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Yeehah! After almost a year of frustration, failure, and out-and-out anger, I finally found the small voltage leak that has kept me from having the use of my favorite car. It all started in late March of last year when a moron who worked for the transmission shop I used stupidly screwed up my trunk lid release. I got it closed and started looking for the replacement release hardware (electric deal that catches the trunk lid, then sucks it down). Not a big thing, but I thought I'd like to keep it going. When I finally found one, I started the process of replacing it. First thing that happened, I had an electrical fire underneath my back seat, and nothing I did would put it out, even though I disconnected the battery immediately. I had to call the fire department, they got here so fast I couldn't believe it, tore out the seat and put that fire out, then went after the molten, smoking bundle of 44 wires that were on the floor under where the seat had been. It took quite a while to find an intact 1995 Buick Roadmaster Limited Edition body wiring harness. I spent the next many, many months carefully splicing 27 wires, some of which were pairs and had to be traced, and was finally ready to test last September. I had a tiny voltage leak that I couldn't find. I have been testing circuits ever since. I traced it to the "always on" section of the body wiring harness. Nothing showed.

TONIGHT, it was after dark by the time I went out to check the battery and see how much voltage had leaked off, and for the first time, I saw a tiny 5 watt lamp over the area of the back seat where the fire was. It was on, and I switched it off. The voltage drain stopped. It must be that either the firemen or I hit that little switch beside the coathook in the roof of the car over the door, and it has been on ever since. Tomorrow, I will drive my favorite car for the first time in almost a year, and I am confident that it will be fine. I did a lot of reading about protecting the computers in this situation, so I have reason to believe the ordeal may truly be over. VICTORY!

I just had to tell you guys. Celebration is pending.

See what happens when you wait to pop the cork AFTER the work is done?

Congratulations!

Congrats Rob it's truly satisfying to get to the bottom of electrical gremlins. Where I work I'm expected to find them in approximately an hour and secondly the trany shop should have looked after the trunk latch free of charge. Just my two cents but atleast you can enjoy the ride now in a car worth saving :dance:

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
Congrats on the triumph!
Looking forward to seeing pics of the Roadmaster being back where it belongs, soaking up the sun on the open road! :D

Nice work !
Glad you persisted, not everyone would.
Last Buick electrical "issue" I worked on would blow a fuse every week or two that killed the car.
Turned out to be a wire that was pinched during assembly 20 years earlier that was revealed only after the dash was removed.

Sweeeet WAY...persistency payed off and good thing ya went out in the dark!! Enjoy the ride today!!!! :auto-driving: :auto-driving:

Got to love that one
Don't you just hate it when something so simple causes so much fastration
At least it is sorted now :banana-dance:

I went for a drive in the Buick today. Floats down the road, takes off like a rocket with that LT-1 engine and trans. Its like coming home. This week I will wash it and hand wax it (acres of it...), and give it some fresh gas with a nice Ventil Sauber cocktail in the tank.

Congrats sir!
:banana-dance:

Well done Rob, Good things come to those who wait, even if you didnt want to wait.
Happy for you, now enjoy that ride
Bob

Glad you got it sorted!