amp draw? 2005 chev tahoe

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Printed Date: July 07, 2025 at 6:17 AM

Topic: amp draw? 2005 chev tahoe

Posted By: wtc3
Subject: amp draw? 2005 chev tahoe
Date Posted: November 22, 2008 at 4:47 PM

I'm looking for a short under the dash of a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71. After a tech installed a Remote Start switch yesterday I came out this morning to find the battery dead. Right now, if I pull the ground lead and take an amp reading with the key off it's drawing 3.6 Amps.

My question is how much if any amp draw should that truck show with the key in the off position?

Thanks in advance.

Replies:

Posted By: ckeeler
Date Posted: November 22, 2008 at 8:10 PM

first off, its not a short......its a DRAW. the most your vehicle shld draw at rest and completely off is no more than 1500a.

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: November 22, 2008 at 8:25 PM

1500a of current draw = a short. I think he meant to say 1500ma. I think 1500ma is way too much.

Posted By: wtc3
Date Posted: November 22, 2008 at 9:36 PM

I pulled the lead off another Tahoe that is a current year model and his was drawing 4 amps which seems like way too much. I think what is happening is when I pull the battery lead, everything goes dead of course. Then when I put the Fluke meter in line, what I'm seeing is the truck's computers coming back up. Perhaps if I just left meter in line for 10-20 minutes the draw would subside.

Simple math says there is just no way you could leave a truck unattended at an airport while you were gone for a week and not come back to a dead battery with a 3-4 Amp drain.

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: November 22, 2008 at 9:51 PM

It should take only a couple of seconds for the current draw to get to normal. 3 or 4 amps is way too much. I would not expect to see more than 250MA maybe 300 max. Did you notice if the domelight was still on?

Posted By: wtc3
Date Posted: November 22, 2008 at 10:14 PM

I checked everything. The truck was closed up and had been sitting there for about an hour. We just pulled the battery lead, and placed a Fluke meter in line to measure the draw. His Tahoe is a current year model and was pulling right at 4 Amps. Mine was pulling 3.6. I agree that the numbers just don't seem to make sense.