QuestionHi Roland,
Ok, I didn’t have the option to return an answer by ‘rating the expert’ this time, so I had to wait for a green light to ask another question. I am Kathi, with the “99 Sebring battery drain problem”? I went and bought a meter, but I guess I need more detailed instructions how to use it – I can’t get it to tell me anything. I will try to learn that somewhere else on the internet… Where should I have the dial set? I am just getting –1. Anyway, in the absence of good information, I have this to offer: J
I went back to the engine compartment fuse box and kept a closer watch on the intensity of the light this time, because of what you said about there being some low current draw items that could still be lighting it somewhat, regardless of what I did. Before, I was only unhooking the right side of the 60A Fuse (+B) link – that is what was making the light go from bright to out. (Right to me is facing the engine compartment/the outside of the car/driver’s side; there is an 8mm bolt on this side of the link) There seem to be two fat white wires on this side, from what I can see, it’s hard to see under there. If I unhook the left side (Passenger/engine compartment side – 10mm bolt) with the right side still attached, the light goes from bright to dim; once I pull the 30A fusible link for the Engine, THEN the light goes out completely. (That’s the only fusible link that has an effect on it.) This side looks like it has one fat white and one skinny red wire going to it, but like I said, it’s hard to see under there. If both sides of the 60A fusible link are hooked up, pulling the 30A Engine fusible link does nothing. The light remains bright. Hopefully this tells us something! I will look up how to use my meter while waiting for your response, in case this isn’t enough though.
One more thing: you said that fuse 8 in the engine compartment was the radiator fans? Maybe there is a difference between the years after all, because my #8 in the engine compartment is a 15A horn fuse; the radiator fans are #4 and 30A. (I am getting the #’s from my owner’s manual; they aren’t numbered under there. There’s just a diagram on the cover telling what everything is.) Hopefully we are making some progress? Thanks again so much for all of your help!
Kathi
AnswerHi Kathy,
Yes we have progress. But it may not satisfy you. If the lowest ohm reading you got was 410, then there is no basis under that condition for there to be an excessive draw on the battery such as to discharge it in a few days. I say this because the current draw is only about 0.03 amperes when that is the case*. In a day the total charge draw would be less than 1 ampere-hour. The storage charge on most batteries in the range of 100 ampere-hours so it would be several months for your battery to discharge with that low of a current draw. It is probably the current needed to maintain the memory of the several on-board computers.
So either there is an intermittent draw that doesn't appear now, or the battery is weak. You might, if the meter that you bought has a capability of measuring current (amps), put the meter into the circuit as you did the glow light (its two probes spanning between the battery + and the disconnected battery + cable clamp) to verify that my calculated current draw is what it calculates to be, and also leave it "on" that way for a few hours to watch for any sudden change in the current draw.
Also you might check around car that there is not a door that is too loosely latched so that the interior lights come on unexpectedly, or similarly the trunk light or the glove box light.
That is my thinking at this point. It is good that you have a meter so we get some numbers.
Roland
*ohms law is current=Volts/resistance=12/410=.03 amperes
Hi Kathy,
Yes they seem to have renumbered the fuses or the fusible links or both. In any case you have about 8 fusible links, and about 11 dedicated fuses in the engine compartment power distribution center, correct? And there are about 17 fuses under the dash. I would suggest that you use your meter in the resistance mode which should say ohms of the greek symbol omega. There needs to be a battery in the meter to power it for that sort of reading. If it is digital there may be 3 or 4 scales with max readings of 20 ohm, 200 ohms, 2,000 ohms and maybe 20,000 of more ohms max. If the resistance is greater than the max scale reading it will sometimes blank out, or just read the max number or do something else strange. Then you shift up to the next range. Using the ohm function you bypass the battery. Just hook the + lead of the meter to the disconnected + battery clamp and the - lead to - battery clamp (still connected) or to a shiney metal surface that is part of the body. Then with all the fuses and fusible links installed find out the resistance that you are reading in ohms. Then if you want to go thru the exercise, try removing one at a time each of the dedicated fuses in the power distribution center and see if so-doing causes the resistance to rise to a significantly higher ohm reading. Also try removing the fusible links one at a time from the circuit (if you have to unbolt both bolts to physically remove them, do so, if one bolt's removal will effectively make a disconnect then just to that). Do this of course with the ignition off and all the doors closed and all the light switches turned off so the the vehicle is like it would be when you had it shut down. If there is an automatic underhood light available remove the bulb from the socket. Let me know the results. Because the fuse numbers may be different, tell me any remarkable fuses/fusible links (that when pulled increase the ohm reading alot) by amp and by descriptive purpose and of course say if it is a fusible link or a fuse. Don't worry about the under dash fuses yet.
Roland
