Chrysler Repair: Battery dies in my 01 LHS, computer memories, fuse box

Question
Hello I own a 2001 Chrysler LHS. Periodically the battery dies and I need a jump. The car runs fine and the battery holds a charge as long as I actively drive. When the car sits for a day or two the battery dies. When I try to start it sometimes I hear the ignition click. Sometimes its just all the way dead. There is an aftermarket radio in the car that is wired wrong. What I mean is, if the car is completely turned off, key out of the ignition, the radio is still operational. So I make sure I turn of  the radio and remove the face. other than this everything else seems fine. I would like to know some ways I can check to see why the battery is draining. Some ways to see if its the altinator or a bad battery, or grounding issues etc... Thank you

Answer
Hi William,
When the car is turned off there is just one fuse that supplies power to the power door lock/remote entry, courtesy lights, and some computer memories (powertrain), and the radio pre-set memory. The way to assess the problem is to measure how much current is being drawn thru the 'ignition off draw' fuse by using a volt-ohm-milliamp meter. Put its probe across the two pins of the socket after removing the fuse and set the meter on mA. It should read under 100 mA. Even then, if you let the car sit for several weeks that normal draw will drain the battery, so pull that fuse when you are not going to be driving it. The fuse is #19 in the fuse box behind the dash (remove the end cap after opening the driver side door to access that box and remove the fuse).
If the reading is more than 100 mA with all the doors closed then you should look around for a hidden light that might not be shutting off (glove box, trunk, under the hood). Then try disconnecting the radio to see how much it is drawing.
Let me know what you find and we can pursue this further by disconnecting some of the computers with a memory to see if one of those is malfunctioning. If the alternator were bad the warning light on the dash would show that. If the battery is reaching the end of its warranty then that would be something to consider as the cause of the problem. Few batteries last very long beyond the warranty. There could be a short to ground but that usually will drain the battery rapidly.
Roland
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