02 Impala battery drain

#21

I just went out and tried measuring the current on an '03 Chevy. When I
first hooked up the meter the current jumped up to about the 1.2 amperes.
After about 20 seconds or more it dropped down to below 80 ma.

If I had been real careful to get the meter hooked up before breaking the
connection to the battery it would have never gotten to above 1 ampere.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

Thanks for your replies. Here's another little test I did. My neighbour
also has an Impala so we compared current draw with a meter. Both his and
mine are drawing 1.2 A with the car off. To me that's high, but he has no
problems with his car which throws me off. Also, this car has battery run
down protection. Does that merely turn off any lights accidentally left
on
or is it suppose to electrically "disconnect" the battery via relays or
whatever if the level gets too low. Overnight the voltage remains pretty
high at 11.8v but after 2 days it's about 6V.

TR

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce5m69$qt5$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Hello,

As the subject states, I need some help on a battery drain problem. The
original battery was dead and even after I was able to charge it, it
would
not show and "green" in the window so it was replaced. I'm able to
start
the car every time if I drive it daily, but if I leave the car for a
period
of 2 days then the battery is drained to a point where I need a boost.
After
that, it's fine again until I leave it un-driven for another 2-day
period.
I've checked all courtesy lights, trunk and hood lights, etc. I don't
know
where the drain is coming from. How do I begin to troubleshoot this
further?? GM says it could take up to 4 days to find the cause which
would
cost a fortune. I thought about just buying a battery disconnect switch
just for the weekends when the car isn't driven. Other than my radio
settings, would the system not having any powere affect anything else??
Any insight into this problem would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

TR

#22

Have you ever heard of Flat Rate?

"hyundaitech" <howitsac (AT) nospam (DOT) hotmail.com> wrote

Quote:

One must wonder about a technician that requires 2 hours to find and
replace a blown fuse.

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#23

Do you drive a Hyundai?

Does your Fred Flintstone car have a windup rubber band engine?

"hyundaitech" <howitsac (AT) nospam (DOT) hotmail.com> wrote

Quote:

One must wonder about a technician that requires 2 hours to find and
replace a blown fuse.

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.729 / Virus Database: 484 - Release Date: 7/27/2004

#24

Are you the reincarnation of Sam Kinnison?

If you are, you suck and go back to being dead. You were funnier before.

A two hour flat rate to locate a bad fuse?

It's so easy to start a diagnosis at the fuses, even an idiot like you could
do it. in .10. I'm sure you can, I have faith in you moron!

Refinish King

PS
I've seen many of Huyndaitech's posts, he answers a lot of GM posts, so he
most likely works for a multi franchise store. He has answered more
technical questions than I've seen a lot of so called techs here answer. I'm
sure you couldn't wipe his ass in acumen!

"charge" <toyotatercel (AT) nospamricerocket (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

Do you drive a Hyundai?

Does your Fred Flintstone car have a windup rubber band engine?

"hyundaitech" <howitsac (AT) nospam (DOT) hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:994a2d6b4d85d9c3419de631b2025674 (AT) localhost (DOT) talkaboutautos.com...
One must wonder about a technician that requires 2 hours to find and
replace a blown fuse.

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.729 / Virus Database: 484 - Release Date: 7/27/2004

#25

Ok...for those interested.....HRL.....you were right on the money. I didn't
leave the meter hooked up long enough. I checked with my neighbor again.
After about 20 seconds or so, the initial current of 1.2A settles down to
about 48mA or so. I started pulling fuses in my car and found that it drops
to about 450mA when I pull out the radio fuse, but not to about 48mA like my
neighbor's car. There's a lot of prgramming that must be done through the
radio to personalize settings for the convenience equipment (courtesy
lights, locks, etc) so is it possible that something else is waiting for a
signal from the radio before the current drops...and since the fuse for the
radio is now pulled, the radio can't give that signal?? Am I stretching it
at this point....or do I possibly have more than one problem?? No other
fuses pulled provides any other drop in current.

TR

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote

Quote:

On second thought I think you did not leave the meter hooked up long
enough
to get a good current reading. It takes several seconds - perhaps a
minute
before the initial current settles down. I think that you will read over
1
ampere when first hooked up. Then after about 30 seconds to a minute it
should settle down to something less than 0.1 ampere.

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:aPONc.144472$OB3.98791 (AT) bgtnsc05-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
Are you sure about that 1.2 A? That sounds way high to me. With most
multimeters meters you would have to use a 10 ampere scale

And, I think the run down protection is just an automatic way to turn
off
lights. Most cars have that now.

