Eric, your time and effort is much appreciated!

Your videos make an ASE course in anything much easier. Thank you Mr. O!

Who needs TV when you have SMA? This stuff is entertaining, informative Sure beats "primetime TV"

Your suggestion of reading the millivolt drop across the fuse and converting it using Powerprobe's charts is fantastic. It's not only quick and easy, but also keeps from accidentally activating some system. THANK YOU Eric.

At first I thought this was way to long for an ICP fuse problem. But watched the whole thing and it was actually a very informative video. Thanks for the chart configuration info.

I echo what others have posted... you're FAR BETTER THAN ANYTHING ON TV!!! Keep up the great videos!!!

This is the first video of yours that I have seen. My 2003 yukon has the same key off draw. I have to compliment you on your teaching style and clarity. I learned so much watching you. Well done.

Another nice job, Eric! Getting up early and editing vids is a gift to all of us.

Eric, your videos always make my day. I look forward to episodes here as much as TV. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with us.

You are thorough, systematic, and have a magnificent knowledge base of information. It's funny, because I've been working on cars for about 5 years now and I'm at the point where I can tackle most problems. All on youtube. It went from Chris fix, to ratchets and wrenches, to eric the car guy, and now to you. Because when I first started watching your videos, a lot of them were hard for me to understand,. It's almost like it was the intro class, then the intermediate one, then the more advanced one, then the final one which is your videos. Who needs school when you have youtube!

I'm a retired mechanic with many years experience and this man is good - the best!

Outstanding video! I was able to follow your logical leadings, and though my problem was the radio fuse and not the cluster, I simply bought a clamp meter for autos from amazon and this morning found the battery drain parasitic draw. Thanks a million for posting this.

Having a Chevy with this very problem for the last 5 years I now know what to look for. Thanks Eric!

Dude you pegged it ! Been having the same issue with my 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. I did what you did and came up with the same issue with the cluster. Thank you for sharing the info for United Radio. I contacted them and the conversation I had with everybody on the phone with United Radio what's like I was talking to Old Buddies! Very pleasant people! They did say they wanted to contact you to thank you for spreading the word as I told them it was your video that help me with Diagnostics and referring everybody to them for repairs ! Thanks again

I appreciate all the time you put into making these videos.

Love your methods and your persistence!Awesome stuff,keep up the good work!

Just to say thank you for highlighting the voltage drop across fuses. Helped to quickly diagnose the draw on my 2003 Chevy Suburban. For all those useful with a soldering iron its very easy to resolder every joint in the instrument cluster. I went from a range of faults including a ghost main beam light that would illuminate despite the car locked and definitely asleep to no faults. Easy to remove the cluster and pop the covers off the cluster.

Silver migration! That phenomenon wasn’t an issue when I was repairing electronics products. Then again, lead free solder was just becoming common and not out there long enough to create corrosion type issues. Very interesting! You are one sharp guy Eric. Your customers are fortunate to have you.

Always enjoy your straight forward diagnostics. Your name is always on top of the list when I tell other techs who to watch to try to better themselves. I had missed this one. Great work Eric.

Found your channel while trying to solve a problem with my 2015 Chevy Pickup. You do a great job with these videos. My issue is that this truck, freshly out from under warranty of course, decided to keep the buttons and knobs and the LCD screen back-lights, and the On-star light powered up - and there was no way to get them to turn off. Of course it ran the battery flat over night. I charged the battery and began using your methods to diagnose the battery drain - except that I don't have access to a clamp-on and so I hooked a meter in series with the negative battery cable - it appeared that I had a 150 milliamp parasitic battery drain - at least I thought that I did. So I checked across every fuse in the engine compartment and both fuse blocks in the cab and found a 1.2 millivolt drop across the fuse for "Body Control Module 1". So, the reference you provided a link to showed that the equates to 163 milliamps. I was pretty excited that I found it but I had not noticed that the dome light were on and when they timed out the 1.2 millivolt drop disappeared. Somewhere during all of this I apparently had the battery disconnected and/or the flat battery which caused the issue with the back lighting staying on issue to disappear. What followed on the initial restart of the Truck blew my mind but you will know all about this - the Truck told me to lower and raise the Driver's Side Window! I suppose to reset Body Control Module(s) - the manual says there are seven or eight of them and each one has its own fuse but I suspect there are all housed in the one unit located under the steering column area. Then I discovered that the Tire Pressure Sensors were not being read and the manual said I had to initiate the "relearn" mode and then use the "Tool" by placing it next to each of the tires and sequential order! By this time I'm talking to myself and wondered aloud - "what tool and where is it".. LOL ... but once again you were right there with a way to relearn this thing without a the "Tool" or a trip into the tire store or the dealer. I suspect the original problem will return - things like this usually do. I going to have the battery tested - outside chance that it's getting weak and may the infamous "Integrated Body Control Module" doesn't like it. Once again.... thanks!

