I don't drive my car very often but I've noticed that since Thanksgiving, my battery will be dead if I leave it sitting for more than a week. I tried hooking up a test light between the negative cable and the negative battery terminal and it shines bright when the car is off. I've determined that the short must be on the 20 AMP #7 fuse (PWR ACCY) because when I remove it, the test light goes out (i.e., no drain). I tried disconnecting the radio with the fuse in, and the test light will flash on and off very slowly.

Anyone know what could be causing a short on that circuit? Why would the test light flash with the radio disconnected? I noticed this problem after working on the speakers, could I have caused a short somewhere in the door?

Thanks!

 

doubtful u caused a short in the door. Pull that fuse out and see whatelse it controls, windows etc.

 

Thanks for the reply! According to the owner's manual, the PWR ACCY fuse controls the Parking Lamp Relay, Hatch Release Relay, Power Mirror Switch, Radio, Shock Sensor, Instrument Cluster.

Any additional help will be greatly appreciated!

 

could be the shock sensor, i think i have heard of this before, try unplugging that and see what happens... whats weird is when u pulled the radio it was goin on and off... do you have a voltmeter maybe

 

Where is the shock sensor located?

 

its under the right rear panel in the hatch the one that like covers the spare tire it should be on the top back there somewhere

 

I've eliminated a few more things:
1) Not the shock sensor; I unplugged it and the test light still came on.
2) Not the speakers; I unplugged both front speakers and the test light still came on.

Noticed something strange will doing this, however. At one point, with everything off and doors closed, the seat belt reminder light came on. I believe this was causing the draw on the battery. Why would that light come on with the car off?

 

its gotta be a short somewhere

 

Almost 2 years to the day and I'm still having problems with a drain on the PWR ACCY fuse. Today I decided to try and tackle the problem again and I purchased a multi-meter. On the 10A setting I'm getting 2.3 draw on the battery. I've purchased a new/refurbished stock stereo to eliminate this as the cause and it had no effect on the reading. Can someone please help!?! Thanks!

Note: I tried disconnecting the head unit completely (with the fuse still in) and the multimeter registered ~.3 for a few seconds and then went to 0. What does this mean?

 

are cars will have a draw with the hood up. ur going to have to disconnect the hood lamp first off. a normal draw will occur do to memory being saved in certain modules radio for ex. before you go tearing into things i would make sure your battery is fully charged and in good shape. a week of sitting sounds like a bad battery to me but if your positive its on that fuse, pull a schematic and see what things get power from that fuse. then start taking one thing offline at a time until ur draw goes away. eliminate one thing at a time. keep ur meter hooked up. and notice the voltage change. hope this helps at all..good luck

 

Thanks for the reply. I know the short is on the PWR ACCY fuse. Hoping to find some recomendations on what it may be. I think it is something after the stereo. Any way to test further?

 

I have also noticed a buzz/whine from the back passenger side speaker. The whine will increase in pitch as the car revs higher. Is this a sign of a short in or around that speaker?

 

I have a 2000 Camaro B4C.. Mine pulls .49 amps when the power accy fuse is in.. Nothing when the fuse is out.. I'm also currently looking for a fix..

 

I had the same problem, and I just found the drain. It's the gauge cluster. No one ever updates these hopeless kinds of threads so I figured I share what I found today.

Here's what I did so you can follow the same steps. I know it's the gauge cluster, but I will detail what I did. I'll go from easiest to hardest.

1. You need a multimeter that can handle the amp range. I was unable to find a metter locally that could do 20A, but I did find several that could do 10A. I knew the drain wasn't big, so I had to settle. I will invest in a 20A online though.

2. You've already done the hard part figuring out that it's on the power accy fuse. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery, pull the fuse and shut the door. Once the lights have gone out test the draw on the 10A setting. I was showing 0. WIth the fuse in I was showing .6.

3. Leave the fuse in. Get to the trunk release and disconnect the two lead that go to it. Make sure you shut the trunk to shut the lights off. Test the draw again. Move on if there is no change.

4. Disconnect the shock sensor (passenger side trunk area under the tire panel. Shut the trunk. Test again. Move on if there is no change.

5. Disconnect the power mirror connection on the driver's door (not the windows! they aren't on this circuit). Shut the door. Test again. Move on if there is no change.

6. Remove the radio. Shut the door. Test again. Move on if there is no change.

7. Remove the gauge cluster. Shut the door. Test again.

That should be everything on the circuit.

What is happening with the cluster? I don't know. I'll take a look at it and let you guys know.

E-mail me if you need help.

 

Thanks for the reply..

I found out it was a short in the factory radio.. I started unplugging things until my test light went out and when I got to the radio, the light went out and no more draw.. I replaced it with a JVC unit and no more issues in the last 2 years..

Thanks
Brett