hey everybody welcome to my ignorant nightmare...

97 blazer had a ton of issues starting staling ect... changed the ignition switch, alternator, the battery, runs like brand new now... thought that was the problem; runs amazing if it turns over... determined i have quite a parasitic drain from the radio fuse #13 a ten (volt or amp fuse? [sorry not sure i get the difference yet]) draining 10.8 +- and the #1 fuse a 20 (v/a ?) draining 11.5+-...

overnight my battery is losing its will to live... have to jump it and then everything peachy till next morning... sits for hours and can start right up...but overnight no.

I have been trying to understand my meter and an old power probe i have had for years... did some research and im more confused then ever... idk difference between an ammeter and a voltmeter first of all) and their are a billion different scenarios for the power probe to do; i try them all and get different results.but not sure what im resulting for ????? i am not an idiot, am i ?

researching this problem seems everyone has a different solution... i have been just trying to figure out what exactly im looking for and/or looking at obvious traces along the search >?

read that shorts cause the fuses to blow... they do not blow...sooo its a drain? is a drain a ground issue or a relay issue?? or what? what tool do i use and how will i know if a relay is bad or not ??

i removed the radio fuse after driving but did not help (i will try to remove both fuses tonight and charge the batt. )

just found my drivers side visor vanity light flickers like crazy it any part of visor touched or moved... but that is not on any of the fuse curcuits that have the drain....i cut the wire and its still showing both fuses draining>

i digress, sorry... so what exactly am i looking for while following the fuse box along the wires course? besides an obvious noticeable wire crossing touching or visual defect? i understand that im looking to trace this to a common culprit but what issue (s) could cause these to fuses to connect? the brake fuse and the small radio fuse/ ?? please advise and thanks for your help always

found another clue reading on...

i replaced the ignition switch and it was like the light from heaven blinded me... my 2 year blinking check engine light turned off, still off, crazy i swear my transmission shifts better now too...
spuds704 might have given me what i am looking for at least... faulty ground... but where ??

nothing has been done to this car at any shop recently i did notice my passenger window will not work if from passenger switch only drivers switch (even with lock off hheh) i did however just re-attached my drivers door panel and wonder if i have clipped a wire or something in that process... does any one know if the #13 radio fuse and the #1 brake fuse have any business in the drivers door ?

the first thing i did was replace the alternator... i will go back to the beginning and drink more... does the alternator have a common demoninator with the radio fuse and the brake fuse? ?
thanks
thanks

 

Everything is working properly with the ignition switch?

How new is the battery? Have you had it tested?

If the battery has been tested as good, you need to measure the actual amperage draw. There is plenty of information on doing this online so I am not going to cover that here. You will start at the battery by disconnecting one of the cables and putting the ammeter in series with the cable. Watch the current draw and record the values you see in 1 minute increments up to 5 minutes after which everything should be in is low power state. If the low power state results in a draw over ~35mA, then you have a component problem and need to move to the fuse box, removing each fuse and measuring the current draw for the individual circuits.

Once you get that information, we can move deeper.

 

AS OF LAST NIGHT ~i did check the fuse(S) AREA ONE AT A TIME ... thought i was getting two fuses drawing 10+- ... but i using a volt meter and i understand that a volt meter is not the correct thing to do that testwith ...so not back to square 1 but have narrowed it down to a couple of things...

any one of these make sense to you guys... hooked up neighbors amp meter seemed to be 0.01/0.00 +- draw from the battery post to the unhooked bat cable... so either or the draw has been resolved >>>?? correct or would that test only work if the dash back together... ? the ext int light wiper and hatch cluster and connectors are still disconnected.... FYI

I removed the vanity mirror cut the wire and reconnected it, the radio is still unplugged though

CAN A BAD OR REMOVED REAR WINDSHIELD WIPER DASH SWITCH BE CAUSING THE DRAIN? AND WILL THE BATTERY DRAIN WITH THE GAUGES DISCONNECTED? No i doubt it

i could have ruined some electric items with the month of jumping, charging, fixing and using our 50/10/2 amp car starter;OH which by the way DO NOT USE THE 50amp CARSTARTER plugged into a 20amp 110 electric home circuit breaker cause... the last couple of evenings my refrigerator door opening would cause my kitchen lights to dim...checking the circuit breaker BLUE ARCHING sparks on the very fuse the 50 amp starter plugged into... CRAP never occurred to me that would happen? DUH?
LIVE AND LEARN... FIXED THAT NOW BACK TO THE CAR...

i will put the dash back together ... charge the battery and see what happens...any opinions will be greatly appreciated... god bless GM and all their fine wisdom these last 2 decades... heheheheh

battery is still under warranty BTW... i took it back to autozone and they said good and recharged it but that was before my month of issues...

in regards to 35ma test... the meter was hooked up for 10 minutes or so with the 0.00/.01 +- flicker the whole time....