My Dad’s cluster stopped working several years ago and it was rebuilt. It has had this fantom draw issue now for over a year. Thanks for giving me a starting point.

The ever elusive intermittent fault, I spent several years overhauling electronic equipment at an Army depot and always hated these. Eyeballing the same issue on my 2004 Silverado, the cluster was repaired just before I got it but it began acting up again after about a year. Great video, it gave me some good insight on how to approach the problem.

Eric U Rock :) These videos and United Radio saved my dying 2003 Tahoe...runs like a charm now...THANK YOU

That is the best diagnosis I have seen yet. I need to get one of those Snap On Vantage Pros!

I see a spot on the Discovery channel for you! I just found your vids while researching some issues for my car. Love em! And the bolts may not be rusty in the south but the heat and humidity will drive you crazy.

Another great video walks you through from start to finish diagnostics skills bar none the best I've ever seen. His style of video is and his banter is great. Can't believe only 69 thousand subscriber,

I’m having a hard time learning from this channel but I’m still gonna give you a thumbs up cause I’m sure u r full of knowledge

I googled these same symptoms for my 01 Suburban and this video was suggested. I'm going to go check out my cluster fuse tomorrow morning. Thanks for your videos.

I am amazed at the sensitivity of test gear these days. To measure the voltage drop across a fuse is truly remarkable. The one you measured, with 202ma and a drop of 1.5mV crunches to a resistance of .0074 ohms. There was a time you could only measure that with a laboratory meter. Waiting on part two.

have the vantage ultra with the inductive clamp. im an internal amp measuring guy for draws and my fluke 88 is always accurate. just be careful 10a will pop the fuse.

Nice video Eric. Great tip on the Voltage drop charts! :)

been watching this fellow for couple of weeks. what you can do with diagnostic equipment. like his calming, educational manner of speaking. wish he was located around here. good mech's scarce as hen teeth. really enjoy your channel!

This video is still very informative!! I will try this very soon. Thanks!

Tried this on a 04 Suburban. Pulled the Instrument panel fuse and in 2 Days dead Battery. Thanks and I enjoy your Videos.

Thanks for the tip Eric just made my work a lot easier

Well Eric I'm going to check my Silverado at the same fuze today just to double check. Fantastic tip Thanks.....

Great Video Eric. I see you fixed that powerstroke. Nice job

come on man!!!!!!!! I can't handle the suspense. You're such a tease.

Eric, thank you for the great show. I see that you was raised to be a tech like me. I'm subbed for good, shadetree out.

Clever. Measuring the voltage drop across a conductor (shunt) is how digital ammeters work

Your vid's are like an adventure. Fun to watch and learn for us backyard mech's. And like most people below me in comments I find it more interesting than T.V. I notice your sub number jumped from 39k to 41k real quick. Your doing something right ;)

He is a genius love these videos

I see a lot of familiar comments from loyal viewers who are enjoying your channel as much as I am. I really liked the amp draw across the fuse tip and look forward to the next part of this frustrating challenge.

In my experience around 90% of the time it's the cluster is bad! if it isn't that current draw,it's at least one of the stepper motors going bad on them!

Great video. My 03 had a similar problem. When ignition off the parking brake light was still faintly on all all the time and the gear position indicators don’t work. Pulled the fuse and light went off. Will be sending in for repair.

Thank you. I will check this on my chevy. This is a very frustrating thing to deal with.

