On an 08 touring I'm getting 4 to 8 amps between the neg. cable and neg post on battery. Is this normal? When putting the post back on the horn beeped and wipers waved. I tested all fuses and relays with the tester as described with no luck. When testing each there was a discernible click at the fuse box. Any help appreciated.

 

What is your specific issue you are testing for? Newer vehicles tend to do strange things and make strange noises when the battery is connected and disconnected. If you are not having any issues, I'd say it's normal. However, you may cause problems by continually disconnecting and connecting the battery.

 

With a 3 month old battery the car won't start randomly. This was an attempt to see what was causing the non start not being an expert I was shocked by such a big draw. My Daughter's car and it was recalled for the ignition and or the shifter. Could these be causing the non start?

 

Was the recall work done

 

Are you letting the van sit 15-20 minutes before taking a meter reading? It takes time for all the capacitance to leave the system and the processors to "sleep".

You say it doesn't start? So you turn the key, the starter rotates the engine but ignition doesn't happen correct?

 

Probably going to have to pull 1 fuse at the time while watching draw.

 

Recall work was done. Didn't wait to check each fuse but did all and relays. Any ideas where to start with the big draw and horn and wipers engaging?

 

mpt. this has happened to me a few times. if you grab the positive and negative and it still not secure side to side motion. caint tighten it any more. what I did was take the terminals off and then theres a piece inbetween the screw. I cut them down to allow the clamps to tighten more. then put them back on vehicle. this has solved my issue.

 

You must take the time to pull fuses one at a time while looking at the draw. You probably will not find just one thing that's causing it, but rather several things that add up. There's nothing that is controlled by a relay when the engine is off.

The horn and wipers ARE controlled by relays, BUT the relays are controlled, too.


What was the recall for? Could be a HUGE clue to the cause of the problem.
BTW, I've found 7 recalls for the '08 caravan.

 

Clamps were tight so not an issue. The recall was the ignition or the shifter, I can't remember it's my daughters car. Was told to check between the cable and post but is it better to check between the fuse posts?