WWDiesel:

Am I correct in assuming that your CRD has the same condition with unswitched power to your cigar lighter?

And I think I'll try this relay you've suggested. Thanks for the advice.

Fellers..

I've had one helluva time with this parasitic voltage drain for the last 2 1/2 years..and I found it!!

Now I noticed that the cigar lighter had constant power, not switched power, but I figured it wouldn't draw down the battery if it wasn't in use. Wrong! I just replaced the battery for the second time, and it looks like it's been replaced multiple times before I had it, so I thought it was high time to sort this out. It's always drained if it wasn't run for a few days, and in the cold weather of late...I've had her on the block heater and the 2A trickle charge, in the garage, every night. So with my CJ getting the same treatment (It runs on the old sd33t Nissan engine from a Scout, with really slow glow plugs, and I don't drive far enough to really charge her (8 miles to work)), that was 4 cables on the floor in the garage.

So I followed the thread here describing how to test her with a voltage meter, and used a good youtube video, which said that 50 ma is the max draw at sleep mode (after the computer goes to sleep, seems to take 15 minutes) and I had 300 ma, then 150..which is still 3 times the max. I read over on Edmunds about the cigar lighter, and whammo! With the #3 fuse out, I start with 150 ma draw, and drop to 0 after 15 minutes. Woo hoo!

So #3 cigar lighter, 20a, is disconnected for now. I'm fixing to sell this one, I've purchased a 2008 WJ CRD, so I want to get this fixed. Does anyone have the wiring schematic for this circuit? Perhaps I should just ask - has anyone come across this, am I correct in assuming that this lighter is my problem, wtf was it wired this way?? I'm afraid if I just jump the lighter to another circuit that I'd just be kicking the problem down the road to the next owner. I guess I'll need to determine how to make this a switched circuit, perhaps re wiring before the fusebox, which seems risky.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Is this the rear or the front lighter you are having troubles with?

Do you have the trailer tow package with the 7 pin trailer wiring? If so, the "supplemental" wiring harness that suppiles 12V to the 7 pin harness at the hitch is connnected in-line to the front 12V plug, which is always on in our(US CRD owners) case. If you read the installation guide for the supplemental trailer wiring harness, you will see that the harness was originally designed for older Liberty's which had the cigarette lighter AND a 12v power plug on the dash. The harness uses the power from the cigarette lighter to activate a relay in the trunk area that powers the trailer lights and 12v pin. The cigarette lighter on the older Liberty'swas unpowered when the car was off. This means the trailer wiring was originally intended to be unpowered with the ignition off. With the newer jeeps that only have the always-on power plug in the dash, the trailer wiring is always powered since that 12 plug never turns off. I wonder if the trailer wiring and associated relay put a constant drain on the battery since they never turn off.

THIS

See Here: http://site.justforjeeps.com/guide/82207620.pdf

Steps 21/22/23 are what I am talking about. You can see that there are two 12V outlets shown on the center console, one being the cigarette lighter and the other the 12V power plug. Also notice that the outlets are on the left side of the console, not the right like the 05-06. The instructions show the harness being plugged in line with the cigarette lighter which is gone in in our model years.

I recently purchased a 2005 and defiantly have the battery drain. It is a diesel and has the tow package/ 7pin plug. What wires were bypassed in order to prevent the battery drain? I have read the previous posts but I seem to be missing that detail.