Dude! You are good! We definitely owe you a few beers and should you make it to Idaho we are good for them! I hope you are employed as an instructor as you are excellent and I was an instructor for thirty years and know what I'm talking about! Best of luck!!!

Keep up the good work brother.

Good job man. Well done.

Well done!

Thank you for the help

Nice job, Eric! The "voltage drop across the fuse" method is sweet. Very accurate according to the chart, plus it's faster than pulling fuses! And that truck looks to be in nice shape for 200k miles...a real cream puff haha

It's Awesome that you take the time to share your experiences with us. I have a quick story(I only heard about I don't know if it's true) that I'll share that may help others... Customer's car would go dead overnight every night, but only in the fall/winter months of course all of the usual things were done to no avail, finally after going to customers house to observe any abnormalities, they (allegedly) discovered that the customer would put a cover on his windshield,and he held it in place with some small bungee cords, he hooked the cords to the door handles which turned the illuminated entry lights on. I don't know if it's true, but it is a good story.

Thanks for putting the mini fuse conversion chart up. Saved me the trouble. Can a blown fuse draw electricity? Had a blown 20amp mini drawing 1mV. Replaced it and went to zero. My battery was dying after a day or two. Gotta let it sit and see if this was the problem.

DC Amps. can be measured by pulling the fuse,then set your meter to amps(you have to move the leads on the meter also).don't keep in on for very long or you can overheat your meter etc. Those capacitors on the amp. meter dry out causing problems. second the new vehicles have to many modules(cars are on live support).

You nailed it for me . Thanks

I have a 1998 1 ton chevy and the battery would go dead in 2 wks and then finely 2-3 days, found out with amp meter at fuse box that the problem was the memory of the radio causing a 2 amp draw. Replaced radio and no more problem. There is 2 fuses for this radio. I will watch to see what you fined.

These clusters are pretty easy to fix. There are a few surface mount resistors that come unsoldered. Taking the cluster apart re soldering the bad ones and putting it back together takes 30-60 minutes. The bad resistors will brown the board a bit so they're easy to spot, but re solder them all.

enjoyable vid, thanks ...

I get loads of those too. Car in for a battery drain issue, already has a shiny new Alternator...........

I hope my draw is as easy to find. I just bought a salvage 1990 Olds 98 Regency with 100K and it is a creampuff except the harmonic balancer, ign module, coil pack and a nice battery drain in 1-2 days. Got everything fixed except now have to find draw.

Love your vids. What is the name and model of the hand held fluorescent light you are using? I'd like to get one.

I don't need TV either. I have a Silverado that is running great. This was interesting to see in the event I have the same problem. I did have to replace the instrument cluster on my 2004 Impala in 2006 for this same reason (under warranty).

Yep I always voltage drop across the fuses when looking for draws. Hasn't failed me yet also I usually open the doors and close the latches so if I have to get inside I don't wake it up.

Would still like you to do a video showing and explaining what diagnostic gear you use for specific issues.

Great vid. a lot of go info.

lol the bell dinger drivin my puppy crazy

I've had poor luck doing parasitic draws with my inductive clamp. I prefer to use the internal amp meter on my vantage. Massive risk of blowing the fuse though! The vantage has a regular 10amp mini fuse though so it's cheap. My Fluke ones are £10 each! Nice video.

You are one of the most thorough mechanics I have ever had the opportunity to watch work. I am very impressed with your knowledge and thoroughness. I use your videos to try to narrow down what could be happening to my "CHEVY" the infamous "CHEVY", you save alot of time and money. Thank You for your videos. One question, where do you get your wiring diagrams from? Thank You Sean D from Sitka, Alaska

I had parasitic draw on my 03 S-10, ZR/2. Turned out to be the Bose 6 disk changer. replaced the whole unit with Panasonic and now I have Bluetooth for my phone too. Was surprised to see that car stereos haven't gone up much for basic units.

Thank you for your video but do you replace it or only clean the connector ?

Very interesting eric

my harbor freight multi-meter only has 5 amp setting. will it still work?

your going to jinx me now. my truck is an '03 Silverado. mine has almost 300 000kms on it now. I presently don't have this issue, but part of my cluster doesn't work anyway. its original as far as I know, haven't pulled it to check. but I am going to check that voltage drop. I do have a problem with the key switch, sometimes it stays on after the key is out, I can pull it out while its running. lights in the dash will stay on, or the radio stays on.

