Electrical draw, batteries keep dying

Cadima said:
I have a similar issue with my 13 JKU. I don't have any dual battery set up and haven't yet tried to track down the culprit, BUT....I have noticed that inside the jeep behind the dash console somewhere something is activating intermittently. More specifically, every 4 minutes 12 seconds what sounds like some kind of motorized flap like anA/C vent damper is cycling. This is with the Jeep sitting in the garage with no key in it and not having been turned on for days. Absolutely have no idea what is being cycled on and off or why, but its occurring exactly every 4 minutes 12 seconds and if I leave the Jeep for a week or so the battery will be drained. So as weird as it may sound, sit in your jeep in silence for at least 5 minutes and see if you hear anything.
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I have heard this door closing sound behind the dash in my '15 JKUR as well. I think it's just a delayed thing that occurs after your turn the key off. Have you heard it do it more than once in say, 10 minutes?
 
Cadima said:
I have a similar issue with my 13 JKU. I don't have any dual battery set up and haven't yet tried to track down the culprit, BUT....I have noticed that inside the jeep behind the dash console somewhere something is activating intermittently. More specifically, every 4 minutes 12 seconds what sounds like some kind of motorized flap like anA/C vent damper is cycling. This is with the Jeep sitting in the garage with no key in it and not having been turned on for days. Absolutely have no idea what is being cycled on and off or why, but its occurring exactly every 4 minutes 12 seconds and if I leave the Jeep for a week or so the battery will be drained. So as weird as it may sound, sit in your jeep in silence for at least 5 minutes and see if you hear anything.
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I remember hearing that same noise in my Jeep when I first got it but I haven't heard it in a while. Maybe I just haven't been paying attention so I'm going getting the cab and see if I hear it.
 
Could be bad diodes in your alternator. Disconnect your alternator and then check your test light to negative battery post again.
 
moto450r said:
Could be bad diodes in your alternator. Disconnect your alternator and then check your test light to negative battery post again.
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I went to the dealership the other day to get an oil change and I had them check my alternator and it was in excellent condition well within factory specifications
 
NightKrawler said:
I went to the dealership the other day to get an oil change and I had them check my alternator and it was in excellent condition well within factory specifications
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An alternator can still work (correct output) with a leaky diode. If it were me, I would just eliminate the alternator as the source of the drain since the drain is being elusive. I know the dealership checked the output but.....

An excerpt from the link below ""A leaky diode also can allow current to drain out of the battery through the alternator when the vehicle is not being driven"
Starters and Alternators: Common Misdiagnosis

Below is a video that might help you narrow down your parasitic drain


Good luck!
 
moto450r said:
An alternator can still work (correct output) with a leaky diode. If it were me, I would just eliminate the alternator as the source of the drain since the drain is being elusive. I know the dealership checked the output but.....

An excerpt from the link below ""A leaky diode also can allow current to drain out of the battery through the alternator when the vehicle is not being driven"
Starters and Alternators: Common Misdiagnosis

Below is a video that might help you narrow down your parasitic drain

Video Link: https://youtu.be/P-wxG6U5TuY

Good luck!
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Thank you, that is very good information. Everybody with electrical issues should check this out. I thought I had covered just about everything but it looks like I have a project for tomorrow afternoon.
 
Cadima said:
I have a similar issue with my 13 JKU. I don't have any dual battery set up and haven't yet tried to track down the culprit, BUT....I have noticed that inside the jeep behind the dash console somewhere something is activating intermittently. More specifically, every 4 minutes 12 seconds what sounds like some kind of motorized flap like anA/C vent damper is cycling. This is with the Jeep sitting in the garage with no key in it and not having been turned on for days. Absolutely have no idea what is being cycled on and off or why, but its occurring exactly every 4 minutes 12 seconds and if I leave the Jeep for a week or so the battery will be drained. So as weird as it may sound, sit in your jeep in silence for at least 5 minutes and see if you hear anything.
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I just did the same test and I heard it cycle 4 minutes after turn the vehicle off but I didn't hear it again and I waited 10 more minutes. I open the door and closed it, with the key in my lap, then its cycle again in 4 minutes but it did not repeat
 
I am glad to hear others have this noise, but in my jeep it continues..... beyond my patience to sit there and see for how long. Cant recall how many times I heard in one sitting before but I'd bet I let it repeat at least 5 times before deciding there were gremlins inside. It certainly cycles more the one and done.
 
Mine does the same thing as well, but never had any issues. I was told that it is a recirculation vent opening to prevent interior air from being stagnant / mildewy.
 
Cadima said:
I have a similar issue with my 13 JKU. I don't have any dual battery set up and haven't yet tried to track down the culprit, BUT....I have noticed that inside the jeep behind the dash console somewhere something is activating intermittently. More specifically, every 4 minutes 12 seconds what sounds like some kind of motorized flap like anA/C vent damper is cycling. This is with the Jeep sitting in the garage with no key in it and not having been turned on for days. Absolutely have no idea what is being cycled on and off or why, but its occurring exactly every 4 minutes 12 seconds and if I leave the Jeep for a week or so the battery will be drained. So as weird as it may sound, sit in your jeep in silence for at least 5 minutes and see if you hear anything.
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I noticed that same thing by accident. I was waiting in the jeep and looking at my phone and I kept hearing that noise. I was thinking about calling the dealer or jeep about it.
 
Repeating. I was in there for Atleast 15 mins and heard it 3 or 4 times. Sounds like it comes from behind the glove box
 
Jeepnoub said:
Repeating. I was in there for Atleast 15 mins and heard it 3 or 4 times. Sounds like it comes from behind the glove box
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Very strange that some repeat and others don't. :thinking:

So my next question is, has it ever sat for over a week and have you had any battery draining issues?
 
