In this video I have a look at a customer’s 2014 Chevy Impala that has an intermittent issue with the battery dying overnight. Well now it seems the problem is here to stay. The battery is dead every time they want to use the car so now we need to see what the world is going on.
-Enjoy!
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – If you are watching this video on 4/15/24 or 4/16/24 and you don't fall asleep before the end screen and you see part II is listed as "Members Only." DO NOT PANIC Do not send me nasty emails, don't unsubscribe, don't tell me I am an asshole or a sellout in the comments and DO NOT CALL MY SHOP to tell me you can't watch it. The part II will be posted on the 17th at 6am just like I ALWAYS DO. The reason it says members only is because there are some folks that support our YouTube channel by becoming a "YouTube Member" and it gives them early access to all videos I put out. Take a breath, slow down, everything is gonna be OK.
Thanks for watching!
-Eric O.
Battery draw is hard for me to figure out. I have 4 vehicles that do their share of sitting around. 2 have a battery drain. I just leave the negative battery terminal of on those two and put it on by hand when I want to drive them.
NICE hat😊
Im always impressed
I admire your patience and interest in solving the problem. Most shops would just send it down the road.
Common occurance on those Imps…happening to my son in laws Imp…still figuring it out…
Trunk release fuze. What was wrong with a mechanical release? You stick in the key, turn it and pop, the trunk opens. Oh I forgot, there's no longer a key!, or a shift lever,or a neutral position so the vehicle can be pushed, or pulled onto a flatbed without dragging the wheels, and wrecking your drivetrain. BACKWARDS!!! WEVE GONE WAAAAAAY BACKWARDS! 😢
I have a 2018 chevy impala and need to do a drain test… how do i trick the hood patch?
Worked at shop Had lady car comes in every time she went bowling. Finally 5 th time volunteered to go with her. When she had picked up girlfriend bowling would move her ball bag to backseat. Harness shortened out due to being pressed to ground. Old K meteoric fuel system . Good old days
There are some applications where I rely on an analog volt ohm meter. Especially with low micro voltage and current testing. They don't go flash nuts over rouge RF spikes like a digital meter.
It's a shame that the relays don't have test points on them
Some car batteries have high internal resistance . Sometimes the battery is the load.
Get a horse and get rid of the car.
Amazing how complicated vehicles have gotten. I've been helping the owner of a 55 chevrolet add a fuse panel. They didn't believe in protecting the wiring with fuses. If there was a fuse panel for the convertible model, there were only a half dozen Bussman fuses. Most of the distribution wiring is 18 and 20 gauge.
Mew battery new cable ends
Yes I have 2012 cgevy impala doing the same thing
👍👍
Clock in radio?
Missing your glasses!!!
Love the content gain!
Question from past video, Eric–In one video you showed a pair of pliers from Astro Tools, i think that does stripped screws–Can you give me a link for that dervice?
Tkis-
It's easy to get Con Fuse D dealing with all the circuits and fuses. 🙂
Have you considered a thermal camera for this exact situation it can save you a ton of time..
Just a point of info for everyone who watches Eric do his magic: I have had two ball busting slow battery ''die downs'', and without all the diagnostic meters shown here on You tube, it turned out to be a glove compartment light that never turned off AND another time it was the light inside the trunk that was always on. Two different cars over the years !
"Talking bout my generation" The Who. I love your channel. More importantly, I think it is a great contribution to the industry. However, in my youth, I was the go to electrical guy at my dealership. I got my certification when it was the "National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence". Back then a wiring diagram, scope and VOM was all that was needed to uncover any car's secrets. My generation got cars 80% cleaner with a 20% increase in complexity and cost. Your generation made them 80% more complex to get another 5%. All in the name of environmentalism and as a result cars go to the junkyard because they can't be fixed with 80% of their service life left. You are right, my generation doesn't understand modern cars.
Had an 02 impala with the 3.1 and the battery rundown prevention circuit is what was causing my drain. Pulled the relay and didn't have any more problems.
does the am/fm radio have a weather alert feature that can run when key is off ?
There a recall on that car for the shifer micro swicth in center consol.makes center consol lights stay on.
You’re trouble shooting a 10 year old Chevrolet. It seems to me that whatever your shop rate is for determining the ultimate problem will equal the value of the car. How do you determine how much to bill the car owner/customer? Just curious, not trying to be a smart a$$.
Maybe they mean the passenger side of the firewall
When i used to have a draw it was on back patio.
Typically, the normal amount of parasitic draw is between 50 and 85 milliamps in newer cars and less than 50 milliamps for older cars. A parasitic draw above this threshold is considered excessive. 300 milliamps is excessive. Great troubleshooting. My 1966 Thunderbird doesn't have these problems. That small module may be a Bluetooth device . Also check for ham sandwich in disc player…LOL….
You stated that the car is sitting like it is at home , I find that hard to believe because you said it was locked ,i guarantee you these old folks do not lock that car in the garage ….and it shouldn’t matter but I find it does with newer vehicles!
When you lock a car it usually gives a one chirp ,saying it is shut down ,and everyone does this at the store ,but at home in the garage they hardly ever do ,so the car cannot warn you ,that you left anything on …….additionally newer vehicles wake up the dash when the alarm is active but not set (unlocked but shut off) and it cannot go into alarm ….to warn you ,so everytime a human or dog passes in front of the car it uses power for minutes ……
I am confident you will figure out their problem , but wanted to pass this on so your customers can learn that the locking of the car in the garage HELPS them know that it is safe to leave it overnight ,and that the kid or partner hasn’t left something on or open !
My wife's 2008 Buick was doing that and nobody could find it.
So I installed a battery shut of inside the car , now when your done for the day you switch it off.
In the morning you switch it on and go.
The radio memory fuse must have power on at all times and is nearly immesurable because the memory current is nearly immesurable measuring directly.
Why not like a direct fit replacement aftermarket radio ? There is surely something decent out there for the same money as the used stock unit no ?
To get the pico measurements, where did he connect his amp to?