My wife has a 2000 chevy venture. It has an ultra start r/s with a PKG4 security bypass(all disconnected right now). I disconnected it all because she started having starting problems. Before i disconnected everything I had the battery charged and a load test done on it.(passed). I took it home installed it and went back to autozone, they did there charging test. They told me I had a negative draw during test, but charging test was good. They also said that during the test that something did drop down to 10-11volts for a second during test.(he had never seen this before) I borrowed a dmm that checks DC amps. I did a parasitic test with vehicle off and started out at .6-.7amps(assuming that reading was with bcm awake)i then cut my grass, after that my reading was down to.2amps(bcm asleep?). My doors were open the whole time but i latched the doors with screwdriver, so no dome light was on. I removed every fuse, maxi fuse, relay, circuit breaker, one at a time, this reading never changed. What is my next try or option? Should i recharge battery and take it somewhere else for a charging test or is there something i'm missing. If i disconnect the large alternator wire during parasitic test will this tell me if i have a bad diode or not? I really do not want a 900$ bill from any BS dealer.
Sometimes it takes a combination of two fuses to locate the draw--- I have had to pull and (leave out- not replacing) every fuse one at a time- then try combinations. I have had the alternator be warm after it sat all night- drawing amps...unhook every wire to it- not just the battery hot
I would shut the doors- and leave the windows down- There may be circuits still alive- I would unhook everything until that amp draw quits entirely--
I have had to "transfer" the amp draw tester to the circuit (without losing continuity)- That is- I let the car run- No DVM attached- then shut car off -through open window - attached DVM- then separate the parallel circuit (unhook the battery cable) and keep the DVM attached- so that any "latched" circuits when running can remain "latched" when testing- Be sure to have a ten amp fuse inline with your DVM when doing this- you could fry your DVM then start pulling fuses one at a time after your confirm draw is still there- anything over 50 ma is too much
Good Luck
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Brcidd - Engineer That Does Remote Starter Installs on the side.
Thanks, I will try the multiple fuse possibility and remove all alternator wires this time. This is very frustrating.