83' Electrical Problem

[MrBowtie95]

I've got an 83' K10 with a 5.7L Carb. I have a parasitic drain somewhere in the wiring, but I have no idea where. I've put a DMM on the battery and pulled every single fuse in the truck and am still showing no change. Any ideas?

[Lt.Del]

aftermarket circuits not using the fuse panel?  Stereo, tow hitch wiring?  Ensure red posi starter cable is not frayed and joins the solenoid without touching anything grounded on the way to and around the starter.
Unhook alternator and see if drain still happens.

[bake74]

     On my 74 I had the same problem, the battery would drain when it sat and I searched for ever until I found that the connector on the firewall, that the positive battery cable from starter hooked to and then went into the rest of the truck had a short in the block itself.  I replaced it and it went away.
    The connector block is located on passenger side up and to the right of the heater box on my 74.  Sorry no pic of what I am talking about.

[VileZambonie]

How much is the drain? What were you getting for readings?

[MrBowtie95]

The drain was a large 15 amps, I replaced my starter and then that brought it down to 0.05

[MrBowtie95]

and bake74, I'm not sure of this connector you're talking about

[bake74]

     I looks like 2 bolts with a cup around it, and a divider in the middle, but at 15 amps this would not be it, if it was you by now would have seen it burnt.

[MrBowtie95]

I'm at wits end with it. I just unhook my battery when I park. it's at 0.05A at the moment and holding.

[MrBowtie95]

I've put the DMM on the battery and pulled every fuse individually to check for a change and nothing, I've replaced the starter and that took most of it away, and i've replaced the battery.

[MrBowtie95]

and bake74 it sounds like what you're describing is a starter solenoid

[Irish_Alley]

no remote solenoid on our trucks

[VileZambonie]

Make sure you have the door jam switch closed when you're checking and everything off. Where is your radio wired in?

[diphthong]

Did you have your hood open when your pulled all the fuses out?
Does your truck have a light on the hood?  I've seen these switches freak out and drive people bonkers. Pull your ground cable off the battery, connect a test light in series between the cable and the ground post of the battery. If you have a sufficient drain the light will glow, now pull the bulb out of hood light or any other possible source of a drain.  When you find the drain you'll see the light fade
 

[1979C20]

I believe bake was talking about the distribution block on the firewall, the left side goes the the starter solenoid where it gets its power from the battery, and the wire(s) on the right side supply power to the truck. .05amps isnt much of a draw. On my truck, my 12 volt accessory plug in my ash tray has power even with the key off. And my stereo has constant power to keep the settings. Im sure I have a large draw on my battery at all times, but it sat for 3 months and it still had barely enough power to start. How can I check my parasitic draw, ill tell you how much I have and if its significant enough maybe youll decide to stop persuing the source?

[diphthong]

Oops... I did not have my glasses on, that was .05 amps.  That's nothing! That's within specs.  .05 amps doesn't constitute a draw.  You probably have; a marginally bad battery or starter, or resistance in the battery cables.  What you need to do is this, touch your meter to the battery (POSTS not terminals) before starting.   If the voltage is below say... 12.2 It could mean, you have a draw on your battery, the battery is on its way out, or the alternator / regulator needs checking. 

This is the method for checking for a draw on your electrical system:  With a properly charged battery, remove the ground cable.  Between that cable's terminal and the negative post of the battery, hook-up a 12 volt test light.  If the filament doesn't glow at all, or just barely glows, then that's normal! (no draw.) If the light lights-up as if you just touched the test light to the positive terminal, then that's a draw! Start removing fuses until you locate the circuit, and then go on from there.