Battery drains every night after only 12 hours

Asked by Gman1957 Jan 10, 2018 at 10:15 AM about the 2001 Chrysler Sebring LX Convertible FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Its not the battery or alternator on
my 2001 Chrysler Sebring
convertible that cause my battery
to need a jump every morning. But
after 12 hours off it won't start. It
always starts after my 9-10 hour
shift. I read the post from mrmar
about removing the IOD fuse but
his was 2008 and his box under
the hood looks nothing like mine. I
actually remove each large fuse
and relay to see if any of them
pulled made my turn signal go off,  
no luck, so I disconnected my
negative lead to the battery under
the hood and it worked. Using a
ratchet wrench it worked. I only
had to remove the top screw, push
the negative rubber insulated wire
to a safe place and simply screw
it on in the morning. NO MORE
MORNING JUMP STARTS. Any
mechanics out there have any
concerns about this?

3 Answers

30

I would start checking to see if you have a dome light on in low position and turn everything off when you shut the car off. how old is the battery? check all belts for tightness.

2 people found this helpful.
103,205

Removing battery connection could cause problems with computer modules. Better to find what is causing the parasitic drain on the battery than to keep disconnecting it. Do a web search or youtube search on "parasitic drain" for solutions or try this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic-Battery-Drain . FYI, if you do attempt to track down your parasitic drain with a meter, be aware that constantly opening and closing the door can keep a computer module in an active state resulting in a higher draw on the battery, let the door remain closed for 10 minutes for it to go back to a passive state OR tape the door ajar switch closed or remove the fuse governing power to the doors.

3 people found this helpful.

Thank u both. Should a 2001 Chrysler Sebring convertible have a dome light? I sure don't see one? However there is a switch that I taped in the off position. Battery new April 2017 I had it charged and tested and was told by 2 seperate garages ADVANCE AUTO PARTS where it was purchased. The car sat for awhile with the previous owner. I bought it October 2017. In fact when we met the seller in a Publix parking lot. We had to jump the car. We were told the car needed front and rear struts. The mechanic we took it to a friend of my son told me he could fix them. He said one the front struts cover was missing and it was probably tampered with to reduce the noise. All 4 strut mounts which he said were aluminum were also shot. The Parasite Battery test is out of repair skills. What would a mechanic charge for this test? We were also told the electric top control didnt work and we had put it down manually. Fuse 40 bigger green one was missing so we bought one and the top went down. This isn't what started my battery drain problem as it was happening before we put the fuse in. Hope some of this additional rambling may help someone to help figure this out with out using an ampmeter. Thanks to all in advance. Gman 1957

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