2004 Chev Venture Van. I have 2004 Chev Venture was having a battery issue with old
battery not holding its charge. Decided to purchase new battery, had battery in about 2
days went to start , dead as a door nail. Checked alternator, fuses found no problem. The
only thing different right now we have been having a cold spell for us around minus 8 to
10. Went out to take my daughter to work, van was dead as a door nail once again.
Jumped van an started immediately, any help would be greatly appreciated, Lou.
battery not holding its charge. Decided to purchase new battery, had battery in about 2
days went to start , dead as a door nail. Checked alternator, fuses found no problem. The
only thing different right now we have been having a cold spell for us around minus 8 to
10. Went out to take my daughter to work, van was dead as a door nail once again.
Jumped van an started immediately, any help would be greatly appreciated, Lou.
Answer: You could have an electrical draw that is draining the battery. A draw is a
small amount of voltage that is being used at all times by something on the vehicle.
Excessive draw can kill a battery after a few days or even overnight in some
circumstances. I would assume that the batter is good since it's new, and unless you
see the battery light on while driving or running the van, I would guess the alternator is
functioning correctly. If you have a multimeter, you can check for a draw yourself.
Disconnect the negative battery cable first, then make sure you have the multimeter
set on 'amps'. Connect one lead to the battery cable and the other lead to the
negative post on the battery. It doesn't matter which way you connect them, if it shows
negative that is ok, it will still read. Make sure the key is off, and once you connect the
leads you will have about 2-8 amps of draw. That number is ok to start with, and it will
decrease over about 10 minutes as modules shut down and go to sleep. You want to
end up with no more than about 50 milliamp (that's .050 amp) of a draw once the car
has shut down completely which might take a bit longer than 10 minutes in some
cases. From what you describe, you will probably end up with more than that, which
will indicate an excessive draw. With that, you'll have find what is causing it. Any
aftermarket equipment such as alarms, remote starters, radios, etc, need to be
disconnected. As you disconnect things or pull fuses for circuits, watch the meter to
see when the draw is gone and you will have found the circuit that is the problem.
small amount of voltage that is being used at all times by something on the vehicle.
Excessive draw can kill a battery after a few days or even overnight in some
circumstances. I would assume that the batter is good since it's new, and unless you
see the battery light on while driving or running the van, I would guess the alternator is
functioning correctly. If you have a multimeter, you can check for a draw yourself.
Disconnect the negative battery cable first, then make sure you have the multimeter
set on 'amps'. Connect one lead to the battery cable and the other lead to the
negative post on the battery. It doesn't matter which way you connect them, if it shows
negative that is ok, it will still read. Make sure the key is off, and once you connect the
leads you will have about 2-8 amps of draw. That number is ok to start with, and it will
decrease over about 10 minutes as modules shut down and go to sleep. You want to
end up with no more than about 50 milliamp (that's .050 amp) of a draw once the car
has shut down completely which might take a bit longer than 10 minutes in some
cases. From what you describe, you will probably end up with more than that, which
will indicate an excessive draw. With that, you'll have find what is causing it. Any
aftermarket equipment such as alarms, remote starters, radios, etc, need to be
disconnected. As you disconnect things or pull fuses for circuits, watch the meter to
see when the draw is gone and you will have found the circuit that is the problem.