If you are indeed drawing 1.2 Amps you could drain a battery in two days
but
your neighbor would too. I will go with the bad battery and suspect
that
you had the wrong scale when reading current.

That is unless when reading your neighbors car you had the hood open and
there was an underhood lamp that was on.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce85pj$c8j$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Thanks for your replies. Here's another little test I did. My
neighbour
also has an Impala so we compared current draw with a meter. Both his
and
mine are drawing 1.2 A with the car off. To me that's high, but he
has
no
problems with his car which throws me off. Also, this car has battery
run
down protection. Does that merely turn off any lights accidentally
left
on
or is it suppose to electrically "disconnect" the battery via relays
or
whatever if the level gets too low. Overnight the voltage remains
pretty
high at 11.8v but after 2 days it's about 6V.

TR

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce5m69$qt5$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Hello,

As the subject states, I need some help on a battery drain problem.
The
original battery was dead and even after I was able to charge it, it
would
not show and "green" in the window so it was replaced. I'm able to
start
the car every time if I drive it daily, but if I leave the car for a
period
of 2 days then the battery is drained to a point where I need a
boost.
After
that, it's fine again until I leave it un-driven for another 2-day
period.
I've checked all courtesy lights, trunk and hood lights, etc. I
don't
know
where the drain is coming from. How do I begin to troubleshoot this
further?? GM says it could take up to 4 days to find the cause
which
would
cost a fortune. I thought about just buying a battery disconnect
switch
just for the weekends when the car isn't driven. Other than my
radio
settings, would the system not having any powere affect anything
else??
Any insight into this problem would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

TR

#26

That is still too much current. I didn't expect the radio to make that kind
of change. You might be right that something in the program is causing the
extra current. Does that radio have the anti-theft protection (a flashing
LED when stopped)? However, I don't know how that could affect it.

Wonder if the alternator/regulator could be causing it. I would try pulling
the plug into the alternator and see if that might change the current. Do
you read about 14 volts at the battery when the engine is running? Fully
charged battery should read 12.6 after it has been sitting for a long time.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

Ok...for those interested.....HRL.....you were right on the money. I
didn't
leave the meter hooked up long enough. I checked with my neighbor again.
After about 20 seconds or so, the initial current of 1.2A settles down to
about 48mA or so. I started pulling fuses in my car and found that it
drops
to about 450mA when I pull out the radio fuse, but not to about 48mA like
my
neighbor's car. There's a lot of prgramming that must be done through the
radio to personalize settings for the convenience equipment (courtesy
lights, locks, etc) so is it possible that something else is waiting for a
signal from the radio before the current drops...and since the fuse for
the
radio is now pulled, the radio can't give that signal?? Am I stretching
it
at this point....or do I possibly have more than one problem?? No other
fuses pulled provides any other drop in current.

TR

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:f3PNc.341393$Gx4.132015 (AT) bgtnsc04-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
On second thought I think you did not leave the meter hooked up long
enough
to get a good current reading. It takes several seconds - perhaps a
minute
before the initial current settles down. I think that you will read
over
1
ampere when first hooked up. Then after about 30 seconds to a minute it
should settle down to something less than 0.1 ampere.

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:aPONc.144472$OB3.98791 (AT) bgtnsc05-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
Are you sure about that 1.2 A? That sounds way high to me. With
most
multimeters meters you would have to use a 10 ampere scale

And, I think the run down protection is just an automatic way to turn
off
lights. Most cars have that now.

If you are indeed drawing 1.2 Amps you could drain a battery in two
days
but
your neighbor would too. I will go with the bad battery and suspect
that
you had the wrong scale when reading current.

That is unless when reading your neighbors car you had the hood open
and
there was an underhood lamp that was on.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce85pj$c8j$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Thanks for your replies. Here's another little test I did. My
neighbour
also has an Impala so we compared current draw with a meter. Both
his
and
mine are drawing 1.2 A with the car off. To me that's high, but he
has
no
problems with his car which throws me off. Also, this car has
battery
run
down protection. Does that merely turn off any lights accidentally
left
on
or is it suppose to electrically "disconnect" the battery via relays
or
whatever if the level gets too low. Overnight the voltage remains
pretty
high at 11.8v but after 2 days it's about 6V.

