[5th Gen : 08+]: Battery Drain
#1
06-09-2023, 10:45 PM
Join Date: Jun 2023
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Battery Drain
I have a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan. Before it completely stopped a year ago and I was unable to have the funds to work on it, it started acting a bit weird and one day the radio just stopped. Within 2 days of that, the battery died while just sitting there. Everyone stated that I must have a bad battery, so it just had to wait until I could work on it. Well recently, I have been trying to get this battery drain issue fixed. So, I started with a new battery. Dead in 2 days and it wasn't driven at all. I thought someone may have left a door open. I had the battery recharged. Van turns on. Radio still doesn't work. But I made sure everything was closed and no lights were left on, etc. In 2 days, it was dead again without being driven.
I watched some videos and replaced the TIPM, charged the battery - again. In 2 days dead again. Being that the radio still didn't work. I pulled the radio (original radio) to see if there was anything that looked like it could be an issue. Everything looked fine back there. Please note that the heat and air work fine. The only other thing I noticed that is not working now is the door locks (at least on the driver's side). Now I could never lock them with the key fob from day one (yes, there's a good battery in the key fob), but now you cannot lock the doors with the dock lock button inside. Oh, and when the battery is drained too low to start the van, my kep will not come out of the ignition.
Next, I followed another video where they said to purchase a relay switch and install it in the TIPM because apparently the fuel pump running constantly drains the battery. You guessed it. Installed it, recharged the battery, and it was dead in 2 days.
I'm looking at getting a multimeter. I can only afford one that goes to 10 amps, and try pulling each fuse to track it down. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm pretty handy with doing things myself. I normally do all my own maintenance on it - well basic stuff like oil changes and brake changes.
I watched some videos and replaced the TIPM, charged the battery - again. In 2 days dead again. Being that the radio still didn't work. I pulled the radio (original radio) to see if there was anything that looked like it could be an issue. Everything looked fine back there. Please note that the heat and air work fine. The only other thing I noticed that is not working now is the door locks (at least on the driver's side). Now I could never lock them with the key fob from day one (yes, there's a good battery in the key fob), but now you cannot lock the doors with the dock lock button inside. Oh, and when the battery is drained too low to start the van, my kep will not come out of the ignition.
Next, I followed another video where they said to purchase a relay switch and install it in the TIPM because apparently the fuel pump running constantly drains the battery. You guessed it. Installed it, recharged the battery, and it was dead in 2 days.
I'm looking at getting a multimeter. I can only afford one that goes to 10 amps, and try pulling each fuse to track it down. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm pretty handy with doing things myself. I normally do all my own maintenance on it - well basic stuff like oil changes and brake changes.
#2
06-11-2023, 10:08 PM
Any cheap digital multi meter will let you track this down by pulling the fuses. Run the engine for about 30 minutes to get the battery up to a full charge and then check the voltage with the DMM. Pull a fuse and leave it overnight. Check the voltage again in the morning. If there is a significant drop in voltage, replace the fuse and run the engine again to charge the battery. Repeat until you pull a fuse and the voltage stays up overnight.
To check the amps you need a clamp amp reader which can be expensive. With that tool you can read the amps flowing through the line when there should be nothing. That would let you do the check quickly but again, can cost quite a bit. There are some little circuits you can build yourself to test for dark flow. If I can find a link for one I will post it.
Electrical issues can be a wretched pain to track down. Just to note, draining your battery to nothing over and over will destroy it. If you know it's going dead you have to run the engine every day to recharge it or disconnect the battery when you are not using the van. It's always a good idea to do that anyway to confirm that the battery isn't draining on its own when not connected.
LMHmedchem
To check the amps you need a clamp amp reader which can be expensive. With that tool you can read the amps flowing through the line when there should be nothing. That would let you do the check quickly but again, can cost quite a bit. There are some little circuits you can build yourself to test for dark flow. If I can find a link for one I will post it.
Electrical issues can be a wretched pain to track down. Just to note, draining your battery to nothing over and over will destroy it. If you know it's going dead you have to run the engine every day to recharge it or disconnect the battery when you are not using the van. It's always a good idea to do that anyway to confirm that the battery isn't draining on its own when not connected.
LMHmedchem
