Parasitic Drain Issue. Any Advice?

Hi guys removed horn fuse and relay and the battery still is getting drained. What else could run the battery down from staying hot. I dont know where to look or how to figure it out. ANy pointers would help thanks

Why did you choose to remove the horn fuse?

Do you have any aftermarket stereo equipment installed in your car?

Because it keeps going off on its own and no not yet

No security system, either, right?

The usual suspects are the aftermarket add on's, like Aaron mentioned
Stereo - amps, security system - alarms, Remote Starter, etc.
If none of this applies then you need to disconnect the positive battery cable - hook up a ampmeter between the battery terminal and the cable and start pulling one fuse at a time, checking the meter constantly to see which one is causing the draw.
After hooking up the meter you should see some kind of reading (low amps) which will tell you there is something drawing on the battery to start with. Then its a slow process of elimination by removing fuses. Just remember there are multiple fuse panels in this car and need to do each one methodically until you find the culprit.

And put some information in your signature, such as year of car, sc or non- sc, etc.
It will help us help you.

No need to YELL.
I would just charge the battery on a slow charge for several hours, if it is completely drained, then load test it. If you don't have a load tester you can check by watching a voltmeter attached to batt while cranking the engine and see what the lowest voltage reading is. It should not drop below 9 volts under a heavy load. If it doesn't take a charge and fails a load test then replace with new and before hooking it up completely perform the fuse tests mentioned above and find the vampire.
If you need to replace the battery do not buy a smaller battery to save money. This car has a 140 amp alternator and requires the large battery due to all the electrical systems in the car. Hopefully yours will recover with a good charge, say 6 amps for a few hours then drop to 2 amps for another few hours.

I wasnt yelling just typing and not looking. Ill have to get a tester I dont have one

Well, Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions. Electrical problems can suck, you have to be patient and record on paper what circuits you've tested as you do them - so you don't forget - if you should get interrupted.

I dont really even know where to begin or what I need. COuld you tell me exactly what I need to test with and how to go about it. Thanks for your help

Rickw wrote:

The usual suspects are the aftermarket add on's, like Aaron mentioned
Stereo - amps, security system - alarms, Remote Starter, etc.
If none of this applies then you need to disconnect the positive battery cable - hook up a ampmeter between the battery terminal and the cable and start pulling one fuse at a time, checking the meter constantly to see which one is causing the draw.
After hooking up the meter you should see some kind of reading (low amps) which will tell you there is something drawing on the battery to start with. Then its a slow process of elimination by removing fuses. Just remember there are multiple fuse panels in this car and need to do each one methodically until you find the culprit.

This is the simplest way I know how to explain it. If this is too much you need to ask someone to help you. Sorry

Yea I saw that when i hook up the meter I should see the reading before or after i Pull the fuse. Sorry never had to do anything like this before. Thanks again

Another thing I had asked was could the horn draining the battery messed it up? When I jump it the car charges the battery but eventually after sitting it gets drained again. There was an alarm sitting under the hood I took out bit it wasnt hooked up so I stuffed the wire in the fender well. Thanks again

definetly a good idea to ask someone if you have the slightest doubt...im known for askin people for help. i really dont know what im doin with anything. better asking than messing something up!

Yea thats me too. Also I get pretty frustrated with things and really easy to give up. If all dont work itself out Ill be taking it to the auction.

as do i. but im not givin mine up...i just try and find someone smarter! lol

Now that I know you have an aftermarket alarm system in the car I'd be willing to say that is your problem. 99.99% sure.
The control units for all aftermarket alarms are generally under the dash near the steering column.
Bring it to a place that installs alarms and ask them how much $$ to completely and correctly remove the whole system.
After that your battery drain problem will go away.

The only other way to track it down is to put an ammeter on the main battery cables, then start disconnecting things (pulling fuses) one at a time until you make the ammeter stop. Starting with the aftermarket alarm system's fuse...

