Brand new battery quickly drains

1996 GMC YUKON
300,000 MILES • 5.7L • V8 • 4WD • AUTOMATIC
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NEICE SKAER
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Added 134 for A/C. Started using A/C.
Next morning five year old battery was drained. Purchased new battery and replaced the old one. Ran an errand maybe fifteen minutes long. Did not shut off truck until I returned home. Five hours later the battery was dead. I mean no power at all, no head lights or any power. So I charged battery and swapped the alternator. The next morning cranked right up and drove down the street went inside for about thirty minutes then I went to leave the truck battery was completely dead again. Pulled alternator went have it checked. test came back good so is put it back. I tried the test light test with removing fuses with no luck. Surviving by removing positive battery cable each time I park for the last couple of days. Truck starts fine once reconnected.
Jun 12, 2018 at 11:27 AM
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NEICE SKAER
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Had oil changed today. Noticed oil on starter. No problems with starter so far. But another forum stated it could be a starter problem since it has oil on it.
Jun 12, 2018 at 11:37 AM
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ASEMASTER6371
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Good evening.

As far as the truck, you need to check for a drain. A test light tests voltage. Voltage does not drain the battery, current flow drains a battery.

You need to remove the negative cable and put a volt meter in line. Set it on the DC amp scale. Let it sit for about thirty minutes and then check the reading. A normal reading is 50-75 milliamps. If it is more, then remove your fuses one by one until the reading goes down to normal. then you identified the circuit. Then you need to see what the fuse controls to further find the failure.

As far as the second post, no the oil will not cause a draw.

Roy
Jun 12, 2018 at 3:13 PM
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NEICE SKAER
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Everything off doors closed. This is the reading on the negative cable side.
Jun 12, 2018 at 8:31 PM
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ASEMASTER6371
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That is about double the draw.

It should be 50-75 milli amps. that is 100 thousands of an amp.

Did you pull fuses 1 by 1 to see if the draw dropped?

Roy
Jun 13, 2018 at 3:57 AM