 

I am not sure what you are using, but my multimeter (Fluke 88V) requires that the leads be changed to a different port to measure amperage draw of a circuit. Your values do not make sense. There should be an initial current draw when you complete the circuit. And you should be able to increase the draw by turning on the dome light or any other accessory being careful not to exceed the current rating of your meter.

 

i changed a lot of the ports and terminals checking assuming the same thing? maybe his meter has a blown fuse at the m amp level? it was also a fluke but not sure which one. i turned the meter to volts and checked , changed terminals and got a good reading on the battery 11 volts +-... so the meter functions....

i touched inside the batt post and to the batt cable bridging the gap under all options/guage and terminals with the meter wondering the same thing...

and started placed the meter ends between the positive post and the cable...0.00 or 0.01 back and forth

re-attached cable placed the meter ends between the negative post and the cable... 0.00 or 0.01 back and forth... nothing

If his meter is broken, then i have the option of buying one 30-60 bucks or taking this (*TU%$# trck to a service place that can check the electric issues not the code issues... read a thread stating his toggle switch was left in the on position the whole time and the shop charged him 100 bucks to tell him... if this could be solved for a 100 bucks SCREW THIS NIGHTMARE.

maybe my last question WHAT TYPE OF SPECIALTY SHOP WOULD BE ABLE TO FIND THE problem quickly (if possible) besides the dealership... local service shops or could a pep boys do this? ?

thanks, totally confused, bewildered and giggly with madness...
heehe

 

Sounds like the fuse is blown in the meter.

Find someone with another meter and make sure that it is on the proper setting. Start with the straight up Amps setting, not mA. If the current draw is high enough, it may blow the low amp side fuse.

 

If you tested the battery + to - at any point while in mVA port on meter you blew the fuse in the meter. If you tested the battery on mVA going in series on the negative side, same deal. Testing battery you should be in series on the negative side (+ lead to disconnected negative cable, - lead to negative post on battery, meter set to DCAmps. To test fuses in meter leave your black lead in the common port, remove your red lead and on continuity setting on meter touch inside each red terminal)

If fuses good and testing as stated you should get a correct reading. If your at .01mVA odds are your doing it wrong as you should be .04-.175mVA in series with your battery based on vehicle options. Anywhere in that range is normal.

If you suspect #13 in rear fuse box 2 things to be aware of. Disconnecting and reconnecting battery resets most modules so your reading could be wrong. 2 - since radio runs on a RAS circuit you should turn car off and wait 30-45 min before testing the current draw. (Go to your local parts store and purchase a battery quick disconnect and install it on the negative side of your battery. Drive car for at least 10 miles to get all control modules synced together. Connect your meter using clamps same way described above clamping negative to disconnect battery side and positive disconnect lead side in DC VA setting on meter in VA port. Disconnect battery using the disconnect (should be a knife switch or a turn dial) and see what your readings are. Post findings.

Also if your suspecting wiper motor, it can cause this as this was the cause of my parasidic drain. Easy way to determine this is pull your wash pump relay in the engine fuse box (#42 I believe?) With car off and battery connected put the relay in. If relay kicks on soon as it's plugged in your wiper motor controller is bad. Replace wiper motor (passenger side behind glove box, royal PIA to get to) or simply pull the 10A fuse right next to that relay and leave relay out as well. Your wipers will still work minus the rain detection feature and you'll have no washer fluid pumps, front or rear. Your washer pump most likely will run all the time if this is the issue as well and you'll have no voltage at any of the 3 wsher/wiper relays or fuses in rear elec box.

 

This ^^
At no point with car off should this blow a standard 10A ammeter fuse. Car running is a different story.