2004 with Theft deterrent light almost on

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pennyanguy

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HI all, kinda new here but could use some help. have a new to me (was my 78 year old dad's) 2004 Subn with only about 100K miles, he had since new but obviously does not drive much... maybe 10 miles a week. for what he says is a few years now he has been going through batteries 2 a year or so. They would drain when the car would sit inactive... which for him is most of the time, he would charge them...go bad.. go buy another... so his fix was to install a marine style on-off battery switch... did the job but not very practical for me.

So, Now I have the truck. I see the theft-deterrent light almost on the whole time I am driving. By almost on, I mean sometimes its really dim, sometimes a little brighter... almost never really bright. Looking in the manual I do not believe that light should be on at all. Is this correct?

Also, I do not see a fuse for the theft system... can it be disables... not something I really need.
 
The light should not be on. There is an issue with the key sensor system which at some point may prevent the vehicle from starting. If you have a second key try it. If it was as simple as removing a fuse it would not be much of a security system.
 
only one key... of course

are you saying that only a dealer can fix this? that would suck
 
Any qualified shop should be able to repair it or if you are mechanically inclined.
 
I am pretty mechanically inclined, certified Mercruiser mechanic... thats why I am asking here though... it is a system I am unfamiliar with, seems from research it is a passkey III... and it seems like its a finicky system... dont want to screw it up by tripping a failsafe or something.

Anyone here willing to be of some help?
 
Well, we finally had warm enough temps for me to try getting into this again... I put a ammeter on the negative side of the battery and read a standing parasitic draw of 1.7-1.8 Mu.. started pulling fuses in the engine bay fuse box and when pull the IPC/DIC 10 amp fuse the draw drops to .002 Mu. from the little I can find, this is the fuse for the Instrument cluster and the drivers information center...

Doing some research, it seems GM has had issues with the cluster.

all the gauges work fine, but the drivers info center does not... the gear selector lights have not worked in years, and sometimes the information center reads in French, then it will go back to english.

anyone have any ideas? I guess I could pick up a used cluster, but I'm not sure how easy they are to replace.
 
Did you wait at least 10 minutes for all systems to shut down?
 
yes, everything was well shut. ammeter hooked up for 1/2 hour.. settled at 1.8Mu... then I started pulling fuses.
 
another thing I never really connected is the transmission gear indicator has not worked in years, and periodically the drivers information center will speak in French, and we also sometimes loose gauge lights and have to pound on the dash to get them back. then there is still that anti-theft light that has been kinda almost on for years
 
As you already know the cluster is usually replaced with a used one.
 
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