Power Drain on 99 ETC

It sounds like the charge lead from the alternator is broken. Use a meter set to test resistance, remove the battery cables and find and fix the broken section of wire, or replace it once found.
I've attached a picture showing the locations of the engine compartment circuit protection devices. You might check the labels for "fusible link". If one exists, replace it.

Do you have a stereo with clock and presets? What about an alarm? To truly look for a short and to check battery drain, you'll need to rule those out by pulling their fuses. Otherwise, you'll have a minimal constant drain. What you need is a multimeter, with the ability to test current. Key off, remove fuses one at a time and insert the meter leads across the fuse terminals. The fuse where you have current draw is where your problem lies.

I would also recommend a Chilton or Haynes motor manual to help with the schematics usually found in the back.

Pull all fuses in the trunk. If still on go to the maxi fuse panel and pull all of them. Youll find it. Make sure the doors are closed when testing. The test light you have will do the job.

I don't recommend using a test light to test for parasitic draw. That used to be fine on older vehicle because they either had a draw or they didn't but all today's vehicles have modules and timers that run for a certain period of time and there is always some degree of draw that is normal and supposed to be there. The test light cannot distinguish between acceptable amounts of draw and unacceptable amounts. Here is the procedure I recommend.

You will need a digital ammeter and a jumper wire with clips on the ends to do this.
First rig any door switches so you can have a door open without triggering the interior lights and unplug the hood light. Remove one battery cable and attach the meter in series between the battery cable and battery post. Take the jumper wire and also attach it the same way. Leave the jumper wire on for at least 10 minutes to expire all the automatic timers. Now remove the jumper wire and read the meter. Anything over 50ma is too much draw. The way you locate this is to start removing fuses one at a time until the meter drops to normal level. This will be the circuit with something staying on. Determine what components are part of that circuit and check them individually until the problem is isolated.

You can do it any any sequence you want. The idea is to determine which fuse stops the draw when pulled so I would remove one at a time until you find it. You may even find more than one draw. That's where the meter will be very helpful. You can immediately measure any effect removing a fuse has.

When your pulling fuses testing if you see the light go from bright to dim. You need to test that circut.50ma just lights the bulb. Thats why you should use the multimeter. To see if your over 50ma. Some common causes running antenna, running trunk pulldown motor, brake light switch sticking, vanity lights on. Gl

Be aware that you are talking to 3 different people here.

You need to replace the pulldown switch. If the switch isnt working properly. That will kill your battery fast. When you grab the pulldown motor and its hot thats the problem. Test this first.

Cadieman is right. If the pulldown motor is running constantly or drawing power constantly, it will heat up. Disconnect it and see if the draw decreases to manageable levels. That 50 ma number is debatable, depending on what extra "toys" have been installed. Clocks and stereo memory will draw at least 50 ma. If you have an alarm, there's another minimum 50 ma. If the stereo has an amp, that could have as much as a full amp of draw, even when turned off. Like Wrenchtech said, you need a meter.

You're welcome. Glad to hear you found it.