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I have a 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500. It won't start after sitting for a few days. I connected a amp meter in series with the battery and tested the parasitic current draw when everything is off and the door is closed. When first connecting the meter, it draws half an amp for around 15 seconds, then drop to 200ma or so and finally down to around 20 mili-amps. After a minute or two though, it goes back to 250ma and stays there. Pulling the IPC/DIC (integrated power center / driver information cluster) fuse, the current drops back to 20 ma. So I believe its the cluster causing the issue. Approximately 10 years ago, I repaired the cluster by putting in new stepper motors and replacing the incandescent bulbs with beautiful blue LEDS (a few bulbs were burned out). The cluster has been working fine ever since and still shows no issues, for example, the odometer staying on. This started a week ago when I replaced the speakers in the doors. Didn't touch the radio or change any wiring under the dash, just changed the speakers. Pulling the radio fuse does not cause the current to drop, only the IPC/DIC fuse being pulled will.

Could it be the cluster or something to do with the radio? Any recommended next steps? Thanks much

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  • Have you had the battery itself tested under load? How old is the battery? It could just be that the battery itself is going bad and hadn't shown any real issues until now. Your truck could have been drawing this amount of power all along and you might have never known it. Just a thought.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Jan 21 at 19:22
  • I have thought of that too and I did have the battery tested at Autozone. I don't know if I completely trust their test. I did find online where the instrument cluster can draw 200 ma when the truck is off.
    – BrianK
    Jan 21 at 22:42
  • How old is the battery?
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Jan 21 at 22:50
  • The battery is seven months old.
    – BrianK
    Jan 22 at 2:13
  • Are there other circuits tied to the IPC/DIC? Most vehicles have parasitic current below 50ma; power for factory antitheft system, keep alive memories in engine/body computer, radio preset memory and clock. 250ma is five times higher. Something other than the ipc is drawing 250ma. At one time in the past, factory GM vehicles with OnStar had issues with its backup non-rechargeable battery forcing OnStar cycling on to 'call home', draining the main battery. Disconnecting unused OnStar solved this issue.
    – F Dryer
    Jan 25 at 23:00

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