I had an Auto Page alarm installed in my '89 Iroc back when I bought the car in '06. Recently, I've had problems with the electrical system. I noticed the battery was being drained rather quickly (after about 1 week of not being run) and the alarm was not engaged, so I decided to disconnect it until I had some time to work on it.
Well soon after, I think it blew a fuse because the radio, power door locks and alarm don't work (maybe a few others as well).

I have read where aftermarket electronics cause havoc on electrical systems. Where should I start? Not sure if I should just have it removed and be done with it. The car is garaged, but I guess I felt safer with it, not to mention having the remote made things convenient.

Your input and advise is appreciated!

 

I find that aftermarket electronics get automatically blamed far too often for electrical issues. Sure there are instances where a poor installation has caused issues, but that's still not the electronics themselves, just the installation of.

Start by charging the battery with it disconnected from the car.

Once the battery is fully charged, replace the fuse and reconnect the battery. Does the fuse blow again? If so, find a wiring diagram for your car and see what items are on that circuit, try disconnecting each one at a time, until they don't.

For a battery that is getting old a week without a charge can be excessive. I've had some batteries where I'd have to drive the vehicle everyday and everything was fine, but if left for two days, it was game over. I've recently had a string of needing to replace batteries in my vehicles, where if left for more than 3 or 4 days the batteries would be drained, all batteries of of either unknown age or known to be several years old, so it was no surprise.
In one case however, the replacement battery was known to be good, but would still drain the battery nearly overnight. It turned out that in that vehicle the factory audio amplifier was not shutting and causing a large current draw.
If you get into a situation where the fuse does not blow, the battery is good, yet it drains quickly you may have a similar issue with some piece of electronics, factory or aftermarket. Sometimes when a battery drains slowly it causes an issue with one or more electronic devices where it won't necessarily break them, but will cause internal issues such as higher stand by current draw.

 

The battery is ok. I've charged it, after disconnecting, it has been holding charge just fine. Even up to over one month of it not being used. Every time I connect the bat, it cranks strong and fires right away.
I guess it's time to try and squeeze under the dash....I detest electrical issues...

 

agree to everything six says, but adding to that, some things i have seen. the use of the circuit add on things that you crimp with pliers, those should be outlawed and have no place on a car. they rarely make contact when new let alone when you have a car moving constantly. those can break the oem wires as well because its like a knife shearing it with vibration. also poor butt splice crimps(easy to do) can come apart and short out. i solder and heat shrink everything its time consuming(why install shops never do this) but if done right it will never corrode or come loose.

 

With the battery connected and everything 'off', attach a voltage meter and see if you can isolate/verify the draw on a specific circuit. Start at the fuse box and go from there.


Jeff ~

 

Its going to have to come down to that. I'm hesitant to do electrical work....I've always found it intimidating.