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I would look for obvious 1st check to make sure the Interior lights turn off I had a S10 that the Interior lights would never turn off and kill the battery overnight. Check to make sure the Glove box light is not staying on and make sure the ashtray light turns off make sure all interior floor or mirror lights turn off and make sure the dome light turns off. Also make sure the dash shuts off. The S10 sometime the Milage (and shift select digital readout thing) wouldnt shut off either.
Yep ! You need to do a parasitic draw test. Once you see the drain on your test meter, start popping fuses one at a time and see when the draining stops. That isolates which is the offending circuit, then start looking at whatever is working on that circuit (using a wiring diagram to help you find those accessories). If an accessory doesn’t obviously appear as the culpret, find the connectors for that circuit and open those up one at a time and see when the drain stops. Then moving forward in the circuit, check the connectors the wiring and isolate it to the device itself.
One other thing, if you haven’t done so already, check your battery cables and connections for any worn insulation, and corrosion at both ends. A lightweight short to ground in the positive cable can cause drain just like any defective device or short that’s not sufficient to blow a fuse. Shorts to ground at exterior lighting connectors, headlights, tail, side lights, can also cause drains.
MI agree with the above suggestions, like looking for doors that are ajar, glove boxes that are open, and interior lights on. A couple of other thoughts. If you have anything aftermarket plugged into the car, like a security system or something else, look there first. Also, when searching for drain, a timesaving trick is to measure voltage drop across each fuse. The circuit with the biggest drop is often the one with trickling current, which is a good place to start. Doesn’t always work, but when it does it saves time. Remember that you want to wait a decent amount of time before measuring drop, so that the PCM will be asleep and not drawing current, which could lead you in the wrong direction. Of course if you have the driver’s door open to access the interior fuses, that circuit will be active and misleading.
This Truck is the older style. I have no glove box light, no bulb in bulb in dome/reading light and had to put a shut off switch on the battery.
First thing is make sure alternator is working since it recharges the battery as the car runs. A bad alternator will kill even a brand new battery in a day or two of driving. You can have the battery itself tested at an auto parts store. Possibly the ground is not working right so it’s not letting your battery charge like it should. Ground wire could be loose or corroded. (Not the black negative battery wire – although that could malfunction as well; but the ground wire from the battery to the body of the car.
Absolutely ! And you can check for bad cells with a basic hydrometer. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to check that first so you don’t end up chasing your tail. Of course, a VOM can tell you whether a battery is fully charged and it won’t indicate that with a bad cell(s). You’re looking for about 12.6 volts or more to indicate full charge.
[quote=”LeoTheLion89″ post=60942]ive never been able to ever trace a ground wire to the body too much shit in the way[/quote]
😆 Very true Leo. I noticed mine when I was changing my thermostat and had the air filter housing and hose off and noticed it down under all that stuff. And actually that part of my advice was probably bad since it seems extremely rare for the ground wire to the body to be at fault.
My dad put a brand new battery in the my truck. I took it to the auto parts store to have it tested and he said it was bad, so now I have to take it back to walmart and hope they can give me a new one with it being a little year old. Hope this solves my issue.
hope you have your receipt, they dont like to warranty them without the receipt. it’s usually best to buy from an autoparts store that takes your phone number and name and tracks your warranty that way. good luck!!
Doing a parasitic draw test as Wysetech suggested is always an excellent idea cause it helps you find electrical drains. Also check your cables, clamps, connections and fluid level in the battery.
If a battery isn’t used regularly, sometimes even the ones that are newer develop a problem called sulfication where sulfuric acid breaks down into sulfur and attaches itself to the plates and they become ineffective at producing current. I assume this is a wet battery. If so there’s something you can try:
Find someone with a charger that will do a deep charge at low amperage and leave it on for 24 hours or so. The process is called Desulfication mode or deep charge mode. That knocks the sulfur off the plates and back into solution, the battery generates and holds a charge and you’re back in business. FYI, the one I use is from West Marine. Less than 100 bucks and it works great.
Parts stores are in business to sell things like batteries. So before hassling with return, prorating the cost of a new one at walmart etc., try the desulfication route. OTOH, batteries are clearly marked with a date of manufacture code, usually a permanent sticker on the top between terminals. That’s how they determine the approx date it was sold and installed. So if it’s their brand and it’s up to them to recognize it and they should give you credit for the remaining predicted life of the battery, e.g., depending on whether it says it’s a 36 month, or 60 month etc. without the receipt. If not, ask to see the manager. If still not, Welcome to Warmart and promise the manager you and your family, friends and your friends friends will never buy even a Snickers bar from them again. At that point, chances are they’ll replace it without a receipt.
But I’d try the desulfication deep charge and see if it comes back to life. You should be able to charge it back to 12.6 volts and then do your tests as ETCG suggests. Including a starter draw test and a charging test for your alternator. You’ll find them here:
and over here:
Happy Fathers Day
Sparks.
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