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1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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johog
New User
Jan 25, 2013, 10:55 AM
Post #1 of 13
(2831 views)
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1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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I have a 93 K-1500 suburban and I am stumped. I have a constant 70mA drain that is constant no matter what I do. I have pulled every fuse. I have disconnected the cables from the alternator and I have swapped batteries. The drain is always aprox 70 mA so a bad wire is out. The other problem is it was -14 degrees F here yesterday so 70mA does drain the battery to not starting in about 12-20 hours. The battery is a 700 cca battery that tests fine on a load tester. The charging system is putting
Any input would be great. I am unemployed and have no option to have someone work on this for me and it is no fun working on it as I have no garage so it’s a little cold.
Thanks in advance for any help you could provide.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jan 25, 2013, 4:08 PM
Post #2 of 13
(2799 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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You're missing a fuses somewhere.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jan 25, 2013, 6:12 PM
Post #3 of 13
(2794 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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Does this have any aftermarket equipment installed such as stereo system, alarm system, remote start system, etc.?
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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Sidom
Veteran
/ Moderator
Jan 25, 2013, 9:05 PM
Post #4 of 13
(2785 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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Hmmmmm...That is strange.......70mA is out of range but it shouldn't be giving you that kind of trouble that fast..
If you disconnect the battery will it start up ok on it's own when you hook it back up?
How are you checking for the draw?
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jan 26, 2013, 4:09 AM
Post #5 of 13
(2776 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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I was thinking the same thing. That kind of draw shouldn't effect anything for days and days.
We seem to be the only ones interested in this thread anyway. The OP hasn't been back.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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johog
New User
Jan 26, 2013, 1:46 PM
Post #6 of 13
(2763 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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When the problem started I suspected just a bad battery so I had it load tested at a shop. The test showed it would work well for a few seconds then the current dropped off pretty fast. I was not able to test it in the cold of the morning which can have a big effect here in Minneapolis as the battery temp can vary by 150 degrees between when the engine has been running for a while compared to early morning negative tempatures. So I replaced the battery with a used one I had that load tested well while cold. I have been limping along right now by disconnecting the battery any time it has to sit for more that 10 hours. It works great that way. I have even had it connected and not running for 8 hours then disconnected it and run it the next day with no problem. So far if I go much past the 10 hours I do not have enough juice to turn it over.
I have been testing the drain by shutting everthing off connecting a jumper lead from the battery negative to the negative battery cable lead. I then put my amp meter in parralel with the jumper so it is between the battery neg and the neg cable end. I wait for at least 5 minutes so everything has timered off and such. Then I remove the jumper while leaving the amp meter in circuit. When I have simplified that by just putting the amp meter in circuit I show about 150 mA for about 5-20 seconds then it drops to the 70 mA and stays there.
To test the circuits I have done the above and had my wife watch the meter as I pulled every fuse in the dashboard fuse block, disconnected the alternator leads and mored or jiggled evey thing I could think of. I do have an aftermarket starter but I verified that it is downstream from the fuse block.
I am new to forums am I the OP? You mention OP has not been back. I have been reading the replys but didn't have anything new to add yet.
Thanks for the help
(This post was edited by johog on Jan 26, 2013, 2:29 PM)
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johog
New User
Jan 26, 2013, 1:56 PM
Post #7 of 13
(2761 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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I am only aware of the fuse block lower left on the dash (by drivers knee). Is there any others I am missing? I checked the owners manual and that is the only one shown. If I did not mention it I am in Minnesota so it is a bit cold here and it does not help battery problems.
I did find one thing odd. I have been disconnecting the battery to keep it from killing the battery while parked and that works fine to be able to get it to run every time. I noticed that the fuel pump relay on the fire wall clicks as I connect or disconnect the battery. This is with the truck completly off. Does anyone know if that is normal? I would think the relay should not be energised with the ignition turned off. I am still figuring out how to remove the relay to see if it effect my drain. What a dumb electrical connector.
Thanks for the help I will keep checking back and giving feed back as i test stuff.
The windchill here is all the way up to 7 degree (F) so it is a OK day for working on cars. The last couple days were a bit chilly like -27 windchill.
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johog
New User
Jan 26, 2013, 2:30 PM
Post #8 of 13
(2757 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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When i disconnect it it works fine after several days and in the coldest temps
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jan 26, 2013, 2:37 PM
Post #9 of 13
(2750 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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I still thing you have to be measuring that wrong 70ma will not kill a good battery overnight.
That relay definitely shouldn't be powering with the key off. Toy need to test the sockets for power and ground with the key off and see how many read power and how many read ground.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Sidom
Veteran
/ Moderator
Jan 26, 2013, 2:56 PM
Post #10 of 13
(2745 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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That relay shoudl be in the box under the hood.....Those ones just pull out, they can be tight & & pita (pain in the azz)
As Desi mentioned, it shouldn't be energized with the key off... The problem with hooking a battery up is you "wake up" some modules & then they go back to sleep....You could get 4 jumper wires & wire the relay back into the box so its up in the air & exposed, this was you could check the circuit for a draw after everything has powered down....
I haven't looked at your system yet but with some draws, it they are related to module or other system, then sometimes just pulling one fuse won't kill the draw due to the module having more than one power source.....You do what you did by pulling the fuses one at a time out of all the boxes., you can pull relays and then look at a diagram for the different modules & pull all the fuses for each module, doing one module at a time......
What setting are you using on your meter and what is the reading..... .700 .070?
OP=orignial poster
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jan 28, 2013, 8:12 AM
Post #11 of 13
(2728 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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Just some notes: 700 CCA isn't enough for air temps that cold. Wind chill just means how fast it will cool off to the actual temp and isn't the issue by itself. Remember CCA means 32F not the sub zero junk. Battery does have a drain to fix but know that 700 CCA is probably just 400 or less CCA if -14F out.
For low but unacceptable drains check things that are always empowered. Pwr door locks don't like it when snow gets all over door panels.
Also know a dead battery will croak if exposed to -14F no matter how old it is it will freeze inside and probably short out or even crack the case!
Till fixed don't let it go low whatever it takes -- Tom
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Brodie torres
Novice
Feb 8, 2014, 3:06 PM
Post #12 of 13
(2319 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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Hi as I read your posting looking to see what u found out was wrong. I ask only because I have the same problem with my 93 .and can't figer it out .any info?
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 8, 2014, 3:49 PM
Post #13 of 13
(2316 views)
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Re: 1993 chev suburban k-1500 constant 70mA power drain
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This is someone else's thread from over a year ago. Please start you own with your own specifics. Locked for archives use only,
T
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