Parasitic draw

[BG1988]

Of course it does or it would lose its memory. Duh. Some other modules draw a little, too, to retain critical settings, which is why a very small amount of power is always being used. That's normal and should be less than 50ma. In the PO's case, there is too much being drawn.

well he has an after market radio so you do have to run a key ACC on wire ... other wise if it was jumpered it will be "on all the time"

a hissing noise is normal that means the amp turned on from opening the door ( that happens on other GM cars and trucks as well)

 

[BG1988]

Of course it does or it would lose its memory. Duh. Some other modules draw a little, too, to retain critical settings, which is why a very small amount of power is always being used. That's normal and should be less than 50ma. In the PO's case, there is too much being drawn.

I was thinking the 12+vDC had a jumper to the ACC on causing the draw... i.e always "on"

 

[RefrigerationDude]

Im having a similar problem with my battery needing to be jumped off every few days in a 01 Tahoe. Im about to go out and check mV's across the fuses and go from there....

3 year old battery, and I'm going to go have my charging system checked just as soon as i find out why it suddenly started overheating this morning...FmL

 

[Mickey_7106]

All my aftermarket HU are wired as if they were stock. I don't run anything extra.

Also ive never heard the amp make any noise on any car ive been in. You must have some really great ears

well he has an after market radio so you do have to run a key ACC on wire ... other wise if it was jumpered it will be "on all the time"

a hissing noise is normal that means the amp turned on from opening the door ( that happens on other GM cars and trucks as well)

 

[Jeff O]

I went thru this on 03 Tahoe. There are multiple things that could be the cause. There are 3 computers: the Radio, the IPC and the main body computer. The Instrument Panel (although you disconnected it.) for your year should be sent to a repair service to be checked for bad solder joints and also the meter movements replaced. The main computer in my case seemed to be the big problem. It is located on the left side of the engine mounted to the frame. The connectors are not totally protected from water infiltration and corrosion on 6 pins (a couple almost totally) was found to be the culprit. The radio & MBC are a a little deceiving when doing current checking. They may draw 2.5A when initially shutting down and take maybe 30-90 sec to go to almost zero. Residiual draw is normal and should be between 30-50 milliamps. When shutting down, remove the key from the switch, even that is sensed by the computer and 'readies' the engine for start which causes current draw. Ck for other threads on this forum about this same prob. Good Luck.

 

[davidavidd]

Does anyone know what the acceptable parasitic draw is for a 2001 Tahoe? My brother has been having on going issues with dead batteries. he was told by some mechanic outside pik npull that it was the SEO1 fuse ( guess he used some sort of test light method)

Anyways i had the truck sit over night and currently the 25A RDO AMP fuse is consistently pulling 1.0 mV which translates to 218 mA according to power probe tek website. The battery was at 11.6x Volts when i tested and the radio was removed and disconnected last night.

I know this method can be inaccurate, im waiting on a clamp meter and noco genius 10 battery charger to be able to perform a more accurate test

My Tahoe 2007 draws 15/20mA on sleep mode (30 minutes after being turned off), I don't know if your model includes it but check: digital radio tuner (Xirius XM), Onstar module and any aftermarket radio.

 

[Mickey_7106]

Thanks yall,

I let the truck sit for about 2 days with the large plug with the blue tab disconnected on the amp. Truck had. 12.58V when i checked this morning. Started with 13.03V after 10 hours of over night charge using a noco genius 10 2 days ago. I want to think it's safe to say that the amp was the culprit for the battery draining. Before it couldn't go more than 3 days.

While on the subject, does anyone know the best way to remove this amp? Looks like i might have to tear out the whole dash

 

[Fless]

Is this the amp above the passenger footwell?

 

[Mickey_7106]

Yes, behind the glove comparment

Is this the amp above the passenger footwell?

 

[Yukon_]

Similar issue on '07 Hoe - Ended up being the negative battery cable was corroded on the inside of the jacket, couldn't see just by giving it a glance. Peeling jacket back down revealed it. And having it load tested. Once replaced - no more issues

 

[threadcutter]

Does anyone know what the acceptable parasitic draw is for a 2001 Tahoe? My brother has been having on going issues with dead batteries. he was told by some mechanic outside pik npull that it was the SEO1 fuse ( guess he used some sort of test light method)

Anyways i had the truck sit over night and currently the 25A RDO AMP fuse is consistently pulling 1.0 mV which translates to 218 mA according to power probe tek website. The battery was at 11.6x Volts when i tested and the radio was removed and disconnected last night.

I know this method can be inaccurate, im waiting on a clamp meter and noco genius 10 battery charger to be able to perform a more accurate test

set your meter to the milliamps scale, move your test lead to the amps position. With the vehicle turned off, pull each fuse and put the meter probes into each socket for each fuse. In other words remove a fuse and temporarily replace it with the meter leads. Repeat the process until you find a circuit with high current draw, thats your culprit.
I had the same problem in a 2000 suburban. Turns out it was the amplifier for the audio system remaining on continuously after shutting the vehicle off.

 

[Fless]

set your meter to the milliamps scale, move your test lead to the amps position. With the vehicle turned off, pull each fuse and put the meter probes into each socket for each fuse. In other words remove a fuse and temporarily replace it with the meter leads. Repeat the process until you find a circuit with high current draw, thats your culprit.
I had the same problem in a 2000 suburban. Turns out it was the amplifier for the audio system remaining on continuously after shutting the vehicle off.

What happens to the meter using the mA scale when the draw is more than the scale max? It's a bit safer to use the built-in test points on the in-circuit fuse, and use the conversion chart to estimate the draw. And sometimes when you pull a fuse the draw stops and doesn't reappear.



You can download the conversion charts here (one download, multiple fuse sizes):
https://www.powerprobetek.com/knowledge/fuse-voltage-drop-charts/

 

[BG1988]

All my aftermarket HU are wired as if they were stock. I don't run anything extra.

Also ive never heard the amp make any noise on any car ive been in. You must have some really great ears

good luck you can always wire in a manual switch for the fuse this will solve the issue... or you can get a small solar panel to keep it charged up

 

[Mickey_7106]

The truck has held power for a week now with the amp disconnected. I've concluded its the amp draining the battery. Thanks for all your help folks!

 

[exp500]

Please edit your original post title, add SOLVED. Thanks.

 

[Fless]

Thanks, i ordered a true rms klein cl390 for $75 on amazon. If i read the description correctly, it will read down to 200 microamps

View attachment 267456

Mickey, I'm curious to know what you think about the Klein you bought. Wondering how it worked out for low DC current measurements with the clamp.

 

[Mickey_7106]

it was working fine but at times i kept getting a lot of fluctuating readings around the cables before i put them through the clamp. I ended up removing the negative battery post and connected the meter inline instead to get more accuracy

Mickey, I'm curious to know what you think about the Klein you bought. Wondering how it worked out for low DC current measurements with the clamp.

 

[Mickey_7106]

 

[Mickey_7106]