Bored Mechanic - Got any car questions?

Alright rucca I got one.. I had my water pump replaced last week. A couple days before it went to the shop my steering column started becoming hard to get unlocked at times, having to jerk the wheel and stuff to get the key to turn. Well since i've gotten the car back, the battery always dies. Ive had the battery and alternator tested, and both are good. I need to get alt tested again b/c where i had it testsed the guy said his machine was bein finicky but he semed to think I had a short or drain in the system. If its runnin for a while and I shut it off itll start right back up, but if it sits for a few hours its completely dead again. Thers no lights or anythign like that staying on. The only thing I can think is that possibly somethin is fucked up in the ignition and even when i turn off the car and remove the key somehow theres something not turning off all the way and its still drawing power. However I find it hard to beleive that somethin like that could draw enough power to drain the battery. Any advice on what to check, or what else could possibly be causing this problem? I really cant/dont want to pay someone to try n figure this out. I am a mechanic but not so good with the electrical stuff in newer cars. Its a 98 seville if it matters. Im gettin tired of having to get a jump every time I wanna leave the house. Thanks bud.

I didn't know about this thread. I got one:

2001 Ford Ranger, 4x4. Has the 2x4, 4x4 (hi) and 4x4 (low) on the dash. It has an idiot light for when 4x4 is active. Last year, it started to not go into 4x4 or the light go on, intermittently. Now it doesn't work at all. I haven't had the time or $ to get it looked at yet, but should be able to soon. I wondered if a fuse could cause this. Someone also suggested a vacuum somewhere. Any ideas?

tet1953 said:

I didn't know about this thread. I got one:

2001 Ford Ranger, 4x4. Has the 2x4, 4x4 (hi) and 4x4 (low) on the dash. It has an idiot light for when 4x4 is active. Last year, it started to not go into 4x4 or the light go on, intermittently. Now it doesn't work at all. I haven't had the time or $ to get it looked at yet, but should be able to soon. I wondered if a fuse could cause this. Someone also suggested a vacuum somewhere. Any ideas?

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sounds like a short to me, does the 4 wheel drive engage? my wife's jeep does this, here 4 wheel drive works but the light on the dash does not.

Nope, never engages. Neither the hi or the low.

I have a 2009 Mercedes Benz ML 550 AMG -- the blinkers sometimes act up. If I dont fully engage the blinker, it will continue to blink even after I have completed a turn, or merge. What should I do?