I tried to explain that process in previous post.
He doesn't know much about electrical work so I recommended having a shop remove the alarm system.
His original problem is the horn goes off on its own and kills the battery.
Has to be the aftermarket alarm system messing up. Removing the whole thing would be the best course of action for him in my opinion.
Do you agree?

Sorry Rick, must have missed that post. Yeah, at the very least pulling power away from the alarm is a good place to start.

the alarm horn itself is out will it still get power if so Ill look under the plastic shroud under dash tomorrow to see if there is a fuse to pull. If i pull the alarm fuse will it kill all power to it. Thanks guys for your time.

It may, depending on how it was wired.

My Riviera's electrical system was behaving for awhile, but lately it seems to be having some issues. If I let the car sit for more than eight hours between drives it refuses to start. All the lights and whatnot come on, but when you turn the key to the start position the starter just clicks. I always have to take my jump starter out of the back and connect it to the booster connections under the hood and let it sit for a few minutes before I can start it. It'll start fine after that. I had this issue when I first got it, but it went away, now it seems to be coming back. I do have an aftermarket stereo with amps and a sub, but even disconnecting all of that I still have the issue. It's like something randomly forgets to turn itself off or put itself into low power mode inside of the car. Is there any common issues that can cause this? It's extremely hard to pinpoint because it takes 8 hours just to see if there drain is continuing.

Another thing I noticed is when my booster pack is connected it displays the voltage. When I connect it up it always read between 12.1 and 12.6 volts, and when I turn the battery pack on to boost it, it jumps to around 12.8 which isn't that big of a difference. The car should still start at 12.1 volts even, correct? Also once the car does start, the voltage reads as high as 15.1 sometimes. I've rarely seen a car output that much wattage. Usually it's around 14.1-14.4 volts. Could this be causing the battery which is brand new to be under strain and not hold a charge correctly? Anyway, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Kyle.

Put an ammeter on the main battery cables, then start pulling fuses one at a time until the ammeter drops off.

You can kinda do the same thing with a voltmeter, watch the voltmeter carefully while you are pulling fuses, in your situation one of them should make the voltage jump.

The voltage will spike when the car is first started, it's trying to charge a very drained battery. 15.1 doesn't surprise me. It's a 140 amp alternator and car throw out a pretty hefty charge.

It's possible that your battery is just shot. This would make it not start even though the voltage 'seems' okay, when you hit the key, voltage drops to zilch and it won't do anything.

I have heard of this from the blower control relay being stuck on. Do you hear the blower motor running while the car is shut off?

deekster_caddy wrote:

Put an ammeter on the main battery cables, then start pulling fuses one at a time until the ammeter drops off.

You can kinda do the same thing with a voltmeter, watch the voltmeter carefully while you are pulling fuses, in your situation one of them should make the voltage jump.

The voltage will spike when the car is first started, it's trying to charge a very drained battery. 15.1 doesn't surprise me. It's a 140 amp alternator and car throw out a pretty hefty charge.

It's possible that your battery is just shot. This would make it not start even though the voltage 'seems' okay, when you hit the key, voltage drops to zilch and it won't do anything.

I have heard of this from the blower control relay being stuck on. Do you hear the blower motor running while the car is shut off?

How would I go about hooking up a voltmeter? I have a $30 one from radioshack, I dont know if that would do it.

That's good about the voltage spike. I hope my battery isn't shot. It's less than two weeks old. I had to replace the old battery. Every time you'd go to charge it the battery would literally smoke and hiss. I don't hear a fan or anything running after I shut the car off.

GMFreak8 wrote:

How would I go about hooking up a voltmeter? I have a $30 one from radioshack, I dont know if that would do it.

That's good about the voltage spike. I hope my battery isn't shot. It's less than two weeks old. I had to replace the old battery. Every time you'd go to charge it the battery would literally smoke and hiss. I don't hear a fan or anything running after I shut the car off.

Just grab some alligator clips or have somebody help you. Or you can usually find a terminal block you can wedge the tips into... (but careful with that trick!)

I have a radioshack voltmeter too, it reads digital and is surprisingly sensitive. Would be helpful to have a friend reading the voltmeter while you are pulling fuses...