Best video for me.. easy to learn

How much does one of these "clusters" usually run?? Can I just remove the fuse when I shut it off until I can get the "cluster" replaced??

wow, over 200,000 miles and it still looks good

I’ve been chasing this same problem for 2 years, thanks. Went out preformed your test sequence and what do you think I found, stupid cluster.

My 2004 2500 HD has a retained accessory power problem that I need to fix. Took me a couple of times before I realized what it was. I opened the door one day and the radio was still on. There are several switches depending on which model and accessories the truck has. Just need to figure out which one to order.

Great videos, who do you send them to? I need to send mine out. Ford F-150 2005 just the tack and fuel gage work. And what is the turn around time? First gage that messed up was the speedometer, then temp, then battery, and now trip/ odometer light! Bulbs are 18 dollars, but I think it’s good!

wow !! a 1.5 mvdc drains abattery after a coupe days ? good to know ! Thx for the great vids Eric. Love the way you tested a draw with the voltmeter.Great info.Thx.Cheers from Canada !

That's the exact problem I have with my 03 Silverado. My instrument panel started not coming on also. I've been playing with that and it seems to have been a bad connection on the instrument panel plug. Great video ! Thanks for posting the help for everybody. :)

Would the ITC/ DIC be the same on a 2011 Silverado? I have the same symptoms, but have not checked fuses yet. thanks!

good diagnostics

Eric, My Honda Element was drawing 200MA from the battery until I cleaned the battery and then reconnected it and then it was only drawing 10MA I was wondering if you have seen that before. I did a couple of more tests and still only drawing 10MA.

I've watched alot of your videos on electrical issues I was wondering if you ever came across the trailblazer with a draw what the bad thing is the problem doesn't show up right away it generally takes 3-5 days before it kills the battery I've disconnect the fan the 2 black relays / module's in the under hood fuse block I'm at a total lose I'd be grateful for any advice that would possibly send me in the right direction thank you

GM should recall the instrument panels in their vehicles, my 2004 Chevy Tahoe required a new instrument panel at a cost of $600. Our 2003 Chevy Silverado 2500HD panel is shot as well.

So why did it show up after you locked the doors. .? What started it..was it just locking it ..?? Nice job....I have a. 2005 Chevy.

I saw this one already but I forgot the outcome so I am re-watching it.

Got a 1996 Buick Park Ave that is doing this Gonna be great fun finding the problem lol

great vid

Man I literally had the exact same problem on the exact same truck and did the draw test and found the ipc to be the issue as well. That was days ago and then I saw this video. Couldn't help but laugh lol

hi Eric im marcus from Sweden and i really like yours videos,Im a proud owner of a Chrysler 300 -67.I was wondering if you repair any Classics,it would be really cool to see that.Thanks again for very good videos and vey helpful tips.

I'm curious about taking an amp draw reading in that circuit. Would this work? So, you take a BLOWN fuse and insert it into that 10amp position. Then take your multimeter and get your amp draw across the fuse. This should give you the amp draw or am I missing something here?

I have a 2003 Chevy that has a parasitic draw on the radio fuse. It is an aftermarket radio. What is the simplest solution to stop the draw? Unplugging fuse doesn't stop it. Could something else be on this fuse? Great video by the way! Had my cluster fixed last year. Any help appreciated

For the number of these clusters I've seen go bad, I still can't believe that my folks' '02 Yukon, with 165,000+ miles, hasn't had any issues. Hopefully this one is a nice, easy, straight-up fix!

What scan tools do you you prefer and what is the best brand for tools and what are the best electric impacts?

if you put your clamp on the battery cable and remove the cluster do you still have current draw?

What is the normal amp draw on this truck? On some vehicles a 5 mil amp draw is common, because of all the accessories and the security system...

G'day Eric talk about confusing, well to me anyway, not only do you need to know machanical aspects of a vehicle but the electrics. Most services over here send stuff like this to an auto electritian double whammy there your hit with two bills. Love watching your channel kind regards John