Electrical question on 88- Headlight relays constantly powered?

[Randys88Vette]

Ok, i haave been ahving an electricla isue with my 88 since the day I bought it, back in 2002. Was able to take it to someone who did a complete electrical check and chase, and we discovered a few things.
1. there was a secondary alarm system in the car that was screwing up the normal VATS. It was really weird how it was wired in and it took away some of the voltage that seemed to be draining the battery after it was removed, but not all of it. It was hidden up in the dash behind the radio and was actually crossed wired into the radio system . So, that was removed and the electrical drain dropped some.

The next big thing that was found is that the headlight relays are constantly being powered. They seem to be the next big draw on the list of things and I was wondering, are the relays supposed to have constant power? If we isolate that circuit, the voltage draw goes practically to zero. There is some draw due to clock on the radio and power for programming memory, but not enough to drain the battery in 3-4 days like i t has been. I have a sneaky suspicion that my C68 electronic climate control is a little hokey too, as the lights on it flash, and it goes in and out for indication, but hear it may just be a loose connection. That was checked by the way, when the electrical testing was done, to see if ti had any draw and there was none.

 

[boomdriver]

Ok, i haave been ahving an electricla isue with my 88 since the day I bought it, back in 2002. Was able to take it to someone who did a complete electrical check and chase, and we discovered a few things.
1. there was a secondary alarm system in the car that was screwing up the normal VATS. It was really weird how it was wired in and it took away some of the voltage that seemed to be draining the battery after it was removed, but not all of it. It was hidden up in the dash behind the radio and was actually crossed wired into the radio system . So, that was removed and the electrical drain dropped some.

The next big thing that was found is that the headlight relays are constantly being powered. They seem to be the next big draw on the list of things and I was wondering, are the relays supposed to have constant power? If we isolate that circuit, the voltage draw goes practically to zero. There is some draw due to clock on the radio and power for programming memory, but not enough to drain the battery in 3-4 days like i t has been. I have a sneaky suspicion that my C68 electronic climate control is a little hokey too, as the lights on it flash, and it goes in and out for indication, but hear it may just be a loose connection. That was checked by the way, when the electrical testing was done, to see if ti had any draw and there was none.

I believe the relays are powered all the time as you CAN operate the headlite doors without the key......
The power relay would be the primary. Not 100% sure how yours is, mine is 3 relays, a power and then a relay for each lite. GM changed the design every couple yrs.

The drain can be from the underhood lights and/or the interior lites. The door panel lites get the plastic switch broken and can stay on all the time.

The a/c BCM (blower control module) can also do some bizarre things without the key.... try unplugging that to see if the drain slows down.

Because this car is controlled by ground paths and completions, hot wires are all over the place and many systems are "on" or "hot" all the time waiting for the ECM or a switch to complete the ground to operate.