QuestionI have had this problem looked at by both Ford (where we bought the car) and Chrysler Service Depts. This is my wife's car which doesn't get driven much. After 3-4 days of just sitting (in a heated garage) the battery will not turn the engine over. So far the alternator has been replaced. The power seat motor has been replaced. We are on our 6th brand new battery (a little over 30 months). Various electrical modules have been replaced. Obviously this has to be a drain of some type on the battery - while it is sitting. If the car is driven every day - there is no problem. Ever heard of this or have any ideas. Thanx in advance.
AnswerHi Lonnie,
On the battery draining, there is something that is draining the current even though you don't identify anything as being turned on. The best way to find what is to obtain a volt-ohm meter at an electronics store or an auto parts store. You should be able to get one for under $20. Then you disconnect the clamp from the "-" or "neg" post of the battery, then remove the "+" or "pos" clamp. Then put the two leads of the meter between the two clamps with the meter set to read ohms. It should read something less than infinite, but you would like it to read as close to infinite as possible which would mean there was no source of draining away the charge. The engine controller and the clock memory in the radio will always drain a little but not so much as to discharge the battery in a day or so.
The procedure to find out the drain source is to disconnect each of the fuses for all the circuits in the car, one at a time, and see if the meter reading moves toward infinity as the result. If there is no change, then replace the fuse and move to the next one in the fuse box and see if it causes an increased reading, etc. When you find one or more such fuses then you read the label on the fuse box for that fuse, put the fuse back so that the reading decreases and begin to unplug each of the items that are powered by that fuse and keep check until you find the item that causes the reading to go up again. That is the faulty component that is causing your problem.
You will want to do these tests with all the doors closed so that no lights are "on" and the car is sitting just as it is when you have it shut down. Be careful not to change anything about the car doors/lights while you are doing this testing or none of it will make any sense.
There will be two places to check the fuses: one is the power distribution center under the hood (a plastic box on the driver's side with a lid you open to find the fuses; usually it is oblong in shape) and the fuse box under the dash in the passenger compartment on the driver's side of the car. The ones under the hood are connected electrically to the ones under the dash, so in all likelihood once you find one in the oblong box you will also find one or more related to it under the dash. The label(s) on the one(s) under the dash are the relevant search clues.
This is something you can do yourself and save labor costs by so doing.
Whenever you reconnect the battery, always put the + post clamp back on first, then put on the - post clamp. The reverse is true when you disconnect the battery (as I described to you at the start).
Let me know what you observe with the meter. The reading in ohms on the scale should be at least 100 ohms, or the battery will indeed drain down over time. You want it to be as high a reading as practical to reduce the current flow thru the battery.
Roland
