Sounds like what I just finished chasing down. About the same draw too. Mine turned out to be an alternator that "stayed on" always. Note that the alt tested out fine at an alt builder, so it was something weird. I did check it for warmth one morning and it was cold to the touch...so be careful how much stock you put in that method. Super easy check is to pull the connector from the top of the alt and see if you found it. Search "Parasitic Battery" if you want to look through the thread.

Good luck tracking it down.

 

What color was the starter relay wire that eliminated the draw when disconnected?

When you disconnected the alternator, did you remove the heavy wire or just unplug the connector with the small wires?

Chris

 

That was the first thing I did this morning. No go

 

I disconnected both the plug and the heavy wire when I checked the alt. the wires from the starter relay are tan and also grey.

 

Where are these fuses? I see nothing marked that way in the manual or labled as VSM

 

My 1999 wiring diagram shows tan/red (automatic) or dark blue/orange (manual) going to the starter relay, in addition to heavy red and yellow/light blue. There are also gray wires which feed fusible links. Which color wire eliminated the load on the battery and was it connected to one of the heavy 5/16" studs or the lighter #10 stud?

Chris

 

Here ya go.

 

It's the 2 wires on the hot all the time post of the starter relay that are not part of the 1 piece connector

 

OK, there should be 2 sets of gray wires on that post in addition to the 1 piece connector. Follow the set that cleared the battery drain when disconnected. They should join together a short distance away from the starter relay and then feed a single larger wire, probably black/orange. Trace that wire and see where it goes.

Also, I'm assuming your truck doesn't have dual alternators. Is that correct?

Chris

 

Tugly, thanks, but that fuse panel is different than mine. I'm guessing that the two sets of grey wires that go to the hot side of the solenoid feed power to the fuse panels. One for the interior, one to the under the hood box. It doesn't matter which one I hook up, either one shows the same draw. So I'm thinking that there has to be something that is wired between the two fuse boxes that's causing the problem. I'm just going to pull all of the exterior fuses completely out for my next step. I'll post back after I'm done. Thanks again for the help and persistence guys!!

 

OK, So I separated the fusebox supply leads. I hooked up only the under the hood fuse box. it showed a draw of 4.5A. I pulled everything and it went to 0.00. as I reinstalled the fuses, I got the same 4.5A draw when installing 4 different fuses. #6mini (Alt. regulator) 14maxi (ABS) 22maxi (junction for battery feed) and 28maxi (trailer brake controller). Heading out to hit the interior box next

 

My wiring diagram shows one set of grey wires feeding the power distribution box (under hood) and the other set going to the alternator high current output. The interior fuse box circuits look like they're fed by the power distribution box and the ignition switch, with various banks of interior fuses protected by fuses 20, 21 and 22 (all 50A) in the power distribution box.


As tugly said, some of the circuits (electronic modules in particular) can be fed from more than one fuse, so pulling all of the fuses might not be a bad idea. Just remember which current values went where, and remember that some of the fuse positions might not be used. After the drain is gone, you can put the fuses back in one at a time and see what happens. Keep us posted.

Chris

 

ok, WTF?? I only have the interior fusepanel hooked up. I pulled EVERYTHING from the panel, and it still shows a draw of 4.35A I'm bout ready to light it up!!.

 

Or am I wrong in assuming that the second set of grey wires powers the interior fusepanel?

 

99-01 have a GEM it is located on the back of the fuse box, 02-03 have a VSM it is located on the firewall behind the radio.

Your 2001 doesn't have a VSM.