Has anyone ever heard of or experienced a problem with either the TPS or IAC that could cause a battery drain within 6-7 days?

My problem is this... The other day after I drove the IROC I parked it and went out the next day to take a multimeter reading of the battery amps. While taking the reading I noticed a clicking/scratchlike sound (almost like a data logging noise) coming from the area where the IAC/TPS sensors are. So I disconnected the TPS and have been taking readings with the multimeter to determine if I found the source of my battery drain.

Im kind of at wits end with this battery drain as it has been an ongoing issue since I got the car and hope somebody will be able to shed some light on the problem.

Thanks for any and all help.

 

Well although i havnt heard of the tps or the iac doing somthing like that it can be diagnosed without much or a problem. For starters with the key our of the car doors closed everything off and all that measure the amound of current draw that is on your battery. Then dissconnect the iac and the tps and make another measurements and compare. neather of thoes things should draw current when the cars off so the current reading with the iac and the tps dissconnceted should be basically the same as when there connected. Also record and let us know what the draw actually is so we can get an idea of what were dealing with here,

 

Thats a very good idea and I appreciate the response. I only have a multimeter so can I measure the current draw with that? I am not really electronically inclined so I have never really gone through the process of measuring a current draw, so if possible could you explain the process to me?

In the meantime the other day I disconnected the TPS and went out to check the amps of the batt. When i popped the hood I heard the noise again and another member said that it might be the pintle of the IAC threading in and out most likely due to a malfunctioning IAC. So i disconnected the IAC and hooked up my battery tender. So far the noise is gone and the battery is actually charging.

I am just wondering if the IAC constantly working is a faulty IAC or another problem with the ECU?

 

Yea sure measureing current isnt a big deal once you know how to do it. To tell you exactly how to measure the current draw and setting up the meter and all that good stuff can you describe your meter to me or post a link to a website that shows it or better yet just take a picture of it and post it or email it to me? The thing is there are so many differeces in meters its hard to give a good directions as to how to do it but most can do it. Now onto your next question about the IAC, the IAC is comprised of a valve thats connected to a stepper motor. In case your not familir with how a steper motor works they work alot on the same pricipals of a regular electric motor except the magnetic fiels inside dont rotate so what happens is every time power is applied to a stepper motor it just take as step and stops. This means that just applying power to a steper motor will cause it to step once stop and will self destuct if power is still applied as the motors just stopped. How the ECM uses it is pulses power to it to make a series of small steps that adjust the position of the valve. What this means is if it truely is constantly operating its gotta be the ECM thats causeing it to operate as it cant operat itself and a simple electrical wireing problem wont send the pulses it needs to cause it to go back and forth. Furthermore all the wires go back to the ECM. Now thats not to say its a ECM problem but we have to figure out if A. if that really is the problem abd B. if it is the problem why is it operating? or what is it doing?

 

Here's a pic of the multimeter that I have, its not the greatest but it usually does the trick. The info about the ECM is interesting too, its kind of what I was afraid of. I have pulled the ECM before and I know that it is a remanufactured box with a Hypertech chip.

 

Well your meter will measure current but a max of 250 ma (.250 amps) Concidering ive seen current draws up to a few amps just because a few courtecy lights were on i wouldnt want to tell you to try making a amp measurement as it may kill the meter if its not fues protected. Normally however the current draw as a general ruel of thumb should be a small say 50 ma is typical for a modern car. I would not expect to see more than 250 ma as a paracitic draw on a car under normal circumstances although every car is different and installed equipment will cause variations. However all hope is not lost. if you really suspect a problem with the IAC remove the connection and measure for voltage at each of the pins, record, and let us know what u find. It might be difficult to take a reading as if it is pulses the needle may fluctuate or read some kind of average value but make note of any unsual behavior of the needle and get back to us. Its mainly just a test for voltage at the IAC do not try to make any resistance measuements though because as im sure you already know backfeeding power into the ECM may cause damage.

 

Thanks for the heads up with the possibility of my meter failing under a heavy draw. It is protected by a fuse but I don't want to risk it.

I was out in the garage tonight getting my stereo all hooked up and I now have a few more questions for you if you have the time.

I noticed that my power antenna was not coming up when I turned on the tuner so low and behold I checked the accessory fuse and it is blown... this is the 2nd fuse I have had to put in. So does this mean that I have a short somewhere in the wiring for my accessories?

After I hooked up the stereo and powered it on with the tuner activated I noticed that I had noise coming from the rear hatch speakers as this car was equipped with the Bose kick panel/hatch shelf speaker system. (Just an FYI though, I'm not using the Bose stuff and I'm just installing speakers run off of speaker wire.) Does this mean that I have to unhook all the bose stuff so that Im not getting this interference?

Do you know where to get the stock radio speaker harness for the rear speakers in the three plug setup that I have?

Thanks for any and all help.

