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Battery Drain

103 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  RWG75
Hi Folks: I was just working on a 2012 Chrysler 200. Battery was very dead, less than a volt. Put a new battery in, and found a drain that settled to 400mA, and went up to an amp in a few minutes. I figured that would kill a battery in a day, so I thought I’d dig deeper. The battery is buried in the wheel well in front of the front driver tire, so pulling a terminal off until she can sell It wasn’t a workaround. She’s selling it because of this battery draining problem, BRW.
In the engine compartment, there is a fuse box. There are two small fuses in this box, closest to the windshield. They are housed in a kind of clip. Squeeze the ears and pull it up. It didn’t come out, but I guess this is how they ship the vehicles, so the battery doesn’t drain from all the circuits, apparently running in the radio. The vehicle still starts with these fuses lifted, but the drain goes to zero in a couple of minutes, I guess, when the computer goes to sleep. Maybe the radio is just n some demo mode? All I see on the screen is it failed connecting to something. Bluetooth? Cellular? Too complicated for me…
Harry
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Welcome to the forum. Something is staying on. The IOD (ignition-off draw) fuses are lifted for shipping & storage.
You want to let the system settle down to its 400 mA draw & begin removing fuses/unplugging circuits in an attempt to locate the draw. Something like 30-40 mA would be normal for clocks & memories while the modules sleep.
Almost a half an Ampere draw would be about the same as a mid-size lamp staying on.
Make sure that the dome lamps, visor vanities, glove box, trunk & center console/cupholder (if equipped) lamps are staying off.
RF transponders such as Speed-Pass, wireless headphones, even in some children's toys can keep a module awake all the time.

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A week or two ago I was in NAPA getting a fresh battery, notice a 200. Asked the owner if it eats batteries, said yup. I just find it really dumb that the freaking top is easier to diagnose / repair and that 10 years on nobody has found the common fail. I'm generally pretty stubborn but selling the thing (with a fresh battery) is starting to sound like an option.
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