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Parasitic drain

Pddobson218

New Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2018
Messages
4
So I just bought an 04 avalanche and I'm having a parasitic drain. I am not a good car person to be clear. I got the truck and after a few days it started to turn over slower and progressed over the next few days till it was too low to start. I got it jumped and drove it for a couple hours and it started afterwards so the alte re bator is charging it. I usually only drive about 45 min a day just to and from work. I brought it to the shop and he tested the battery and it was good just low charge. He also waited till it was in sleep mode and got a parasitic drain of 17 milla amps or whatever and that is within the "acceptable" range. He charged my battery and after a few days the same thing happens, it's slow to turn over. My abs light is on and he tried to communicate with it and it wasn't responding so he says it's the ans control module. Could that cause my drain to be excessive before it gets to sleep mode? Maybe a relay that's moody? The radio also seems to be in muted mode? It plays just not very loud at all and basically no base. The sub is in the center council and I put my hand on it and you can feel a slight vibration from the sound and it's more than I get from my hand on the panel under the steering wheel. Could that be the amp? And could that be somehow tied to my drain issue?
 
I have a parasitic drain also in my 02 Avalanche. Fought it for years, couldn't trace it. Started out that it would only drain the battery a couple of times a year. Over time it got worse until it did it 3 times in a month. I was finally able to trace it to what appears to be the radio. Try pulling the radio fuse in the box under the hood. If that is what it is, rather than spending $200+ dollars to replace the radio,  there is a you tube vidio that shows how to wire in a relay that disconnects the power to the radio when the key is off. Did that to mine a couple of months ago and haven't had any problems since. The only thing is practically all of the gauges are on the same circuit so they lose power too. So when you turn the key on, all but a couple go quirky for about a second and then settle down and operate just fine. You have to turn on the radio and reset the clock each time you start it, but that is no big deal to me. Better than spending a bunch of money on a new radio.
 
Yea that's what the guy at the shop said that every time he's dealt with it on a gm it's been the radio but it also would show more drain than what I have during sleep mode. I'm getting the abs control module replaced because it needs it anyways but I've read a thread that said it was something to do with his abs. I'm hoping that's what it is and is draining it excessively before it goes to sleep. I'll see if this fixes the problem and if not I'll start pulling fuses but I'm running out of ideas.I'll post updates
 
So I think I solved the problem. The abs pump went bad causing the abs control module to short out and drain power constantly. Sad thing is all that will cost around 1200 bucks and that's if the brake lines don't leak afterwards which they tend to do so it could cost me up to 2200! I pulled the abs fuse for now to ensure I'm right and I'll post updates
 
Any updates to this thread?  I'm finally frustrated enough with the random parasitic drain in my '03 Av that I'm ready to start chasing it down.

I put an after market Pioneer head unit in, oh about 6 years ago with backup cam and (disused) CD/DVD (single disc) player.  She's a few other quirks, that may or may not be related.

Thanks // NoVARaif
 
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