Questions and Answers

Chevy Lumina APV Killing Batteries
Q. Hi my name is Randy. I have a 1994 Chevy Lumina APV 3.8 liter V-6 engine. I always work on cars and trucks since I was 13 years old but this one has me stumped. I have a problem with the battery going low on me but I put in a new alternator and battery and still the battery goes low.

When I start it start like rrrrr then it will run but when I shut it off it will not start. I test the battery and it reads about 4-6 reading. I test the alternator and it read about 13.9 around there. Then I look for a short there is none. Is there anything else I could check?

Let me know please and thank you. I'm glad I found this site.

Randy

A. These vans have lots of electronics that could be pulling the battery down. If you know the battery and cables are good, you need to do a parasitic load test on the car. This involves putting an ammeter in series with the negative cable. Then you will need to let the car sit until all the modules go to "sleep" and test for how many milli-amps are being drawn.

If it's over 40mA, you need to pull fuses out until you find the circuit that is the problem. Good luck.