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Cadillac Repair/1999 DeVille battery drain issue
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Question
After work car dead, checked battery measured zip, disconnected cables, battery voltage rose near 10V, back to about 0v when reconnected, tried jump, lights flashed horn beeped (security), read manual and pushed "unlock door" w/ keyless remote to stop beeping, seemed to almost start but would not, friend indicated a lot of current being pulled, disconnected battery and measured resistance btw cables ...near dead short (~1.5 ohms), night before I replaced Vehiclr Speed Sensor and disconnected bat to clear code, drove ~45 miles to work no problem next morn, coinsidence or something in computer? assume that pos of bat goes to soliniod (appears OK as almost able to start car) obviously something shunting great deal of current away from starter?? Thinking I can discon bat - pull a fuse - reconn ect... till I find what circuit is pulling current...hoping someone might have had similar experience and have an idea what issue might be. No mods made to car (radio ect..) has 130K miles. Any ideas?
Hi Mark,
I would work backwards here. Disconnect VSS first. Should not be giving you this problem, but it was what you changed before all this happened.
You are doing the right thing by pulling a fuse at a time. Don't forget about the auxillary fuse box (should be in trunk on pass side.
If you really suspect the starter, hit the case (not nose cone) with hammer. I have run across starters that have drawn excessive amperage because of internal failure although this is commonly after engine has warmed up and a restart is applied.
I do not believe that you have a computer problem that would cause this type of event.
I am thinking something that has constant power that has failed electrically like a power seat etc.
If you have no luck isolating with pulling fuses, go to the relays.
Power seat, retained power,windows etc. all run off of relays.
I would be real interested to find out what you come up with. Please let me know.
Rob
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Rob Painter
Expertise
Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?
Experience
Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.
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