2004 Tahoe Parasitic Battery Drain

[Flicka]

I have a 2004 Tahoe (2WD/LT) and have an issue with my battery dying pretty quickly.

I replaced the battery about 8 weeks ago as it went bad. At the end of last week the battery died several times and required a jump. The battery was so low it had to find idle again and radio settings were lost.

I confirmed the battery, alternator and starter are good. I hooked my multi-meter up in series to the battery and started pulling fuses one by one under the hood until I found the circuit that what was draining the battery. The drain dropped dramatically when I pulled the radio fuse. I left the fuse out this week and it has started all week. Even let it sit for more than 24 hours and it started right up.

Is there anything else on the circuit with the radio? Anyone else have this kind of issue due to their radio? If it is just the radio on the circuit then there must be something wrong internally with the radio but not sure what it would be.

I would appreciate any help.

 

[Dustinh]

Mine is doing the same thing. Need to figure it out asap

 

[1999hoe]

Look and clean the contacts to the starter my 96 tahoe had same issue and it was an issue with the starter wires clean em up reattach and look at any ground wires and clean them also

 

[Brian Wilson]

Is it stock radio? Someone could have wired aftermarket radio wrong

 

[Flicka]

Is it stock radio? Someone could have wired aftermarket radio wrong

It is a stock radio. I am considering taking the radio to an electronic repair shop to test all internal components. I just am not sure if they would know what to look for in a car radio

 

[Rocket Man]

If you have an amp it could be staying on.

 

[mizzouguy]

I have the stock radio on mine, along with an aftermarket amp, and you have to be careful when you choose a amp remote wire. The radio and security system work together so every time a door is opened or the fob is used the radio powers up. But if you dont have an amp you wouldnt have that problem.

 

[Flicka]

I have the stock radio on mine, along with an aftermarket amp, and you have to be careful when you choose a amp remote wire. The radio and security system work together so every time a door is opened or the fob is used the radio powers up. But if you dont have an amp you wouldnt have that problem.

I do not have an aftermarket amp but at one point the previous owner had a security device that could kee the car from starting. It was disabled years ago. Do you have a wiring diagram for how the security and radio work together?

 

[retiredsparky]

There are other loads on that circuit besides the radio. Pull the radio, put the fuse back in and see if the vehicle still starts normally after overnight.

 

[mizzouguy]

@Flicka no sorry I do not. I don't know what else is on that circuit.

 

[Brian Wilson]

I agree with sparky. Best way to eliminate the radio itself

 

[Flicka]

There are other loads on that circuit besides the radio. Pull the radio, put the fuse back in and see if the vehicle still starts normally after overnight.

Thanks for the idea. I will try that approach. Any idea what else is on it?

 

[Flicka]

I pulled the radio and put the fuse back in. The draw was low again. Plugged radio and fuse back in together and the draw was high again.

So guessing it is something internal with the radio unless the circuit goes through the radio and then to something else.

Any ideas before I take the radio to a repair shop?

 

[Rocket Man]

Do you know if you have a factory amp? I know you said you don't have an aftermarket one. The radio is usually what turns on the amp, so you could check the harness before you install the radio to see which wires have power, then again after installing it to see if there is another wire with power which would be the turn-on for the amp. It should only have power when the radio is on. If it powers on as soon as you plug in the radio, even with the radio off, there's your problem. There are work-arounds if that's the case.

 

[Flicka]

Do you know if you have a factory amp? I know you said you don't have an aftermarket one. The radio is usually what turns on the amp, so you could check the harness before you install the radio to see which wires have power, then again after installing it to see if there is another wire with power which would be the turn-on for the amp. It should only have power when the radio is on. If it powers on as soon as you plug in the radio, even with the radio off, there's your problem. There are work-arounds if that's the case.

So basically you are saying to find wire for amp and see if it has power after installing the radio even if radio is off? sorry for the question but I understand the concept but just not quite grasping what I need to check.

I did test for battery drain with amp fuse out and there was no difference with that fuse out. I put that fuse back in and pulled radio fuse then it dropped the draw.

Thanks for the help

 

[Rocket Man]

I didn't realize there was an amp fuse but that probably eliminates the amp staying on. But yes, that was what I was saying. I thought maybe the amp was staying on all the time.

 

[01ssreda4]

Hit the dome light override button to the left of the steering wheel by the headlight switch. My battery was going dead every other day, hit that button and it stopped, it stays charged for weeks now. Never did find a light on which is odd.

 

[bldn10]

You can search for my post on this and you will see an uncanny resemblance. Mine was the RDO AMP fuse and replacing the amp fixed it.

 

[Flicka]

You can search for my post on this and you will see an uncanny resemblance. Mine was the RDO AMP fuse and replacing the amp fixed it.

I need to take a look . My battery died when I put the radio fuse back in and left the radio unplugged. Looks like the amp is behind the glove box, so hopefully I can reach it by just dropping the glove box

 

[Flicka]

Quick update.

Pulled what I thought was amp in glove box, man it was a bear to get out. Turns out it is the xm radio box......saw mixed reviews of where amp is located.

So here are my readings.

Fuse out and it shows .75 amp draw
Radio plugged in with fuse, radio, xm radio 3.2 amps draw
Fuse in and xm radio in and it is 1.1

Car died with radio out and fuse in. Works all week if I leave the fuse out.

Just don't get how it can still die if radio is out and fuse is in but be completely fine when the fuse is just out.

I am struggling for ideas at this point. Concerned if I take the radio to be repaired I would still have an issue since battery still died with radio pulled and fuse in, just took longer.

What to try next?