Ok, first i noticed someone posted about a dead battery just recently in the forum and instead of hijacking his thread with an issue i am having now, i decided to post a new one

Truck: 1996 Blazer LT, 4.3L

Problem: Just recently replaced the battery and alternator with a new battery and refurb Alt. from my local autozone. Had the items in the truck for about two- three weeks now and didn't have a problem, until just the last few days.the battery is completely drained of any poweras i can even get the auto door locks to respond

I drove it about three times in the pasttwo days and on the first of the three days, it felt sluggish driving it, but ended up as it being cold and needed some time to get everything moving again (been liekk 30 degree nights as of late here is Mass.)

second day was find but noticed that my dome light was on "after" i started the truck and would not shut off when i turn the ignition to the on position like it supposed to. after driving for about 15 min, i pulled over and yanked the bulb out so i wouldn't draw the battery down from having it on while i was shopping at the store.

and the final nigh which was last night, i needed to find my cell phone and i didn't start it, but used the overhead reading lamps to see where it was and shut that down before locking up for the night

Now, i go out to the truck to head to the pharmacy and sure as stink, the truck is dead as a dead could be.

Now i was thinking that the refurb alt wasn't doing it's job as it might be a dud, so i am gonna go and get another battery and have the alt tested to see if it is shot. I checked the lead wirte on the alt and followed it down to the battery to see if it was severed in anyway, or was broken, but it was solid and connected. I checked the battery term leads and they are not corroded and are in place.

The big thing is the dome light not turning off. It happened out of nowhere with no provication or issues that i noticed with the truck. Anyone have ideas?

 

Make sure the dome light switch is off, all the doors are closed all the way (especially the back hatch), and if you've got the light up mirrors on the sunvisors, make sure the cover is in good shape, and not falling off (which would cause the light to turn on)

 

Do a parasatic load test on the battery if you have a multimeter. What happened to the old battery and alt?

 

Update:

I had the alt tested and it is fine, I was told that it could be a fusable link (no clue what that is) Anyone know where that link would be located? It is a 4.3L v6 Vortec engine

To recent posts:

I made sure all doors, hatch, visor doors etc. were closed/off. I will need to grab a multimeter from radioshack as i have noticed that it is a key thing to have as of late with my truck LOL. The old Alt was dead and it drained the old battery to the breaking point, so i replaced the alt and battery

 

To do a load test you disconnect the neg. cable from the battery and hook a small jumper cable in between the two. Then let it time out for a few min. andhook the multimeter inbetween there but make sure to keep the jumper cable attached to the batt and neg. cable. Once you have the multimeter hooked up disconnect one of the ends of the jumper cable with your multimeter still attached in and have it turned on to amps. You should get a reading of under .2 amps or 200 milliamps. If it is higher then that start pulling fuses to figure out were the load is coming from. Be sure to have a block of wood in the door or something so that it thinks the door is closed. Sorry I don't know how it is on Blazer's I just bought mine broke and it's been in the shop since I got it. And a fuse link is a small piece of wire withing a wire that acts as a fuse, and I think they are usually by the battery but I'm not sure on that. To test them just give them a little tug and if it pulls like a rubber band it means it's burnt up.

 

Update:

Went to Autozone after putting new battery in and had the guy check the battery and the load from the alternator via the mobile cart machine they have and it tested out fine. He pointed me towards where the fusible link was and it was tuaght, so I explained how the dome light was on and sure as sont, the whole problem was human error!

On the back of some Chevy Blazer models have a manula switch back light for the tailgate/cargo area. Well when the switch is turned on while the vehicle is off and all doors closed, it not just turns on the rear light but the main dome light as well...

So due to a night of wheeling that i need to see in the cargo area to pull out my Come-a-long so i could get out ofan old 44' rut, i left my light on in the back and killed my battery. I have definatly learned a lession from this []

 

That'll teach ya! Glad you got it fixed, er, figured out!!

 

And that's why I leave the dome light on automatic, lol

 

is there even an auto setting on the dome light? mine is in the center roof console with the compass and degree hud and the push button reading lights.

 

There should be a little round button on the headlight control panel...

When it's sticking out, the dome light comes on whenever you open a door or the hatch