Chrysler Repair: Dash lights stay on?, headlamp switch, battery cables

Question
Roland,
 I've got a 91 Imperial. The battery keeps going dead.I've found that after the car is shut off,the dash lights come back on.They are very dim but on.I'm thinking this is my battery draw.Thanx, Tom

Answer
Hi Thomas,
I assume this is a front wheel drive model, correct? I looked at the wiring diagrams and find that the current to operate the cluster lights derives from the headlamp switch and then through fuse #5 behind the dash (4 amp). You could try removing that fuse and see if that removes the source of light and also prevents the battery discharge. You could measure the current flow through one of the battery cables (put the mA meter in series with either battery cable end that you remove from the battery) with and without that fuse in place to see how many mA is is drawing. It is possible that there is a problem with the body computer which is also attached to the headlamp switch for it could be feeding current back into the cluster lamp circuit when you are shut down. If you find that pulling fuse #5 doesn't stop the drain, then try pulling the blue plug off the body computer and see if that does it. It you conclude that the body computer is not involved then I would suspect that there is a faulty connection in the headlamp switch that is feeding the dash lamps when it shouldn't.
Please tell me whether you have the conventional or electronic cluster and also whether you have the visual message center. The wiring is different depeding upon all these variables.
Roland