Parasitic Power Drain ... NEED HELP!!
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From: The dirty taint of the country. ...Los Angeles
Parasitic Power Drain ... NEED HELP!! Ok, So here's the skinny. I have a 2000 WS.6 and after I get home from work at 10:30pm, everythings fine. The next day by noon the battery is DEAD! I need to hook up my battery charger just to get things started for the day. I've had to do this so often that I've just been taking an Uber to and from work lately.
1.) I don't run an aftermarket stereo
2.) I have a radar detector that I only plug in while I'm driving.
I'm gonna run a Parasitic power drain test with my OHM meter maybe tomorrow but I've been told that I need to trip the door switch sensor to make the car think the door is closed while I'm pulling fuses since the location of the interior fuse box requires that the door stay open. How do I do this? ... Oh, and if I find the bad circuit, then what?
I've noticed a few things, maybe someone can help me track down the issue.
1.) High beam lamps stay on even with the fog lamps on. and I can't turn them off. The switch on the column shifter doesn't "click" at all. so they're stuck on.
2.) Fuel gauge goes wonky when I'm driving sometimes. I'm pretty sure my sending unit is turning into poop but can that also cause a parasitic power drain?
3.) About 7 or 8 years ago I had an issue with my VATS acting up so I did a VATS bypass. It worked out great but as of late, sometimes the VATS kicks in for some reason and I need to wait 5 minutes or so for the SECURITY light to switch off before I can start my car.
I've been told to check my power to ground but I don't know what or where I'm really looking.
FYI. I'm not an electrical minded guy. Wiring diagrams are like hieroglyphs to me.
1.) I don't run an aftermarket stereo
2.) I have a radar detector that I only plug in while I'm driving.
I'm gonna run a Parasitic power drain test with my OHM meter maybe tomorrow but I've been told that I need to trip the door switch sensor to make the car think the door is closed while I'm pulling fuses since the location of the interior fuse box requires that the door stay open. How do I do this? ... Oh, and if I find the bad circuit, then what?
I've noticed a few things, maybe someone can help me track down the issue.
1.) High beam lamps stay on even with the fog lamps on. and I can't turn them off. The switch on the column shifter doesn't "click" at all. so they're stuck on.
2.) Fuel gauge goes wonky when I'm driving sometimes. I'm pretty sure my sending unit is turning into poop but can that also cause a parasitic power drain?
3.) About 7 or 8 years ago I had an issue with my VATS acting up so I did a VATS bypass. It worked out great but as of late, sometimes the VATS kicks in for some reason and I need to wait 5 minutes or so for the SECURITY light to switch off before I can start my car.
I've been told to check my power to ground but I don't know what or where I'm really looking.
FYI. I'm not an electrical minded guy. Wiring diagrams are like hieroglyphs to me.
I believe the door pin is built into the latch mechanism. What I've done in the past is shove a screwdriver in the latch and push it back to lock it (basically it replicates the actual bar the latch secures itself to). This should trick the BCM into thinking the door is closed.
Once you find the bad circuit we can then start to diagnose what's gone wrong and how to fix it.
Your high beams staying on shouldn't cause a drain issue. The lamps don't get power unless ignition is turned on so there shouldn't be any draw from that. I would however look into replacing the switch anyway, since you kinda need to be able to turn them off lol.
Your fuel sending unit going out shouldn't cause a drain issue either. Again, it's one of those things that shouldn't get power unless ignition is on.
For the VATS issue, it could be that the resistor that you used is starting to wear out causing an intermittent connection/correct reading. Could always get it tuned out or replace the resistor.
Checking your grounds is never a bad idea. A bad ground shouldn't cause excessive power drain, but it can cause a whole host of odd power issues that may be related to some of the other stuff you have going on.
Once you find the bad circuit we can then start to diagnose what's gone wrong and how to fix it.
Your high beams staying on shouldn't cause a drain issue. The lamps don't get power unless ignition is turned on so there shouldn't be any draw from that. I would however look into replacing the switch anyway, since you kinda need to be able to turn them off lol.
Your fuel sending unit going out shouldn't cause a drain issue either. Again, it's one of those things that shouldn't get power unless ignition is on.
For the VATS issue, it could be that the resistor that you used is starting to wear out causing an intermittent connection/correct reading. Could always get it tuned out or replace the resistor.
Checking your grounds is never a bad idea. A bad ground shouldn't cause excessive power drain, but it can cause a whole host of odd power issues that may be related to some of the other stuff you have going on.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,331
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
It's not necessary to fool the BCM into thinking the door is closed. Just leave the door open and wait until the BCM goes to sleep before testing. About 10-15 minutes after the door is left open with the ignition off, the BCM will turn off the interior lights as part of its battery saver programming and then it goes to sleep. Opening a door or using the key fob buttons wakes it up again. This is one time when the the "sleep" factor is useful - it's a bit of a pain to bypass when installing an aftermarket alarm system.
The headlights on domestic Firebirds are not ignition controlled. Camaros will shut off the headlights with the ignition if the headlight switch is in the OFF position so that the automatic headlights were in use but if the switch is in the on position, the lights will stay on regardless of the ignition. However, I should think that the lights staying on would be a rather obvious cause of battery drain so I assume they were off.
VATS cannot be removed by programming alone. The BCM is not programmable so even though you can program the PCM to ignore the missing fuel enable signal when VATS is active, you can't fix the starter relay disable without rewiring the relay. So replacing the resistor and ensuring all connections are solid would be the best option there.
The headlights on domestic Firebirds are not ignition controlled. Camaros will shut off the headlights with the ignition if the headlight switch is in the OFF position so that the automatic headlights were in use but if the switch is in the on position, the lights will stay on regardless of the ignition. However, I should think that the lights staying on would be a rather obvious cause of battery drain so I assume they were off.
VATS cannot be removed by programming alone. The BCM is not programmable so even though you can program the PCM to ignore the missing fuel enable signal when VATS is active, you can't fix the starter relay disable without rewiring the relay. So replacing the resistor and ensuring all connections are solid would be the best option there.
