,ooomi. The first battery did fail when cold starting began to crank slow. that was 7 years old when the battery I have now was installed. the replacement is a 1000CCA rated battery.

lead acid batteries must be kept charged at all times. if the battery is drained with use [engine off] this causes rapid battery failure. also bad roads/shock [loose mounting]causes the cells to get damaged.

the alternator regulator could also not be charging the battery correctly.. this can cause the cells to get heat damaged.

make sure the battery is clean , the connections and wires have no corrosion . dirty corroded batteries can discharge from this conductive film.

many times a glove box lamp or other small hidden lamp stays on.

[carpenterkc]

thanks for your continued support. It is appreciated.

I charged the battery all night and i'm letting it sit to see if it goes dead. currently it is unlocked, the radio fuse is out and the fuse to the remote start is out. no lights on that i can find. at last check the amp draw was 10ma.

I had the battery tested 3 times by 2 different stores(once off the vehicle and twice on), and the alternator tested 3 times by 3 different stores(once on the vehicle and twice off). there seems to be nothing wrong with either of them.

I suppose the next thing to do would be to try to find grounds to the chassis, and see if any are loose.

On a side note I found that the lenses were gone from the fog lights and the bulbs were burnt out, so i unplugged them temporarily. there is also a burnt out running light. Could either of these be contributors to the problem?

both terminals at the battery are very clean. I even cut the back of the terminal off to remove the rubber and look at the wires.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by carpenterkc

thanks for your continued support. It is appreciated.

I charged the battery all night and i'm letting it sit to see if it goes dead. currently it is unlocked, the radio fuse is out and the fuse to the remote start is out. no lights on that i can find. at last check the amp draw was 10ma.

I had the battery tested 3 times by 2 different stores(once off the vehicle and twice on), and the alternator tested 3 times by 3 different stores(once on the vehicle and twice off). there seems to be nothing wrong with either of them.

I suppose the next thing to do would be to try to find grounds to the chassis, and see if any are loose.

On a side note I found that the lenses were gone from the fog lights and the bulbs were burnt out, so i unplugged them temporarily. there is also a burnt out running light. Could either of these be contributors to the problem?

both terminals at the battery are very clean. I even cut the back of the terminal off to remove the rubber and look at the wires.

too many burnt out lamps. do the voltage testing I recommended.

10MA is nothing .

remote start and other aftermarket devices are usually a big problem. reason is these are installed by persons with no electrical training in most all cases.