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 Post subject: Draining Battery Dilemma
PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 9:14 pm 
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My dilemma is a continuous current drain of my battery. My 2005 CRD drains the battery if not driven for 1-2 days. If driven daily or on 500+ mi road trips, no electrical problems at all. I replaced the alternator 4-5mo ago and the Optima a couple months ago for different issues.

I disconnected the negative terminal of the battery and hooked up an ammeter. With the vehicle off and the key out of the ignition, there is a continuous 5 amp current (drain).
One by one, I pulled and replaced all of the interior and engine bay fuses. No success finding the faulty circuit.
Next, I'm going to try pulling the starter relay to see if the it's the culprit.

The only DYI modification is an in-tank lift pump from this past summer. The lift pump quits humming as soon as the vehicle is turned off so I doubt it's the problem. The trailer harness is a factory install.

Thanks for any thoughts/ideas.


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 Post subject: Re: Draining Battery Dilemma
PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 9:44 pm 
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As an update to my previous post: The ammeter still shows a 5amp current drain so, one by one, I pulled all of the relays in the Power Distribution Center. No change. Ideas?


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 Post subject: Re: Draining Battery Dilemma
PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 11:23 pm 
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Disconnect the main lead on your alternator and see if the drain goes away.
Might be a bad diode, long shot, but a possibility.
There are fuses next to the far left side of the dash that go to circuits that can be sources of drain too. Also there are two plastic pieces that look like large fuse pullers. One is white and the other yellow. They pull out part way and disconnect some of the circuits and retest. The white one lets the jeep be parked for months with out draining the battery. The yellow one shuts off other stuff.
Sir Sam knows of some other sources of battery drain tied into the modules. Send him a PM if he does not jump on it.

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 Post subject: Re: Draining Battery Dilemma
PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 11:56 pm 
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Some Liberty's had bad Body Control Modules that caused this problem. Dealer replacement usually fixed the problem. I believe the dealer may have a service bulletin about this problem.

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 Post subject: Re: Draining Battery Dilemma
PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:23 am 
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Location: Catskill Mnts NY
FWIW, Honda's had a AC relay problem that was a battery drain. When the relay goes bad, it would occasionaly turn the AC clutch on with the key out. When bad, pulling the relay would make the AC clutch release audibly. Our Odyssey is a Vacation vehicle so for insurance I installed one of these Priority Start battery savers. It works like a charm. Obviously tracking down the problem is the way to go but if your in a pinch for time, This gismo works great. As soon as the battery drains to 11.7 volts, it automaticaly disconects the POS cable. Then just by opening the door (cab lights) triggers the auto rengagement of the pos terninal.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Priority-Start- ... 27c048ba4a
http://www.amazon.com/PriorityStart-12- ... 380&sr=8-2

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 Post subject: Re: Draining Battery Dilemma
PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:26 am 
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There was a flash for the body control module for discharging the battery a long while back, maybe 5 years ago. Could yours have excapped it? As I remember it was service bulletin F45

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 Post subject: Re: Draining Battery Dilemma
PostPosted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:40 pm 
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Just a quick update on my battery drain dilemma.
I figured that the least likely cause would be the recently replaced alternatory..... but that's exactly what it was. The shop that did the work replaced it for nothing since the part and labor were still under warranty.
So, diodes do go bad on alternators and can cause a 60watt drain on our Optima batteries. How about that!
Thanks for all the advice & esp to warp2diesel.


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