I've been pulling fuses from under the hood for weeks to no avail. So today, I tried disconnecting the batteries and test the draw. 4.43A. So first I check the solenoids under the hood. Not sure what it totally does, but when I disconnected the heavy wires from the front solenoid on the Passengers fender, the draw went to 0.00. But apparently, that solenoid runs the interior fuse panel?? I had a spare and replaced it with no change, so then am I correct in assuming it's something on the inside??

 

I just pulled every fuse inside and out and there was no change in the draw. when I pulled the heavy wires from the solenoid, (they are the ones with the heavy molded insulation that keeps the wires fitting properly on the solenoid). I did just for the hell of it test both wires to see if either had continuity to ground, and the smaller one did. Where does this wire go, and should it show that it's grounded? I wouldn't think so. so then is this my draw down?

 

There are only two possible items on the passenger side: The ESOF module and the starter relay. I doubt the starter relay would be active without serious draw, but I don't know enough about the situation yet. What color is the wire in question?

 

The wire in question is red. There is a heavy black plastic harness I guess you'd call it. When you take it off, it looks like a lower case Y. There are two wires. a heavy like maybe 10ga wire that goes on the post closest to the firewall, and a lighter like maybe 12 or 14ga that goes on the frontmost post. The lighter wire is the one that shows ground. When I disconnect these two wires from the solenoid and hook the batteries back up, nothing works at all.

 

4.43 A is a lot of current. At 12V that's over 50 Watts of power, which should be making something fairly warm. If the power was being dissipated by a small lightweight component you would probably see or smell it, so the trouble is most likely in something rather large. Since pulling fuses didn't stop the current, it has to be something that isn't protected by a fuse, but instead by a fusible link. My guess would be the alternator. It is both large enough to dissipate 50W without becoming excessively warm and not fuse protected. A leaky diode in the rectifier bridge could cause the kind of trouble you're seeing.

I believe the red wire that you saw grounded is the starter motor relay output that feeds the starter motor solenoid. The ground you are seeing is the starter solenoid coil. That could also be the source of your trouble, but I think 4 A would be enough to engage the starter, and I'm sure you'd notice that!

*EDIT* The wire feeding the starter solenoid is yellow with a light blue tracer, not red.

 

The motor starter relay has a red from the batery, a yellow with a light blue tracer to the starter, and a tan with a red tracer from the transmission (need P or N to start). Any other big relay might be a mod - unless my 2000 and 2002 wiring diagrams are radically different from your 2001. I've exhausted my resources on this one. I'll PM you with additional info.

 

disconnect your power cables and hook a test light to the batt and to one batt clamp, when you disconnect whatever is pulling the load the light will go out. i have used this way on a few vechicles and pulled fuses until i found the rite one.

 

Did a little more looking through my wiring diagram (1999). The solenoid on fender serves a junction point between the batteries and the rest of the vehicle's electrical system (except the starter). The Y shaped connector feeds the power distribution box and the alternator through a pair of gray fusible links, which is why nothing worked when you disconnected it.

 

If all else fails. go to the hardware or parts store and by a micro laser temperature gun. Around $40.

Un plug everything overnight so everything cools down. reconnect the batterys and let it sit for a half hour to heat up what ever is drawing power. the reason i say unplug everything over night is so the heat source can cool down and EVERY thing around it will cool also. I don't think a half hour will heat everything around the source that fast so you can find it with the temperature gun . with the laser temp gun you will be able to get to places your hands cant get to, to feel around under the dash for something warm.

It's also handy to have for when you get a miss fire on your truck. use it on each of the exhaust manifold outlets and the one not firing will show a lower temp

 

That sounds right. Now just need to find out why the one wire is showing ground. Gonna give the laser thermometer idea a try in the morning

 

Gonna throw out another scenario here. When I reconnect the batteries, I get some arcing and the power locks cycle. I don't remember that happening in the past. The PDL's have also been weak for the past few months as well. The rear doors won't even lock with the PDL button. Any new ideas? I did try disconnecting the alt. and still got the same reading. Only 2.2A now, but I'm assuming the draw gets higher as whatever is failing gets warmer. As of yet, 40 minutes, nothing that I can see is warming up.

 

Ah... another clue. I would try unplugging the Vehicle Security Module (VSM) module or pull all the following fuses:

• F2.19
• F2.17
• F2.7

 

OK, Further searching resulted in deleting the small wire on the starter relay as the culprit. I pulled the other 2 wires from the relay, and there was no drain, but as soon as I hook up either one or both of them, the drain is back. I totally removed the alarm / remote start system. Also no help (though it did free up a lot of wiring space under the dash.). So far as pulling fuses goes, I pulled every fuse and every relay one at a time and no change. Though, as time went on, the draw has increased back to 4+A

 

Starter relay, ah. We were touching on that last night. As for pulling fuses, the VFS alone requires all three of the fuses above removed before that one module is out of the system. Don't ask me why we can't just pull the magic fuse and say "Aha! that's the bad part!" Instead, we're forced to take it to the dealership because only they the magic decoder ring (wiring diagram) to decipher which combination of fuses disables each module.

 

OK, I pulled the dash apart, and puller the stereo wiring, PDL relays, 12 power outlets, and the trailer brake controller. none of them put a dent in the drain.