Something draining battery

Asked by GuruNHFJM Nov 02, 2019 at 03:28 PM about the 2013 GMC Sierra 2500HD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Something in my car is draining the battery, but
only when temperature is below freezing. The
battery is less than a year old. Have had no issues,
then first below freezing night hit this week and car
wouldn’t start next day. I charged the battery and
started right up. Same thing happened last year.

I’m certainly no expert related to car mechanics. I
did hook up a meter to the battery and pulled fuses
one by one. Didn’t find anything using power. Is
there something in a car that only kicks on when it
gets cold and would use the battery?

Any help appreciated!!

1 Answer

154,865

When things get cold they contract. I suspect you have a switch that needs replacing. Many years ago I had a car that when it got really cold outside the horn would start blaring. I replaced the horn switch in the steering wheel and that fixed it. What was happening was the cold caused the switch to contract and make contact like someone was pressing the horn button. I'm thinking the same thing is going on with your vehicle. Only something less obvious than the horn blaring at 3am is turning on and draining the battery. Possibly the interior lights or maybe the blower motor for the heater. I'd suggest waiting until it's cold outside and walk around the vehicle. Look for any lights on and listen for anything running. Once you determine what it is, you can replace the offending switch. Hope that helps! Jim

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