My battery's going dead from Information center and dome lights.

[Charlie Coe]

So, I have the dome light over ride button on my headlight switch and that's great. But how do I bypass the info center that's constantly blinking, when the doors are open. Which will in fact run my battery down. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice you might offer.

02 Tahoe Lt.

 

[Fless]

Welcome to TYF. Close the doors so it doesn't blink?

 

[PNWYukon]

We leave our doors and hatch open all the time, sometimes for hours with no impact on the battery. Sounds like you may have other electrical issues at play.

 

[Cbncanada]

All that stuff should shut off automatically after 10 minutes or so. If it is not something is wrong. Also you battery should be able to handle that without a problem. I run a computer and several two way radios for hours and do not drain the battery. Put in a good capacity battery and you should be OK.

 

[Charlie Coe]

All that stuff should shut off automatically after 10 minutes or so. If it is not something is wrong. Also you battery should be able to handle that without a problem. I run a computer and several two way radios for hours and do not drain the battery. Put in a good capacity battery and you should be OK.

 

[Charlie Coe]

All that stuff should shut off automatically after 10 minutes or so. If it is not something is wrong. Also you battery should be able to handle that without a problem. I run a computer and several two way radios for hours and do not drain the battery. Put in a good capacity battery and you should be OK.

Great replys everybody. I didn't mean to quote any particular comment. But yeah, my lights are no longer timing off like they used. I guess I'll try looking into.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics, please.

You are already receiving responses from the knowledgeable folks here. Do you have a code scanner, so that you could see if there are any existing trouble codes?

 

[Fless]

If you turn off the truck and remove the key, leave the radio on and open any door, does the radio turn off?

 

[treehan77]

Door latch is common to stop working. You can remove and replace OR clean.

 

[Fless]

Door latch is common to stop working. You can remove and replace OR clean.

^^^ This, and these clusters are known to occasionally suffer from parasitic drain due to silver migration on the circuit board.

 

[Charlie Coe]

If you turn off the truck and remove the key, leave the radio on and open any door, does the radio turn off?

Yes it turns off.

 

[Charlie Coe]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics, please.

You are already receiving responses from the knowledgeable folks here. Do you have a code scanner, so that you could see if there are any existing trouble codes?

Yes, very interesting. I do have one of wally worlds finest 18.99 obdii scanners. Just now when I plugged it in to the port, the display failed to light up and I could feel it vibrating. Plus my dash and info center lit up like a Christmas tree. Service 4wd & security. I pulled the plug from the port & all seems to have returned to normal.

 

[Fless]

Check the battery cables; they're apt to be rotting from the inside out. Have the battery load tested.

And clean and check the body and engine grounds. There is one set of body grounds right behind the left front tire with two bolts; those grounds tend to get corroded and cause issues.

 

[Charlie Coe]

Check the battery cables; they're apt to be rotting from the inside out. Have the battery load tested.

And clean and check the body and engine grounds. There is one set of body grounds right behind the left front tire with two bolts; those grounds tend to get corroded and cause issues.

Sorry it took so long to get back here with an update. Couldn't find the thread. And I can't thank you all enough for your help. I checked all my grounds including the one you mentioned that includes two wires bolted to the running board bracket that's welded to the frame just behind the lf tire. All was well. Just to be sure I cut the two ground wires that bolt to the backside of the motor on the passenger side and reattached to the firewall. No change except that now my battery is slowing running down even while the motor is running. So for the umpteenth time I will have my new battery & alternator checked out, and go from there. The parasitic drain remains.

 

[Fless]

There are many good videos out there about tracking down parasitic drain; here's one:

 

[Askold_JB]

Hello guys.
Maybe there is a little different problem?

I know well about my 06'Tahoe that it shuts all dome/audio electrical load after 10 minutes since key OFF.
BUT - this will not work like that if I left the door open/ajar. Last time kids left dome light on (with button-click) and did not close the door securely - my BATT voltage dropped to 0V
And it is still working well for few months after charghing.
So, maybe that was a problem for TS - ON dome lights with door ajar?

 

[Charlie Coe]

Fixed it. My interior light relay was both the reason why my interior lights failed to cycle off and for the parasitic drain on my battery.

Thanks everybody for all your help.

 

[rockola1971]

If it aint the door switch then id be looking at the Ground behind your engine at the firewall. This supplies ground to your Body Control Module (BCM) which just happens to control all of those lights that are messing with you. The lights are draining your battery. The stereo power amps will though if the radio doesnt shut down after you close the doors!