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Battery Drain

Tom R.

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Utah
It seems this electrical problem won't go away. :bawl: When my XJ sits overnight the battery drains. I went through this for months, taking it to several shops, etc. Thought I had it fixed.

I know it's not an inside lamp, engine bay light, etc that's left on. Keep in mind this is an intermittent problem. An alternator specialty shop checked out my alternator and said it's fine. They said the factory alarm had more draw than they thought was normal, so they disconnected the alarm system. I swapped the Shut Down & AC relays around in case the relay contacts were sticking.

My 4-year old Optima red top battery had gone through so many drains and jump starts that I figured it was dead. I replaced the battery with a new red top about 1.5 months ago. Everything was fine until last night when I went to move my Jeep into the driveway and the battery was totally dead.

What I'm looking at now are 1) a chaffed hot wire grounding out somewhere, 2) voltage regulator problem, 3) bad alternator, and 4) a whacked out power antenna, though the antenna started acting up after the problem began. It sometimes doesn't power up when I turn the radio on; likewise, it doesn't always power down when I shut off the radio.

Before I throw money at this, I plan to check the power antenna and computer for bad wiring. If that checks out, then I'm leaning toward replacing the alternator. I just spoke to a buddy who had an alternator act similar to my problem. The computer is very costly to replace, so that's last. Anyone have other ideas or similar experiences that might point me to something else? Thanks,

Tom
 
disco the positive red cable and get a good quality volt meter. Set it to amps and connect it between the battery and the cable. It will tell you how much draw you have. Then follow the cable over to the starter relay and remove the fusable wire links one at a time to see where the power is going.
 
Did you ever get a chance to connect a current meter in series with the battery as was suggested back in Dec to try to isolate what circuit might be causing you the problem?
 
Yes, the alternator shop checked the various circuits using whatever method they use. I didn't ask how they did it, but I left the XJ with them for four days so they could test it each day since the problem is intermittent.

As for me, I checked it by connecting a test light between the negative cable and neg post on the battery. If there's a draw on the battery it will illuminate the test light, even if a little. The radio circuit barely illuminated the light, which I verified by pulling the CB. But I figured this was to be expected since it needs a small amount of power for the memory. At that time no other circuits were drawing power. I have more testing to do. Thanks for the replies.
 
Tom R. said:
Yes, the alternator shop checked the various circuits using whatever method they use. I didn't ask how they did it, but I left the XJ with them for four days so they could test it each day since the problem is intermittent.

As for me, I checked it by connecting a test light between the negative cable and neg post on the battery. If there's a draw on the battery it will illuminate the test light, even if a little. The radio circuit barely illuminated the light, which I verified by pulling the CB. But I figured this was to be expected since it needs a small amount of power for the memory. At that time no other circuits were drawing power. I have more testing to do. Thanks for the replies.
Tom, you are on the right track..... intermittent issues are the hardest to TS. Alternator? Perhaps. Bad wiring somewhere.... possible.

I would do the light test as you described.... undo the radio and CB though, just to rule out false positives. While one person is manning the light..... another person goes and starts wiggling every wire in site. Start near the ign. switch, and work around under the dash... move to the interior firewall connector.... then to the UnderHood connector..... and wiggle everything in sight.

If the jeep is cool, feel for heat in the relays etc..... Consuming a RedTop overnight will make things warm.... just gotta be there at the right time.

Of course, it may be as simple as a stuck relay somewhere. Happy Hunting
Glenn
 
Tom R. said:
Before I throw money at this, I plan to check the power antenna and computer for bad wiring. If that checks out, then I'm leaning toward replacing the alternator.

I always suspect power antennae. Not that I've ever known them to
cause a problem... but they are a power-operated device, that operates
"without my control", with the ignition shut off.

If the antenna binds on it's way down... is it designed to shut off after
a period of time, even though it never fully retracted? Even if so, could
this shutoff device FAIL?

A buddy of mine had an old Oldsmobile that liked to eat batteries, until
someone correctly realized that the load-leveling suspension pump was
supposed to SHUT OFF after a while, even if the load wasn't leveled.
His didn't.

Den
 
If it is the power antenna and you get it fixed, that's good but if not, you could try a battery shutoff switch. Just mount that on the dash somewhere and you can just cut the power so it never drains. JC Whitney sells them, I believe, mainly to protect against thieves but in your case if all else fails its a quick fix, at least until you can find the root of the problem.
 
Yes, I considered a battery shutoff. But the power antenna was the cause of the problem, so I should be good to go. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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