KyleODaniel Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 I've been having problems with my battery lately completely draining over night, and I can't seem to get to the root of the cause. It's a 2005 Sierra, RCSB, 5.3 with power everything. Only aftermarket things area some LED interior lights, with some light strips under the dash so I can see the floor at night, but I tied those into the rest do the interior lights and haven't had a problem with any of them. The other thing is my Kenwood touch screen, and I think this is might be where the problem is coming from because it doesn't always shut off when I open my door and sometimes I don't catch it and it drains the battery, and I don't thing it's the door actuator because all the interior lights all go off, just the radio stays on, is it the wiring of the deck? And if so how do I fix it? Thanks- Kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downeast Johnny Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 First thing that I would try is removing the fuse for the audio sys. when you park the truck overnight. Figure out if the stereo is causing the drain first. Good luck with your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepingcrna Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Have you gone in somewhere reputable to have the battery load tested ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleODaniel Posted February 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Have you gone in somewhere reputable to have the battery load tested ?never had it load tested but did replace the battery about a year ago. Only problem is it doesn't drain everytime. It's done it maybe 4-5 times in the last 2 months. It usually seems to happrn when the temperature starts to drop, don't know if that comes into play at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downeast Johnny Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 never had it load tested but did replace the battery about a year ago. Only problem is it doesn't drain everytime. It's done it maybe 4-5 times in the last 2 months. It usually seems to happrn when the temperature starts to drop, don't know if that comes into play at all. Sounds like it could be a tough one to chase down. Good luck man. Let us know what you figure out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepingcrna Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 never had it load tested but did replace the battery about a year ago. Only problem is it doesn't drain everytime. It's done it maybe 4-5 times in the last 2 months. It usually seems to happrn when the temperature starts to drop, don't know if that comes into play at all. Take it in and have a load test done. I've had terrible luck with walmart batteries in my RV and boat in the past. Replace them every year. My SS battery was doing similar things to what yours is doing now. It was a good AC Delco battery, but 6 years old. Load tested = bad cell. Replaced it with a new GM quality battery. Problem solved. May fix your issue, may not, but load testing shouldn't cost you a dime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleODaniel Posted February 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Take it in and have a load test done. I've had terrible luck with walmart batteries in my RV and boat in the past. Replace them every year. My SS battery was doing similar things to what yours is doing now. It was a good AC Delco battery, but 6 years old. Load tested = bad cell. Replaced it with a new GM quality battery. Problem solved. May fix your issue, may not, but load testing shouldn't cost you a dime. Ok, well I'll take it in and have it done and then I'll see what they say, if it's a bad cell I'm probably just going to go with a yellow top or something along those lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepingcrna Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 IF that's it, my local GMC/GM/JEEP/etc dealer sells AC DELCO. I have a AAA membership i've had for a few years that I bought to cover towing for an old RV. This year they started covering battery replacement for a small upgraded fee. They cover $125 toward the cost of a new battery. The point of that is I replaced the battery with the best AC Delco I could get. Same as was in it from 6 years ago. It was a $145 battery. More than adequate, quality and reliable. Yellow tops are great from what I hear, but aren't they well over $200 ? Seems like overkill, but if you want it, and can afford it, what the hell. Whatever it turns out to be, keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1BAD2K Posted February 14, 2015 Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) It really depends on how you use the battery. Yellow top is an AGM deep cycle battery. If you are running aftermarket electronics or use the battery when the truck isn't running, the yellow top would be a good choice. The typical lead acid wet cell batteries are only really for starting your vehicle. I personally love deep cycle batteries bc they can be drained absolutely flat, and a good AGM specific charger can bring them back by charging them for a day or two. Edited February 14, 2015 by 1BAD2K (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleODaniel Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Had the battery tested and everything. Checked out with it, but the truck left me stranded again today. Not sure where to go from here. Bad thing is if I try something out I won't know if it solved the problem because it only happens every once in awhile. About to start ripping out all aftermarket parts and see what that does. Subs, LED interiors lights and go from there. Truck also seems like it wants to die at idle now after I junp it and get it going. Any help would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXGM Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) Your going to have to start by doing some good ol diagnosis. You might want to start with a good volt meter to do a draw test. Start checking individual circuits setup and test overnight. My guess is if you have a bunch of aftermarket stuff that would be a place to start. There is no easy way to track down problems like your having...... It almost sounds like something is maybe wired up weird and could be keeping a module from going "asleep"..... Have seen it before where something was back feeding power and would cause a drain overnight. Edited February 24, 2015 by EXGM (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1BAD2K Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Have you had your alternator tested? And have you checked/cleaned battery cable connections well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleODaniel Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Haven't ran any test on the alternator yet. But that will be next, as well as a cable check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernocy Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'm having the same problem with my truck, 2006 Silverado SS. I have an aftermarket alarm (Viper7900), Pioneer AvicZ130BT, JL Audio 1000/v2, JL Audio 300/4, 2 JL Audio 10", and 6 separates, with 2 tweeters by the windshield. Whatever was causing it, was draining my batteries to the point of no return..even my yellow top D78 series. I have circuit breakers that shut off my amps, one each, so I shut them down and now I can go days without having to use a jumper pack to start my truck. I haven't tracked it down yet, just haven't had time. However.... I do have a little experience in electronics so I took my truck to have it load tested....alternator and battery are fine. (even with amps on) So my next step, when I get to it, is to use my multimeter to do a parasitic drain check. You need a decent multimeter that measures amperage. Set your multimeter up as directed by the manufacturer of your multimeter (usually means moving one lead to amps ...20A and leaving the other one on ...common) Basically, with the engine off, you take the negative battery cable off, touch one probe of your multimeter to the cable and the other to the negative battery post. Look at your meter and, if my memory is correct, it shouldn't be too much more or less than 500 mAmps (miliamps). If it is, you have a parasitic component sucking the juice from your battery when the engine is off. Pull a fuse and check the meter, if it drops to within the 500 mAmps range, you have found your problem. If not, put that fuse back and pull another one until you find the fuse that brings you into the right range. Once you find the fuse, you will at least know which circuit to troubleshoot to find the problem. If you have aftermarket components in your truck, I would start with the stereo, alarm, lighting circuits first and go from there. I'm not on here very often so I thought I'd post something to try and help out. The reason I logged on today was to research adding a second battery and upgrading my alternator to one with more output, like a DC Power 370 amp. Currently, from the factory, our alternator puts out about 145. Again, hope this information helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleODaniel Posted February 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Anybody have any idea what would be wrong, when I shut off the truck and open the door everything seems to shut down like it should, but when I come back out to the truck sometimes the radio will be back on, like something is powering back on? Anybody have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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