Here is my issue....for the past couple months I have been having a very bad battery drain. It has destroyed 1 Optima battery....

I have a free new replacement Optima, but this time, I have convinced myself to find the drain and stop putting it off. This has been a problem for about a year, the car isn't my DD, so it hasn't been a huge issue....

I have used a test light, in between the battery and negative cable, and that light is bright! I have pulled every fuse in the interior, and every fuse in both fuse boxes under the hood. That light has remained BRIGHT....it never dimmed, and I pulled all the fuses, twice! Is there another fuse box somewhere?

Also, when I hooked up the test light, there was a loud clicking in my dash box....I have read about people havin bad a BCM? And that it was in the glove box, is that true???

I also heard a clicking noise from the head light area, and unhooked the plug that is on the driver's side to keep the lights either up or down, and the clicking slowed a little....readjusted the test light, repeated it, and this time, nothing, just a bright light on the test light. But that light never went out, when I pulled ANY of the fuses....I haven't added anything electrical to this car...and the cam, headers, ect was done years ago....

SO...does anyone have a verdict? How do you find a drain on a car when you have pulled every fuse and the test light NEVER went out?!?!?! BTW, this is a 99 TA.

The drain is so bad, I could drive to work, get back in the car before I left (about 8 hours later) and it almost not want to crank!!!! What could it be???

 

Here is another issue...

I went back out there, and did the test light again, it's bright and there is a clicking noise somewhere around my driver's side head light area. So, when I unplug the plug that powers the lights up and down, right next to the fuse boxes, and resume w/ the test light, the clicking goes away, and the test light comes on, but fades completely out in about 5 seconds.....I redid this test 4-5x, and get the same result everytime....

Is it something to do w/ my headlights???

Anyone?

 

NOW, I just went back and checked it out w/ the test light again, and I am hearing a clicking under the glove box.....Can someone tell me how to get the BCM out? I have the glove box out, and see a black box, but can't figure out how to get the BCM out of there....I want to look at it, or replace it. What all is involved w/ that???

Sorry for all the posts, just tired of this, and need to get this car fixed.

 

Try swapping some of the relays around that in the fuse boxes under the hood and see if that makes a difference. May be you have a bad relay, also do you know for sure that your battery is being charged by the alternator?

 

I did replace the alternator today, along w/ the battery and an oil change....just took it down the road, and scanmaster said the battery was at 13.1-13.2 while driving. Just got back, and hooked the battery up to the charger to check the volts, it was sitting at 12.6. I did leave the headlight plug undone, and will check the voltage again in the morning to see if it has fallen at all....If it does drop bad, I will know something is eating it up, if it doesn't, I will know it's in that head light plug somewhere...right?

This is very annoying!!!

I did have a faint hope the alt. was going bad, since it's the factory one, maybe it was???

 

Are you disconnecting the headlight motors?
Do the headlight motors work properly - do they go up and down OK without any grinding?

Try disconnecting the Headlamp Opening Door Actuator Control Module. It contains a several relays that could cause a battery drain. It is located in the engine compartment under the fuse panel, close to where you are hearing the noise.

 

yeah, it sounds like you have a relay that is staying closed.

 

Check how much current is being drawn with a miltimeter.