# Peculiar Chevy Silverado gauges and battery dying issue. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-chevy-silverado-gauges-and-battery-dying-issue/673070 "2013-11-04T16:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-chevy-silverado-gauges-and-battery-dying-issue/673070/21 "2013-11-11T14:45:40Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > It’s early in the morning, so I haven’t read all of the replies thoroughly, just throwing an idea out. Ask your mechanic to do a parasitic draw test. Essentially he’ll put a meter on the battery and determine if any thing is drawing power from the battery when the vehicle is in an off state. If there is a draw in the battery he can pull fuses one by one until the draw ceases. When you pull the fuse that is drawing current, you’ll know what is causing the battery drain. > > You can do this test yourself, but you’ll need a meter capable of measuring DC current flow (pardon me, my terminology isn’t correct but I’m still half asleep). Most home mechanic meters do not have this capability. If you search YouTube for “how to do a parasitic draw test on a car” you’ll find several videos that shore the procedure step by step. This is the absolute best way to determine what us draining a battery when the Jerry is not in the ignition. > > Note, that when this test is done that there are some devices in your car that will draw current from the battery even when the key is out. An example of this is a security system. I was going to suggest that same test. If you don’t have a meter you can take a small marker light with a positive and negative lead. Disconnect the negative cable and hook the small light up one wire to the removed cable and the other wire to the battery terminal. If there is a draw the light will light up, the brightness will depend on how big the draw is. If you see the filament just barely change color it might just be cour computer. Make sure the door is closed when you conduct this test, ---
**Author:** ![busyplumberguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@busyplumberguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busyplumberguy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-chevy-silverado-gauges-and-battery-dying-issue/673070/22 "2014-02-12T03:26:22Z")
1992 Chevy Silverado, Removed instrument cluster to repair/replace speedometer motor. Read a post claimed truck would run with it removed. Truck made a 30 minute drive then failed to start - Battery died. Cluster connections corroded green, cleaned with vinegar rinsed with baking soda, cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. Cluster replaced, truck started and charging system returned to normal. Suggestion - Try removing and cleaning the contacts on your instrument cluster ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-chevy-silverado-gauges-and-battery-dying-issue/673070/23 "2014-02-12T03:49:25Z")
physical means to remove the corrosion are often needed. gently carefully use sand or emery paper to remove the corrosion. do enough to remove until shiny metal bit not more. you may need a knife edge to clean some spots, go slow and be gentle to not damage yourself or connector. ---
**Author:** ![R.Garcia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@R.Garcia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.Garcia)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-chevy-silverado-gauges-and-battery-dying-issue/673070/24 "2014-07-09T05:37:22Z")
I have a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado LS 5.3L truck that all of a sudden started acting up on me. The battery gauge isn’t marking, the power locks aren’t working, and the truck doesn’t respond to the key fob well, the ac stopped working and is blowing hot air, and the brake light and abs light are simultaneously lit. I’ve checked the fuses, but they all seem to be good. Unless its a relay, in which case I don’t know which one to look for. I’ve disconnected the battery and reconnected it to try to reset everything and ensure that the connections where secure, but that didn’t do any goo either. The problems are just popping up ou of nowhere, and I’m not sure what it could be. If anybody knows what might be going on, please let me know. I really appreciate your help. Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-chevy-silverado-gauges-and-battery-dying-issue/673070.md?page=1)