My Special Lady Friends '03 Tahoe has developed a bizarre anomaly and I wonder if there is any history on this.

It's eating batteries. The last one lasted less than 10 months. A few days prior to its death the radio was acting up, or not acting period. Then it won't start.

Local wrencher says that the Interior AC Fan is sucking current when the engine / ignition is switched off and has removed the fuse and installed a new battery.

Not having an interior fan will flat out suck, so I'd like to find the true culprit as opposed to just throwing 100 dollar bills at it. No fan means no AC, no Defrost and minimal heat. No positive venting of driver or pax farts either.

Questions:
1. If the fan is indeed the culprit, is there a control unit that needs to be replaced or the fan itself and how can one make the correct diagnosis?

2. Why is the idiot light not illuminating as the voltage gets terminal?

3. If the guys at best buy tapped into the fan circuit when they installed the sat radio, would that cause the issue? I don't know if in fact they did, just speculating.

4. Do you think that NASA faked the lunar landing?

5. Can the radio be removed and reinstalled without triggering the anti theft mechanism?


Car is far away from me as Special Lady Friend isn't local. Will go there next week with voltmeter and a few wrenches.

Thanks for any guidance and / or ridicule.

 

Welcome to the forum.

First thing I'd do is get the alternator checked. Not sure how fan could operate normally and then draw current when off. A shorted winding would probably blow a fuse or eventually toast the motor.

 

Definitely get the alternator checked and inspect all grounds.

Disconnect positive battery cable. With ignition off, doors closed etc., connect a multimeter or 12 volt bulb between the positve cable and positive post on battery. If you get a reading on multimeter or the bulb lights, there is a draw on the battery. One at a time remove and replace fuses until light goes out or no reading on multimeter or if you know where they go and proper sizes, pull all the fuses and replace then remove until you get a reading or bulb lights. After finding fuse, inspect all devices and wires on that circuit.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will get my hands on the truck next week and will run these tests.

Joe

 

The fan blower module was the culprit. Replaced. All mo' betta' now.