TR

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce5m69$qt5$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Hello,

As the subject states, I need some help on a battery drain
problem.
The
original battery was dead and even after I was able to charge it,
it
would
not show and "green" in the window so it was replaced. I'm able
to
start
the car every time if I drive it daily, but if I leave the car for
a
period
of 2 days then the battery is drained to a point where I need a
boost.
After
that, it's fine again until I leave it un-driven for another 2-day
period.
I've checked all courtesy lights, trunk and hood lights, etc. I
don't
know
where the drain is coming from. How do I begin to troubleshoot
this
further?? GM says it could take up to 4 days to find the cause
which
would
cost a fortune. I thought about just buying a battery disconnect
switch
just for the weekends when the car isn't driven. Other than my
radio
settings, would the system not having any powere affect anything
else??
Any insight into this problem would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

TR

#27

Another question. Are you sure you got to all the fuses. I think there is
a pretty big box under the hood

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote

Quote:

That is still too much current. I didn't expect the radio to make that
kind
of change. You might be right that something in the program is causing
the
extra current. Does that radio have the anti-theft protection (a flashing
LED when stopped)? However, I don't know how that could affect it.

Wonder if the alternator/regulator could be causing it. I would try
pulling
the plug into the alternator and see if that might change the current. Do
you read about 14 volts at the battery when the engine is running? Fully
charged battery should read 12.6 after it has been sitting for a long
time.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ceav1r$en5$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Ok...for those interested.....HRL.....you were right on the money. I
didn't
leave the meter hooked up long enough. I checked with my neighbor
again.
After about 20 seconds or so, the initial current of 1.2A settles down
to
about 48mA or so. I started pulling fuses in my car and found that it
drops
to about 450mA when I pull out the radio fuse, but not to about 48mA
like
my
neighbor's car. There's a lot of prgramming that must be done through
the
radio to personalize settings for the convenience equipment (courtesy
lights, locks, etc) so is it possible that something else is waiting for
a
signal from the radio before the current drops...and since the fuse for
the
radio is now pulled, the radio can't give that signal?? Am I stretching
it
at this point....or do I possibly have more than one problem?? No other
fuses pulled provides any other drop in current.

TR

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:f3PNc.341393$Gx4.132015 (AT) bgtnsc04-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
On second thought I think you did not leave the meter hooked up long
enough
to get a good current reading. It takes several seconds - perhaps a
minute
before the initial current settles down. I think that you will read
over
1
ampere when first hooked up. Then after about 30 seconds to a minute
it
should settle down to something less than 0.1 ampere.

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:aPONc.144472$OB3.98791 (AT) bgtnsc05-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
Are you sure about that 1.2 A? That sounds way high to me. With
most
multimeters meters you would have to use a 10 ampere scale

And, I think the run down protection is just an automatic way to
turn
off
lights. Most cars have that now.

If you are indeed drawing 1.2 Amps you could drain a battery in two
days
but
your neighbor would too. I will go with the bad battery and suspect
that
you had the wrong scale when reading current.

That is unless when reading your neighbors car you had the hood open
and
there was an underhood lamp that was on.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce85pj$c8j$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Thanks for your replies. Here's another little test I did. My
neighbour
also has an Impala so we compared current draw with a meter. Both
his
and
mine are drawing 1.2 A with the car off. To me that's high, but
he
has
no
problems with his car which throws me off. Also, this car has
battery
run
down protection. Does that merely turn off any lights
accidentally
left
on
or is it suppose to electrically "disconnect" the battery via
relays
or
whatever if the level gets too low. Overnight the voltage remains
pretty
high at 11.8v but after 2 days it's about 6V.

TR

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce5m69$qt5$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Hello,

As the subject states, I need some help on a battery drain
problem.
The
original battery was dead and even after I was able to charge
it,
it
would
not show and "green" in the window so it was replaced. I'm able
to
start
the car every time if I drive it daily, but if I leave the car
for
a
period
of 2 days then the battery is drained to a point where I need a
boost.
After
that, it's fine again until I leave it un-driven for another
2-day
period.
I've checked all courtesy lights, trunk and hood lights, etc. I
don't
know
where the drain is coming from. How do I begin to troubleshoot
this
further?? GM says it could take up to 4 days to find the cause
which
would
cost a fortune. I thought about just buying a battery
disconnect
switch
just for the weekends when the car isn't driven. Other than my
radio
settings, would the system not having any powere affect anything
else??
Any insight into this problem would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

TR

#28

Sure, but two hours just ridiculous. I can't imagine charging more than .5
hour. Actually, unless there was something I needed to disassemble, I
probably wouldn't charge anything at all.

#29

I have to stop it with my feet, too.

#30

There is a fuse under the hood for the L/H Instrument panel which, when
pulled, results in the same current draw, 48mA like my neighbor's car.
Other than tearing open the L/H instrument panel to find it, at first
glance, the radio fuse has the biggest effect. I need to dig up some
diagrams somewhere for this car.

