[Jerry R]

My 2003 Blazer LTX continues to have random battery drain problem and has now added a problem of the instrument cluster sometimes being dead ( all gauges as if key is off) at time of start up. also. I discovered the head lights are not functioning at this time. Eventually.as the engine warms up, both resume there functions.
I am electrically knowledgeable and have purchased a Chilton manual for the beast and spent almost a year trying to solve problems. Anyone have suggestions? Ill buy the coffee!

 

[Jerry R]

It is a Trailblazer, not a Blazer!

 

[EnvoyBoy2004]

First on the list of suspects would be the ignition switch, common failure for strange electrical problems.

 

[Ravalli Surfer]

I agree with EnvoyBoy ---- and along with his thought is that I'd suggest they you also test the battery immediately when you have this problem. You should see a static voltage of somewhere around 12.8-13.2 Volts on a battery that is decently charged, depending upon the temperature of course.

A battery with less than 12.8 volts would indicate a couple of things ---

1. the battery itself is bad - or has gone past it's Use-By date and cannot hold a surface charge any more.
2. there is something draining the battery during the time the engine's not running.
3. are the cables connected cleanly, brightly to the battery and wherever the grounds are?

It's really almost that simple - "Does the battery start your car?" is the first concern whether a battery is good enuff or not. If it DOES start your car - and does is well (good cranking speed, even with the headlights ON) - then you've got 1/2 the problem figured out: it ain't the battery. \

 

[TJBaker]

I will have to advise not jumping to the ignition switch as the source of these stated issues. Firstly, the ignition switch plays no role in the operation of the headlamps. You could remove the ignition switch entirely and the headlamps would still function. Secondly, the issue of the IPC. The cluster has 2 power sources. One is always on and not fed through the ignition switch. The second power source is indeed fed through the ignition switch, terminal "C", the pink wire, feeding many things including fuse 22 to the IPC. However, that very same terminal "C" pink wire also feeds down to several more circuits including fuse 28 which feeds your ignition coils and fuel injectors. I would be very surprised if the same pink wire could sucessfully feed power to one circuit and somehow fail to feed another circuit. Such a failure would need to be downstream of the the ignition switch and that pink wire.

Shoot me down?

 

[Ravalli Surfer]

Good shooting. I kinda hedged my bets by agreeing and then going on to the battery test as the first step.

You pointed it out more succinctly.

 

[SR3000]

Parasitic drain is a bitch. I had a door lock causing the issue. The best tip I found when I was trying to diagnose it was that if anything elctrical wasn't working, suspect that first. Next thing to suspect is any aftermarket electronics. Connect your volt meter between the positive battery terminal and positive cable, and start pulling one fuse at a time until the draw drops. YouTube has some good videos on this.

 

[Ravalli Surfer]

This is one of the best guys out there - very informative and easy on the ears ...

 

[smhiggolf]

My 2003 Blazer LTX continues to have random battery drain problem and has now added a problem of the instrument cluster sometimes being dead ( all gauges as if key is off) at time of start up. also. I discovered the head lights are not functioning at this time. Eventually.as the engine warms up, both resume there functions.
I am electrically knowledgeable and have purchased a Chilton manual for the beast and spent almost a year trying to solve problems. Anyone have suggestions? Ill buy the coffee!

Look at the ignition switch. I have replaced many on early 2000 Chevy trucks

 

[RobClay04TB]

I had a horrible parasitic drain on my 04 TB I bought a brand new battery and put a switch on the negative terimal..now i turn my car on and off everyday..No more start up problems..but my rear door and headlights still wont work..honestly i hate this piece of #$#!#...

 

[Ravalli Surfer]

I had a horrible parasitic drain on my 04 TB I bought a brand new battery and put a switch on the negative terimal..now i turn my car on and off everyday..No more start up problems..but my rear door and headlights still wont work..honestly i hate this piece of #$#!#...

You'll regret doing that all the time - some people only get to disconnect the battery once and when it gets powered up again - ---- well, you'll get there.

EDIT ---> a few days late......

Something consuming the battery charge has to leave its footprint .... somewhere.

Bridged diodes in the alternator come to mind and might also be cooking your battery with AC ... which batteries HATE.
One or more of your modules might stake awake, sucking the battery juices
An add-on electrical device (entertainment head, boom box, sub-woofy, goofy lighting) can pull the battery down.
A bad battery can self destruct b/o shorted plates or broken internal connex, old age.
AC compressor stays energized.
Interior lights may not be fading OFF as designed.
Little green men (& wimmen) jump starting their flying saucers, etc.

You should diagnose ...... then fix your problem ... not bypass it like my wife does.

 

[dsroyal]

My 04 had very similar problems. Ended up being the regulator/rectifier on the alternator. Bought a used alternator for $46 from ebay. Worked great. Dash voltage is constant now and the air conditioning always works.

 

[Rickys03]

I don't know if I need to start a separate thread or not but something happened last night. Driving down the road the entire dash went DEAD except for the "Check dash lights"
About 500 feet later the dash came back to like and the ding dong bell was going off like crazy but finally stopped on it's own. Now the Check eng light is on. Gotta wait for it to warm up a little before I go outside and run the codes to see what blew up.

 

[RobClay04TB]

lmao thanks for your comments...Im sticking with my switch. Yall can hunt for this BS til you pull your hair out ill turn a switch on before start up and turn it off when i get where im going...Ive been doing this for over 2 months now. Anyway thanks for taking the time to comment.

 

[Ravalli Surfer]

lmao thanks for your comments...Im sticking with my switch. Yall can hunt for this BS til you pull your hair out ill turn a switch on before start up and turn it off when i get where im going...Ive been doing this for over 2 months now. Anyway thanks for taking the time to comment.

Never again.
No soup for you...............

 

[RobClay04TB]

lmao...what about bread?

 

[Ravalli Surfer]

I don't know if I need to start a separate thread or not but something happened last night. Driving down the road the entire dash went DEAD except for the "Check dash lights"
About 500 feet later the dash came back to like and the ding dong bell was going off like crazy but finally stopped on it's own. Now the Check eng light is on. Gotta wait for it to warm up a little before I go outside and run the codes to see what blew up.

It's Martians.

Seriously.

Martians.

They visit me all the time.