# 2004 HD 2500 Gas Battery Drain



## Cosmic Charlie (Feb 1, 2009)

I've had the truck since new, now 100,000 miles, nothing has changed for years, except the battery goes dead in about 4 days.

WHERE SHOULS


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## bradt (Dec 8, 2008)

the easiest and first thing i'd do is pull the battery out and get it tested to make sure it's good. i had an interstate battery for less than 6 months that had a cell go bad; it would go dead in about 2-3 days. otherwise, disconnect the battery and put a dmm on it and see if the volts drop. if it does, battery is probably bad. if not, there is a drain in the vehicle somewhere. reconnect the battery and start pulling fuses one at a time until you see the volts stop dropping. tedious, but eventually you will find it.
good luck.


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## brad96z28 (Aug 21, 2005)

I have seen a ton of on- star mudules not go to (sleep). Its behind the glove box. Id un plug it and give it a try. See if it helps then take it from there to repalce the module or live without it. Also mkae sure u r battery Is up to par as said already. If its original Its due anyway.


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## Newdude (Dec 4, 2006)

Is the battery original also?? Get it tested, and if its bad, drop a new one in.


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## snow tender (Nov 30, 2008)

*Battery*

Start with the Battery. Check the terminals make sure they are clean and tight. If it takes 4 day i bet it is a bad cell.


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## JeffNY (Dec 19, 2005)

take it to AutoZone or similar, and have them do a free charging system test.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Feb 1, 2009)

I went to Advanced Auto Parts for a free battery/system check, the guy brings out a electronic tester and clips on cables to the positive & negative on the battery and also clips another sensor clip around the negative ground wire itself. He then say start her up, then race it up, the back to idle, then shut it off.

The computerized diagnostic thing then prints out a slip of paper with my results - FOR FREE !

Battery is OK

Charging system is OK

Truck electrical system at shut off has an electrical draw of 1.6 amps.

I will (some day) put a meter in line at the battery negative terminal and start pulling fuses to narrow it down. Some Day ! 


Thanks for all feedback past & future.


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## NCat496 (Mar 30, 2008)

I had the same thing happen to me on my 03 2500HD and it has about 95,000 miles on it. This problem went on for about 6 months until we figured out that all of the connections on the truck side wiring harness were corroded and it caused a lot of drain on the battery. The battery would only last about 6 hours. Ended up replacing the whole truck side harness and have never had a problem since. Before I did that I tested everything else possible. I hate to scare you also but I have had mice problems in my 04 causing alot of shorts, so check for that also.


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## Racer593 (Aug 20, 2009)

I hate to scare you also but I have had mice problems in my 04 causing alot of shorts, so check for that also.


I trapped(killed} 2 mice in 48 hrs in my 04 after finding chewed up napkins in the glovebox. They can't resist lightly toasted peanut butter!! 

Chris


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## Snowzilla (Oct 24, 2009)

Battery discharge problems can be difficult to troubleshoot. I had this issue on a much older truck than yours - '89 K1500. I don't drive it a lot and would eventually drain down and kill batteries. I read things online about *Battery Parasitic Drain*, like this article for a Fiero of all things:
http://home.comcast.net/~park1619/links/6d1a.html

I have tried troubleshooting with a clamp on Amp meter but didn't have much luck.

Things like brake controllers can contribute. Also, I read where even bad diodes in alternator can cause discharge.

Work-arounds:
I eventually gave up and installed a waterproof version of Battery Tender brand battery maintainer by Deltran. These things are super smart and totally automatic. Can not overcharge a battery. 
http://batterytender.com/

Another option I discovered is something called a Battery Brain auto disconnect:
http://www.batterybrain.com/batterybrain.pl

Summit Racing also sell a few of the Brain Drain models.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SMS-334126/?image=large

You can see a photo of the waterproof Battery Tender in another thread. It won't let me upload the photo again.
http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=90104

Good luck.


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## bradt (Dec 8, 2008)

and, here's one more thought i had:
on a few occasions (until i figured it out), i would drop the plow (with slickstick) and leave it in the down position, remove the plow and turn off the slickstick. never gave it any thought after that until i went to start my pickup the next morning: dead. after a few days of pondering, i recalled an old LZ plow on an F250 i used to have and how i left it in the down position (i never removed that plow) and i would find the pickup dead the next day and then it dawned on me. the A-coil would still be on despite having turned off the controller causing battery drain. duh...float....hasn't happened since....

just another thought.


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## NCat496 (Mar 30, 2008)

Racer593;890824 said:


> I hate to scare you also but I have had mice problems in my 04 causing alot of shorts, so check for that also.
> 
> I trapped(killed} 2 mice in 48 hrs in my 04 after finding chewed up napkins in the glovebox. They can't resist lightly toasted peanut butter!!
> 
> Chris


I had a paper towel chewed up on my exhaust manifold. I know they like to keep warm but wont the manifold cook them? it would be funny to watch.


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## raymondpaquette (Dec 11, 2011)

*2009 2500 runs it's battery down just sitting*



Cosmic Charlie;890389 said:


> ----snip
> "Truck electrical system at shut off has an electrical draw of 1.6 amps."
> 
> Charlie, did you ever figure this out?
> ...


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

There is an exact number of draw and an exact way to test. They taught us this in the Ford class I went to. A 1.6 draw is WAY to much it will kill the Batt.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Feb 1, 2009)

My truck had a bad battery cell that would kill my battery when it sat ... but otherwise was nearly 100 % fine when driven every or every other day (for years)... weird that when I had my battery load tested when the problem started but it didn't show up then.

I used a battery tender for almost a year to avoid a dead battery ... finally the battery wouldn't take a charge ... so put in a new battery --- all good.

I should have listened to others here on this site ... 1st thing to do is Replace Battery - they were right.

Having a bad battery all that time may have lead to me needing an alternator replacement some time later by continuely overworking it ...

Good Luck


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

That's wierd that it didnt show up on the tester.


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## Cosmic Charlie (Feb 1, 2009)

I'm not sure why it didn't show up on the load test - I'm not an expert

Maybe the slightly bad cell just had a very low internal electric leak that killed the battery over time, but otherwise that bad cell and all other cells had plenty of juice when fully charged ...


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## raymondpaquette (Dec 11, 2011)

dieselss;1376523 said:


> There is an exact number of draw and an exact way to test. They taught us this in the Ford class I went to. A 1.6 draw is WAY to much it will kill the Batt.


Yes, but who knows what the exact number is? I have not been able to find out.

I put the ampmeter in series with the battery and see what it says. Is there a better way to test for current draw? As I said above, I realize now that I have to wait a while for all the computer modules to go to sleep.

Thanks

Ray


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

putting the meter inline is the right way to do it. Drive the truck for at leat least 15 mins to cycle all the electrics. then you should wait approx. 30mins before you start the test, open doors and shut latches and pull hood light. then your magic number is <50ma anything more and you need to start pulling fuses.


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## raymondpaquette (Dec 11, 2011)

Thanks.

This is just what I thought, but have never been able to get an exact number for the max amp drain for this vehicle.


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

No prob. Just make sure you unplug lights and shut door latches as well. Don't wanna mess up the test to start over again. Also, meter in series with the pos Batt and cable


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