The following symptoms are occurring with my 1995 GMC Vandura 2500. The engine is a 350CID/5.7LTR gasoline drinker:

I AM TRYING TO GIVE YOU ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT I CAN. I JUST NEED TO FIX THIS AND AM TIRED OF TRYING TO FIND THE PROBLEM. I'm not terribly smart on electrical problems, so please forgive my generalizations. And sorry for the length of this post, but I wanted to give as much information as I could.

This all happened at around the same time- as I noticed it anyway, so I have to think they are related.

There seems to be a strong parasitic draw or dead short/fuseable link melt (or something drastic, yet simple) somewhere in the electrical system. I would estimate that it will kill a fully charged battery in two days connected. It has killed one (previously) good battery. The current battery is new and needs to be disconnected immediately after shut off or the draining begins. No alternator/battery dummy lights ever come on.

I have looked…to the extent that I can without an ammeter or test lights/circuit testers of any kind… for broken/burned wiring, fuseable link connection problems and relay switch problems.

I had to disconnect the alarm (by cutting and taping off the wire under the hood) as it continually goes off and the only way to shut it down was with door remotes which are no longer working. However, I can still hear it clicking under the dash in the vicinity of the fuse box. I have tried pulling fuses with no luck. This is probably aftermarket…
TO CLARIFY: The remote lock/unlock no longer works (just recently). When the key is used to enter, the alarm goes off. I had to disconnect the audible alarm horn. I can still hear the relay clicking under the dash- near the floor on the left, so I know the alarm is going off in cycles all the time, HOWEVER THE BATTERY WAS DRAINING BEFORE THIS- this is just adding to the problem.

I SUSPECT THE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ARE RELATED:
The power door locks automatically engage as soon as the last door is shut regardless of whether the van engine is running or not.
The fan switch for the front blower motor quit working. A/C does not work on any setting (maybe it is low on refrigerant and is “governed” to protect the compressor- I don’t know about that). The heat works fine (just no fan). Since there’s not an OFF feature on the Climate Control, the fan switch might be affecting this.
The stereo plays, but no sound comes from the speakers (although audio still works for TV in rear speakers).
The rear stereo has quit working completely.
The power windows no longer work up or down.
Power seats work only intermittently.
Heated seat function doesn’t work at all.
The windshield wiper motor is beginning to have problems (not working on an intermittent/unpredictable basis).
A couple of times the transmission wouldn’t upshift and the ABS module dummy light would come on & stay on- disconnecting and reconnecting the battery solved this problem both times- don’t know if this is related, but suspect it & wanted to mention it.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I am thinking part your problem might be due to the aftermarket alarm system the conversion company installed in the van .
What I don't know is how deep they cut into the factory harness for the remote/alarm system to work.
the factory door locks and windows are always hot (have power to them all of the time).If there is a problem or a short in the alarm system this could be causing a dead short.Draining your battery.Just unplugged it might not really help
I just recently sold some parts to a gentleman who works for the Explorer conversion company.
He just left on a two week vacation.
He might have access to some information schematics on how the alarm is wired in.
Just to let you know all of the pw/pl switches are wired in series.So lets say you have a problem with the switch on the drivers side.It will break the circuit and knock out the complete system.
The good thing is replacement switches and motors are still available through Advanced Auto Parts.

please send me an E Mail at.

wookee10358@msn.com

In a week of two to remind me and I will check and see what information I can get for you.
Make of the alarm system wiring diagram Ect,Ect

The factory pw/pl doors are usually pretty dependable on these vans.

The problem with the heater/AC motor could just be a bad switch.This switch is a salvage yard item.Please note they ran different switches for different years of Chevy Vans.
Sorry I have not figured out the year grouping yet.
I do know that a 91 master switch/controls I had here was different than my 89's master switch/controls.

The other good note is Explorer conversion company is still in business......

.........Wookee

Sometimes electrical problems can be a pain to track down....one thing you have to do is be patient.....here are some things to look at and do in certain order...
1. Do you have any fuses blowing? If so that will tell you which circuit/accessory is causing the problem...if not...
2. Disconnect all your aftermarket accessories...alarm, stereo, any special lights, etc....what you are trying to do here is to get the electrical system back (as close as you can) to it's original factory condition.....at this point reconnect all the factory things back up, battery (after it;s been charged)...and see what happens....if you still have problems you know it's not any of the aftermarket stuph because it's all disconnected..at this point it makes it a lot easier to track down the problem....hope this helps

Sounds like a nightmare..
I hope all goes well and that this is an easy repair for you.
That's the great thing about this community, there's always someone who's been there before.

Run a hose over the top of the van over the windshield and see if the fuse block is getting wet.....if it does then start from there.....the other suggestions are good as well.....I don't know if your conversion company had a wiring schematic or not for the modifications, but that may be worth looking into...

As well, when Phrog had a door lock problem in his conversion, the drivers door that was acting up was not at fault...It turned out to be the rear door electric switch was getting wet from a faulty window seal.....and affected the whole system

Wow, I just had a gremlin in my van and after 3 days of searching and disconnecting the aftermarket stuff I finally found that a fusible link was bad and the ignition switch caused it. Finally replaced the ignition switch. Check the fusible links by pulling on them a little bit, if they break the wire is bad or just burnt away leaving just the insulation. Be a good idea to get a factory service manual. I got one for my van and traced the circuit of the things that were causing problems. My windows and blower motor were not working. I traced those things back to the ignition switch and then to the fusible link and battery. In my van the ignition switch is basically 4 switches in one. each controls a different circuit. I figured that since the fuses in the fuse block were ok the windows and blower motor were not causing the problem. so basically that circuit was the battery, fusible link, ignition switch, fuse block, power windows and blower motor. when I replaced the ignition switch I noticed 2 of the contacts were scorched. Maybe check your ignition switch for anything abnormal. Check the fusible links too. And get yourself a factory service manual, it should have the wiring diagrams in it. Good Luck.

Wow! I appreciate all the suggestions/help. You guys have given me a few ideas to try. I'll keep you posted as I go through the process of elimination in case working my problems can help someone else. No fuses are blowing and I don't think anything is getting wet under the hood. The alarm system does give me concern (which I know nothing about) and the ignition switch sounds like an item of interest.

I won't be getting started again for a few days as I am involved in another general maintenance/cleaning project with my car. Heck I've got issues with my truck too! I'm not much of a mechanic and I know less about wiring problems, but I still try my best because I usually can't afford the "professionals". As you all know, its always one thing after another...:)

This might sound stupid but did you change the battery in the remotes or are they completely busted?

It may sound stupid, but I do recall having a 1982 Olds Nintey-Eight & a 1984 Chevy K5 Blazer, both had caused some bad electrical issues stemming from dying batteries in the remotes. Sounds wild, but true. It may be worth looking into.

Chuck you and I have basically the same van except for motor size and I can tell you that if the aftermarket fuse block under the hood is bad it needs replaces as it controls a lot of the accesories including seats rear ac blower..