No power to accessories, lights - wont start
Asked by ces13 Mar 24, 2011 at 10:03 AM about the 2000 Chrysler Sebring JXi Convertible FWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Dead, no lights or acc (like battery was disconnected) Monday AM. Took a jump start. Replaced the battery Monday evening, Drove it Monday evening. Drove fine all day Tuesday. Completely Dead Wednesday AM, Jumped (immediately started), Tested battery & alternator - checked ok . Removed Trunk light bulb, too. Parked it for the night, completely dead Thursday AM. Any Ideas of what could be causing a dischargeing issue? Alarm System maybe? Fuses/Relays, etc????
3 Answers
You have a parasitic draw on your electrical system. The only way to effectively narrow it down would be to get a multimeter and monitor the amperage draw on the system and systematically removing the fuses/relays in the main fuse/junction block under the hood until the draw goes below 30 milliamps which is within the allowable spec for that vehilce. Dependant on your amount of draw it can also point you in the right direction. If there is approximately 250 mA then it most likely a light shorted on. Be forewarned that if you dont properly hook up the meter to the vehicle in the correct way, the likelihood of frying your meter is high.
We actually did this last evening - we found that the 40 amp fuse (located under the hood) for the radiator fan was what was drawing the power - when we pulled it, the draw went down considerably.. We left it out for the night, and sure enough - the car started (strong) this morning. I had noticed that when you run the car, almost immediately the fan would come on for about 10 seconds, then shut off, and come back on (even when the car is cold) Any ideas?? We tried to see if it was one of the 2 relays located in the box next to the fuse box, but that made no difference on the power draw. Thanks
Each time my car seemed completely dead, I found my trunk was not shut completely and the light was on all night. I was told that these cars will shut down like that to preserve electronics from losing information.