hello all, hope everyone is ok

My 97 base Camaro v6 is giving me fits as the battery continues to become discharged. The issue seemed to start when I replaced my radio last fall and since then if the car isn't run weekly the battery discharges to the point that it wont start.

I have removed and tested the battery and it seems to hold a charge when not in the car, I have reflowed the relay solder joints in the bcm, the alternator was replaced last year. Currently the radio is not in the car

Any ideas on where to look to see what is causing the battery to become discharged ?

Tom

 

Best troubleshooting tool is a test light between a battery cable and a battery post.
The brilliance of the bulb shows the current/power demand - brighter, more power drawn, and the bulb will limit the amount of power drawn.


Remember, BCM and PCM will draw a min amount of power for their memories.
Since no radio, lesser amount drawn. Now, pull fuses out one by one and observe the light. Once the circuit is identified, troubleshoot the particular circuit.
Sometimes, observing the car in the dark may show any courtesy lights on - glovebox is a common one.

 

Trick I use for glove boxs is feeling for heat. If the light is on all the time everything thing around the bulb will be hot, if the light just turned on when you opened the glove box door only the bulb would be hot.

I would also add under hood light (if any) and the lighter is a common cause. Both the insert and the base of the lighter can get rusty and can cause a draw.

If you hook up the light as described above you can start pulling fuses to see when the light goes dim. Just make sure you come up with a way to do it with the doors closed.

 

The radio was replaced last fall, the alternator was replaced last year. If the alternator was replaced before you started having discharge issues, then don't discount the alternator. "New" doesn't mean flawless. A bad diode can/will cause a power drain back and kill the battery. Be sure to include the alternator in your test light battery of tests.

 

Got it fixed , turned out to be the battery. Not sure why it held a charge and then acted like it did bot oh well ..

Thanx for everyone that replied. Now to wait for spring and a rear end swap

Tom