 

Well thats very interesting that your car has speakers installed in the kick pannel / hatch self speaker system from the factory? I was under the impression the only speakers that were installed in these cars were under the dash pad and in the sail pannel are you sure thats not an aftermarket set up? Even the upgraded delco-bose sound system used thoes speaker locations they just used better speakers and a shielded wires for better sound quality. Course then again that dosnt mean it didnt exsist. First off for there to be sound from a speaker there has to be some kind of power supplying it. further more this voltage has to be varying as when pure DC is applied to a speaker there is no sound in theory so if 12 were to get shorted to it it should make no noise (although the speaker will blow up). There is radiated electrical noise that is induced into these systems but this radiated noise isnt powerfull enough to drive a speaker. This leads to the question where is the power comming from to drive the speakers and cause this noise? Now if it is an aftermarket set up ide bet whats happening is the hatch shelf speakers are hooked up to some kind of an audio amplifier and whats happening because the amplifiers inputs arnt hooked up to anything all its doing is amplifiing induced noise causeing a staticy kinda sound. For this the speakers will need to be dissconnected, the power to the amplifier cut, or just put an input signal to the amplifier. The ones in the kick pannel however probably dont make any noise because theres no power connected to them as there dissconnected from the radio and theres no amplifier driving thoes speakers so no sound. As for your accessory fuse blowing, thats usually the result of a short circuit. Really however it only means you exceeded the power rating of the fuse. So although it very well could be a short and probably is it could also be things like someone tapped into that circuit overloading it, the wrong fuse was installed ect. My question for you is does the fuse pop instantly when you put it in or did it work for a while and now you notice its blown? The reson i as is if it works for a while then pops its probably because something is turning on that has a fault in it. For example the power antenna is hooked into the acc circuit and say theres a short in that circuit the fuse probably wont pop untill the power antenna is activated so we can trouble shoot this short by testing the items in that circuit and seeing what it is exactly that pops the fuse. Lastly about the connections for the speaker. Being that these cars are pretty old finding a replacement connector your application might be kinda difficult. I would say my best guess would be to give a place like year one or classic industries a phone call to see what theyve got as they probably wouldnt even have something like that listed on their web site or catalog although you can check. Also suppriseingly autoparts stores like napa and autozone have supprised me on a number of occations by actually having replacement connectors like that still available. As a last ditch effort you could also check ebay or take a trip to your local junk yard to see what you can find. As a last resort after that wires can be soldered onto the speakers carfully allowing you to use a different connector. I assume your talking about the speakers in the sail pannel?

 

I was looking for amp draw on my truck battery (key off), what I used was a tail light between the battery plus and the big red wire. If there is amp draw the light will be bright and when there is none, no light not even a dim one.

What I found was on the 2000 ls1 there was a relay that had to time out, dome light maybe, then it would drop to zero. If you where using the meter every time the connection was lost and refound the relay would do this 10sec reset. The tail light would be bright, and then just get dimmer and dimmer. Finally just go out, it was very easy to see and doesn't blow any fuses. you can even use an old head light to pass more amperes. Tail light 2-3 head light 10-12 amps.

It may take a little bit of wiring but the results are very easy to see.

This is a very good way to find a short, cause the light will not blow like a fuse would, just replace the fuse with a tail light, when shorted the light is bright and when not dim or off.

You can use more then one bulb to increase the amps, hook in parallel. the little dash lights can be used for small currents head lights for bigger ones.

 

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but work keeps getting in the way! LOL Anyways here's what I got, I was working on getting the 4x6 dash speakers installed today when I bumped the cigarette lighter and low and behold the accessory fuse blew. I put another fuse in and just to be sure it was the cigarette lighter I bumped it again and the fuse blew. I took out the removable lighter piece and heard stuff bouncing around inside as if something came loose. Does this mean I have to replace my lighter piece or can I just leave it out, or do I have to check the wiring for the lighter mechanism to make sure there is not a short somewhere?

Thanks again Rolling Thunder for the info and responses. I'm still working on getting the volt reading from both those sensors... basically I'm buying an electronic multimeter to get more accurate and easy to read readings!

 

Well about the cigarette lighter. Because you bumped it and the fuse blew i am inclined to believe that its a problem with the lighter itself although only a replacement lighter will really tell in the end. Fortunetly there cheap and can be found at any parts store. Although till then if it is the lighter you should have no problem if the lighter is just removed all together. If it was the wireing most likely it would just blow the moment you put the fuse in because the lighter socket is applied 12v all the time. Also if your going to buy a meter try to find one with a 10A range as that can be very handy and most meters have it these days anyways. Although you may want to try useing the analog meter. digital meter are great for measuring static values like 12v dc or resistance and also have some onther big advantages but analog meters have one big advantage in reading non static things that can be illistrated in this example. Tachometer digital vs analog. Try reading a digital tach as you accelerate hard. All youll see is the tach flash 1200 2300 2450 3300 1500 and it can be hard to make sence of a reading like that as the values change so much so fast its hard to even read it befor it changes and it dosnt even matter because what your reading has already happened and past so its not ever right anyways. An analog tach on the other hand you can watch the needle rise and fall between shifts. Now in a tach its not so bad because you kinda know ok the RPMs increasing and you can kinda guess what should be happening. However what about reading a voltage when you dont know what it should be and it started flashing 12 v 5 v 3v 9v what sence could you make of that? An analog meter on the other hand although your reading may not be as accurate in many cases it dosnt matter to have that accurate of a reading and you can watch the needle and really get a feel for what the voltage is doing rather than see the digital read out flash a bunch of different voltages at you having no idea what is happening inbetween thoes reading. Its especially important in this case because i could easily see a voltage thats being pulsed to the IAC if the ECM is doing it although the pulses may be happening too fast to see anyways.