Battery keeps draining

Tiny
KATRIDER
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 GMC SAFARI
  • 230,487 MILES
Battery drains if I leave doors open for more than a few minutes. I have taken out all interior lights and replaced the alternator.
It is not battery cause previous one did same thing. Could it be a fuse?
Tuesday, October 31st, 2017 AT 2:32 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
HARRY P
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,292 POSTS
There is either a huge drain on the system somewhere, due to an electrical short, or the battery is bad, or you have loose cables. The easiest thing to start with is the cables. You should make sure that they are tight enough on the battery that you cannot turn them by hand at all. Any movement there means the connection is not good enough. If everything is good on the battery end, then follow the cables to their other ends and make absolutely sure that they are super tight there too. Also, look for corrosion (greenish/whitish gunk) at either end. If you see any, take the cable off there and clean it thoroughly (a wire brush should do it well enough).

If the cables and corrosion isn't the problem, then get the battery tested. Even though you are sure it is good, you should definitely get it tested because stranger things have happened. Besides, it is free to get it tested at the local auto parts store. Just pull it out and take it down there and leave it for a few hours.

If that does not do it, then you'll need a multi-meter or volt meter to start checking the electrical system. $15.00 to $20.00 for one and always worth having around. I will do a write up later this evening on how to run that check.
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Tuesday, October 31st, 2017 AT 3:24 AM
Tiny
HARRY P
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,292 POSTS
Here is the write up that I promised you:

Disconnect one of the battery cables from the battery. Take your multi-meter, and turn it on, set to 20 volt DC. Take one lead and connect it to the newly disconnected battery cable, and connect the other lead to the battery post. You should see some sort of reading. Now start unplugging fuses, one at a time, until you see a large drop in the meters reading. You have now identified the circuit. Let us know which fuse it was and I will personally look up what is on that circuit.
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Tuesday, October 31st, 2017 AT 6:49 PM

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