No its never sat for that long. At most 3 or 4 days. But it's a brand new jeep. So the amp draw might affect older batteries differently.
 
After 15 minutes or so everything should go to sleep if not disturbed. If you leave the key in, the CanBus will stay awake thinking you are ready to turn the key. You should only see around 80 milliamperes draw stock system when everything goes asleep.
Best way to test this is with a milliamp clamp meter that goes down under 100 milliamps. You need to find the wire with all of this draw on it and this will be the quickest way. I have traced draws with a multi meter using the current meter but first the draw can't be too large. If it is you can burn up your meter and your leads! Second you need to connect your leads up to each side of connection you are testing then carefully lift one side to put the meter into the circuit. Very time consuming!
Chrysler computers and the CanBus and particularly the TIPM can be very sensitive to changes and stock by themselves can have very weird issues. One being not shutting down at all!
My suggestion is find a good clamp meter to borrow, they start at $200 plus on up, and start the motor for 30 seconds to stabilize everything then wait or watch with the clamp meter over all feeds and wait for the CanBus to shut down after 15 to 30 minutes. Then pick a feed and see what the overall draw does. Do this till you find the culprit feed then work your way in from that point and disconnect feeds from there till you find the draw.
This is time consuming but at least yours is not intermittent!!
 
jims68 said:
After 15 minutes or so everything should go to sleep if not disturbed. If you leave the key in, the CanBus will stay awake thinking you are ready to turn the key. You should only see around 80 milliamperes draw stock system when everything goes asleep.
Best way to test this is with a milliamp clamp meter that goes down under 100 milliamps. You need to find the wire with all of this draw on it and this will be the quickest way. I have traced draws with a multi meter using the current meter but first the draw can't be too large. If it is you can burn up your meter and your leads! Second you need to connect your leads up to each side of connection you are testing then carefully lift one side to put the meter into the circuit. Very time consuming!
Chrysler computers and the CanBus and particularly the TIPM can be very sensitive to changes and stock by themselves can have very weird issues. One being not shutting down at all!
My suggestion is find a good clamp meter to borrow, they start at $200 plus on up, and start the motor for 30 seconds to stabilize everything then wait or watch with the clamp meter over all feeds and wait for the CanBus to shut down after 15 to 30 minutes. Then pick a feed and see what the overall draw does. Do this till you find the culprit feed then work your way in from that point and disconnect feeds from there till you find the draw.
This is time consuming but at least yours is not intermittent!!
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I can't seem to find anybody with a clamp meter. Apparently that's an uncommon tool amongst my friends
 
moto450r said:
Were you able to find the problem?
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I've run every test I know of in so far here is what I have discovered. I did a passive test on the fuses in the s pod. None of the main fuses have any draw but the two amp fuse has a 50 milliamp draw on it. I'm still trying to figure out what that is. And I believe if I'm reading the meter correct there is a 670 milliamp draw between the negative cable lead and the negative battery post. I just can't figure out specifically where its coming from and why
 
NightKrawler said:
I've run every test I know of in so far here is what I have discovered. I did a passive test on the fuses in the s pod. None of the main fuses have any draw but the two amp fuse has a 50 milliamp draw on it. I'm still trying to figure out what that is. And I believe if I'm reading the meter correct there is a 670 milliamp draw between the negative cable lead and the negative battery post. I just can't figure out specifically where its coming from and why
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Which ground cable were you checking? Just the original vehicle ground? Were all the other ground cables isolated from that one cable? Your original picture shows A LOT of add-on wiring that you should isolate for trouble shooting, meaning is the problem on the vehicle side or your add-on side (i.e. Dual batt isolator, S-pod, etc. etc.).

Below is an excerpt from the 2011 Service Manual (some rehashed info but good none the less).

CHECK FOR EXCESSIVE CURRENT DRAW

TESTING FOR PARASITIC DRAW
​




NOTE:For a more accurate current draw reading, wait 20 minutes to make sure all modules have powered down before continuing. Some modules may stay powered up longer than others.


amp meter.jpg
Turn the ignition off.
1.Disconnect the Negative battery cable (ground).

2.Using a multimeter, set the multimeter leads up to properly measure Amperage.

3.Connect the ground lead that is plugged into the COM port of the multimeter to the Negative battery post/terminal.

4.Connect the other lead of the multimeter that is plugged into the Amp port of the multimeter to the Negative battery cable.

CAUTION:Do not crank the engine or turn on any accessories that may draw more than 10 Amps. You may open the protective fuse in the multimeter.

5.While monitoring the amperage reading on the multimeter, begin to remove fuses (one at a time) from each fuse location on the vehicle and see if the amperage drops.


NOTE:
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Only remove one fuse at a time until the cause of the voltage draw is determined.
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Many vehicles have multiple fuse locations on the vehicle.

6.If the amperage does not drop, install the fuse you just removed and remove the next fuse.


Does the amperage drop to between 0.02 to 0.04 of an Amp when removing any fuses?

Yes


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Use the wiring diagram as a guide to help indicate what components or modules are powered by the fuse.
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At this point you can install the fuse and begin disconnecting the components powered by the fuse.
· When the amperage drops after disconnecting a component this will indicate which component is at fault.
· It is important to know how long some modules are designed to remain awake.
· You don't want to replace a component that is operating normally.
· The condition that originally caused the draw may not be present at this time.

No


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The condition that originally caused the draw may not be present at this time.
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Look for any chafed, pierced, pinched, or partially broken wires.
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Look for broken, bent, pushed out or corroded ground terminals.
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Perform any Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) that may apply.
 
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