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote

Quote:

Another question. Are you sure you got to all the fuses. I think there
is
a pretty big box under the hood

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:HxeOc.349580$Gx4.277950 (AT) bgtnsc04-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
That is still too much current. I didn't expect the radio to make that
kind
of change. You might be right that something in the program is causing
the
extra current. Does that radio have the anti-theft protection (a
flashing
LED when stopped)? However, I don't know how that could affect it.

Wonder if the alternator/regulator could be causing it. I would try
pulling
the plug into the alternator and see if that might change the current.
Do
you read about 14 volts at the battery when the engine is running?
Fully
charged battery should read 12.6 after it has been sitting for a long
time.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ceav1r$en5$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Ok...for those interested.....HRL.....you were right on the money. I
didn't
leave the meter hooked up long enough. I checked with my neighbor
again.
After about 20 seconds or so, the initial current of 1.2A settles down
to
about 48mA or so. I started pulling fuses in my car and found that it
drops
to about 450mA when I pull out the radio fuse, but not to about 48mA
like
my
neighbor's car. There's a lot of prgramming that must be done through
the
radio to personalize settings for the convenience equipment (courtesy
lights, locks, etc) so is it possible that something else is waiting
for
a
signal from the radio before the current drops...and since the fuse
for
the
radio is now pulled, the radio can't give that signal?? Am I
stretching
it
at this point....or do I possibly have more than one problem?? No
other
fuses pulled provides any other drop in current.

TR

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:f3PNc.341393$Gx4.132015 (AT) bgtnsc04-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
On second thought I think you did not leave the meter hooked up long
enough
to get a good current reading. It takes several seconds - perhaps a
minute
before the initial current settles down. I think that you will read
over
1
ampere when first hooked up. Then after about 30 seconds to a
minute
it
should settle down to something less than 0.1 ampere.

"HRL" <nospam (AT) xxx (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:aPONc.144472$OB3.98791 (AT) bgtnsc05-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net...
Are you sure about that 1.2 A? That sounds way high to me. With
most
multimeters meters you would have to use a 10 ampere scale

And, I think the run down protection is just an automatic way to
turn
off
lights. Most cars have that now.

If you are indeed drawing 1.2 Amps you could drain a battery in
two
days
but
your neighbor would too. I will go with the bad battery and
suspect
that
you had the wrong scale when reading current.

That is unless when reading your neighbors car you had the hood
open
and
there was an underhood lamp that was on.

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce85pj$c8j$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Thanks for your replies. Here's another little test I did. My
neighbour
also has an Impala so we compared current draw with a meter.
Both
his
and
mine are drawing 1.2 A with the car off. To me that's high, but
he
has
no
problems with his car which throws me off. Also, this car has
battery
run
down protection. Does that merely turn off any lights
accidentally
left
on
or is it suppose to electrically "disconnect" the battery via
relays
or
whatever if the level gets too low. Overnight the voltage
remains
pretty
high at 11.8v but after 2 days it's about 6V.

TR

"TR" <tr (AT) interlog (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ce5m69$qt5$1 (AT) news (DOT) eusc.inter.net...
Hello,

As the subject states, I need some help on a battery drain
problem.
The
original battery was dead and even after I was able to charge
it,
it
would
not show and "green" in the window so it was replaced. I'm
able
to
start
the car every time if I drive it daily, but if I leave the car
for
a
period
of 2 days then the battery is drained to a point where I need
a
boost.
After
that, it's fine again until I leave it un-driven for another
2-day
period.
I've checked all courtesy lights, trunk and hood lights, etc.
I
don't
know
where the drain is coming from. How do I begin to
troubleshoot
this
further?? GM says it could take up to 4 days to find the
cause
which
would
cost a fortune. I thought about just buying a battery
disconnect
switch
just for the weekends when the car isn't driven. Other than
my
radio
settings, would the system not having any powere affect
anything
else??
Any insight into this problem would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

TR

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02 Impala battery drain

General Motors Discussions About General Motors vehicles (alt.autos.gm)

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 07-28-2004 , 09:32 PM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 07-28-2004 , 10:08 PM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 07-28-2004 , 10:11 PM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 07-29-2004 , 12:21 AM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 07-29-2004 , 09:45 AM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 07-29-2004 , 06:06 PM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 07-29-2004 , 09:49 PM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 08-02-2004 , 01:24 PM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 08-02-2004 , 01:25 PM

Re: 02 Impala battery drain - 08-09-2004 , 10:20 AM