jenkol

Hey Everyone! I currently have a 1999 Chevy S10 Xtreme, and it only seems to hold a decent charge for 3 days and then is totally dead and won’t start. Replaced the battery and had the new one tested before we left the store and it is good. Pulled all of the fuses while using a tester and all seems ok (we got a reading off of the TBC, but dropped after about 5 minutes or so – I understand that is normal?). Un-did the alarm/remote start and still died after 3 days.

Checked the starter, alternator, cleaned up the connections and all fine; still died. Only thing we haven’t done yet is pulled the instrument cluster or the radio to see what that does. I read that there was a recall or issue with the full size instrument cluster, so was wondering if that was the same for the S10s? I don’t notice anything unusual with it (needles jumping or whirling sound, etc). The only thing is occasionally the gear and mileage display (digital) is out when it first starts, but does appear later on. <O</O
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I just have no idea what else to try… Runs great and everything else seems to be on the up and up. Other thought I’ve had is bad door switch? The dome light fads like it should though. Nothing that I can see seems to stay on in the interior… nothing seems shorted out. <O</O
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The battery cables were a little corroded, but we cleaned them up and checked them for bare wires/rubbed spots. Nothing there. But, might replace them totally anyway just as a cheap option to try in case we missed something. Just at a loss of what else to try and thinking of ANYTHING to keep this truck running!<O</O
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Thanks in advance for any advice/thoughts! So frustrated!<O</O
jenkol<O</O

skullchurch

i know you said you checked the alternator but i would at least have the car running and pull the negative cable for a second or 2. if it dies instantly then replace the alternator. BUT remember this can be very hard on it if you leave it off for too long so leat it run a couple seconds and see how much your headlights dim. alos if you have a bass system hooked up there could be some problems with that, try a capacitor. your whole electrical system could be drawing too much power so your alternator cant keep up, i had that problem so i went to the junk yard a pulled one (lucky it was a new one!) from a 1989 chevy beretta that pushed more power, so basically it was a upgraded more burly version and fit 100% and now i dont have any more problems, in fact it charges my battery faster than i thought. so good luck and happy wrenching

tech2

Skullchurch, I know and you know that's a bad way to check an alternator. Don't recommend that to people. Electronic modules don't like voltage spikes. Use a voltmeter and do it properly.

to the op? Did you measure the current draw after the modules went to sleep mode? How many mAmps draw were you getting. Did the draw not drop when the fuses were pulled?

jenkol

tech2 - we had about 0.64 mAmps and it went down when it went into to sleep mode.

Nothing changed when we pulled the fuses and after the door had been shut for awhile (for the ones under the hood); there was either no draw or we had the 0.64 for the TCB fuse, but went down in sleep mode.

After speaking with a family friend that use to work for Chevy, we retested the alternator per his instructions and the battery still drained down to where I would think the truck would not start. Started out testing at 12.70 un-hooked the alternator (with truck off and neg cable unhooked), rehooked the negative and tested daily over a few days; so it went to 12.53 the next day, then 12.12 and then went to 11.83. So, I am assuming that the alternator diodes are still testing fine. Going to test again to today, but feel its just for kicks. It is possible for it to drop that much and still be bad? We are getting lower temps at night, but I don't think low enough to effect the charge (lowest has been 40). This test was really the only suggestion he had and to try to find an online tech after that....he retired awhile ago and said their might be new things to test/try.

I am still totally lost and getting tired of electrical work! lol

I still have yet to find a grounded wire somewhere... still thinking about replacing the battery cables and maybe getting new bolts for attaching them to the battery..

kevinkpk

What is the voltage running? It might be the battery.

jenkol

The battery has been tested and replaced as the old one was found to have had a bad cell. Now, I had hoped that would have solved the issue, but it started just doing the same thing within a few days. buzz kill! lol

kevinkpk

I was going to suggest spend 5 bucks on a hydrometer.

tech2

to clarify;

-you had a 64 milli-amp draw that dropped to 0 after how long time period? How long does it stay at 0 amps; monitor it for 20 minutes.

-when you pull the tbc fuse the draw immediatly goes to 0? (The tbc powers the bcm, remote door lock receiver and multifunction switch)

Do you park the vehicle and leave the key in the ignition? This may keep the bcm awake on some gm models, stopping it from going into sleep mode.

skulldrinker

What is 0.64 mAmps?

If it's 640 mA (.640) well that is over 1/2 amp which sounds like a lot for parasitic draw. Of course that's going to drain a battery.

If you mean only 64mA (.064 ) well then that's hardly anything and shouldn't drain a battery in 3 days.


Just for example All Data states that for a 1997 S-10 P/U parasitic draw of 25 mA (.025) is acceptable. Of course what options that are installed will play a roll in what is normal. But 640mA is way overboard.


Read Bulletin No 02-06-03-010A

http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/tsb/d...06-03-010a.pdf