Parasitic Battery Draw
06-25-2017, 07:58 PM
#46
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Year: 2001
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 Litre I6
Yep, I'm a controls and automation guy. I see poor connections, that's the first thing I think. I've seen it too many times in the field.
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BlueRidgeMark (04-19-2020)
06-25-2017, 10:11 PM
#47
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Year: 1998 Classic (I'll get it running soon....) and 02 Grand
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Engine: 4.0
Agreed. I really wouldn't spend much time chasing a ghost parasitic draw with an obvious connection problem like that slapping me inf the face. It just usually saves time to deal with obvious problems first, and then chase the gremlins.
[quote=Moral()rc;3401302]Cannot confirm that my place isn't haunted.
I warned you about those Menehune, didn't I?
Please tell me you didn't get those stinking clamp on things they sell in grocery stores.
What you really need to do is get the and have some http://www.bestboatwire.com/4-awg-custom-battery-cables. Good stuff and not expensive. Get them with the clear heat shrink and you can always keep an eye on the state of your connections.
[quote=Moral()rc;3401302]Cannot confirm that my place isn't haunted.
I warned you about those Menehune, didn't I?
Please tell me you didn't get those stinking clamp on things they sell in grocery stores.
What you really need to do is get the and have some http://www.bestboatwire.com/4-awg-custom-battery-cables. Good stuff and not expensive. Get them with the clear heat shrink and you can always keep an eye on the state of your connections.
06-26-2017, 08:55 AM
#48
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Year: 2000
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 6 cylinder
Worked a few years for a major petroleum pipeline company on SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems.
If people only knew what kind of pressures and flow rates are in some of those underground pipelines on or near their property and then have a central computer control the whole pipeline including remote PLCs, mega HP booster pumps, interface sphere launchers, valves, loggers, etc. ... they'd
06-26-2017, 09:19 AM
#49
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Yeah, me too or did a couple decades ago!
Worked a few years for a major petroleum pipeline company on SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems.
If people only knew what kind of pressures and flow rates are in some of those underground pipelines on or near their property and then have a central computer control the whole pipeline including remote PLCs, mega HP booster pumps, interface sphere launchers, valves, loggers, etc. ... they'd
Worked a few years for a major petroleum pipeline company on SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems.
If people only knew what kind of pressures and flow rates are in some of those underground pipelines on or near their property and then have a central computer control the whole pipeline including remote PLCs, mega HP booster pumps, interface sphere launchers, valves, loggers, etc. ... they'd
06-27-2017, 01:07 PM
#50
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I got some clamps from an AZ in town though I might take those back and order the ones that you linked.
Regardless I have a bit of an update here.
Removed radio fuse and dome light bulb on Friday after work. Let the Jeep sit all weekend while testing it once in the morning and once in the evening. Started just fine every time. Sunday morning I put the radio fuse back in to see what would come of it. Still starting just fine as of this morning.
I'm gonna keep it in and let it sit a couple of days without starting to see what happens while I can take a different car to work.
Right now it's looking like the dome light was the issue. Cannot rule out ghosts as of now for sure, but the dome light seems way more likely as I tend to surround my Jeep with a circle of salt each night and we all know how well that stops ghosts, thank you Supernatural.
All joking aside. I'll try to come back and give another update towards the end of the week but I'd like to say right now I really appreciate all the help that everyone has given. I'm still planning on changing out the clamps for something a bit nicer/cleaner but for now, I've at least got it driveable without having to disconnect battery terminals at every stop.
04-19-2020, 08:25 PM
#53
I know this is an old thread but if there's anybody out there who struggled with the parasitic draw as I did, I would like to help.
My 89 XJ randomly started to die after being parked overnight.
I did a parasitic draw test by pulling fuses (you can find a bunch of youtube videos on this part).
Turns out it was the dome light fuse.
The problem now is that this fuse is connected to practically EVERYTHING.
After almost tearing my whole jeep apart searching for the little bugger, it turns out it was the GLOVE BOX LIGHT. When the lid is shut, it should turn the light off, however, a screw came loose and the button that disconnects the light couldn't be pressed in enough and therefore the light was constantly on. All I had to do was screw in the screw that had fallen out and viola! the light shuts off now, and no more parasitic draw.
If this isn't your issue, the dome light fuse (on the older XJ's) is connected to the dome lights (courtesy lights), radio, glove box light, another light under the hood, lights under the dash by your feet on the driver and passenger side, and probably more that I cannot remember. I'd check out those lights to make sure they are not constantly on, and then you can also disconnect the radio to see if that was the issue (sometimes the radio can get shorted out inside and you'll need a new stereo/radio or try pull apart the radio and find the short... although that's probably more work than it's worth).
If you STILL cannot find the issue, you can check out the door jam switches to make sure they are working properly. You may run into a situation where your dome lights are off because they burnt out and not because they are actually disconnected when the door is shut. Also, don't go buying a new door jam switch because they are very easy to pull out, sand off, make sure the spring inside is still "springy" and working properly (i.e. it connects when the door is open AND disconnects when the door is shut (the latter could be your issue if there is parasitic draw). Once you pull it out I'm sure you can figure out how the little mechanism works, it is very simple. If you want an explanation, here it is: There are two wires connected on either side of a piston. When the door is shut, the piston is pushed in and the two wires are no longer connected to each other and the current is stopped, shutting off the power to the dome lights. When the door opens, the spring pushes the little piston out and touches both wires which then gives power to the dome lights and they turn on. If, for whatever reason, your door switch does not properly disconnect the connection between those two wires, then this might cause parasitic draw, and you might not find it if your dome lights are burned out.
If after all that, you are still struggling to find the culprit, you can try checking the headlight switch. This seems to be a common troublemaker on the XJ.
Unfortunately if you still cannot find the issue, there are probably some evil spirits haunting your jeep and you'll need to call a priest over to fix the issue.
My 89 XJ randomly started to die after being parked overnight.
I did a parasitic draw test by pulling fuses (you can find a bunch of youtube videos on this part).
Turns out it was the dome light fuse.
The problem now is that this fuse is connected to practically EVERYTHING.
After almost tearing my whole jeep apart searching for the little bugger, it turns out it was the GLOVE BOX LIGHT. When the lid is shut, it should turn the light off, however, a screw came loose and the button that disconnects the light couldn't be pressed in enough and therefore the light was constantly on. All I had to do was screw in the screw that had fallen out and viola! the light shuts off now, and no more parasitic draw.
If this isn't your issue, the dome light fuse (on the older XJ's) is connected to the dome lights (courtesy lights), radio, glove box light, another light under the hood, lights under the dash by your feet on the driver and passenger side, and probably more that I cannot remember. I'd check out those lights to make sure they are not constantly on, and then you can also disconnect the radio to see if that was the issue (sometimes the radio can get shorted out inside and you'll need a new stereo/radio or try pull apart the radio and find the short... although that's probably more work than it's worth).
If you STILL cannot find the issue, you can check out the door jam switches to make sure they are working properly. You may run into a situation where your dome lights are off because they burnt out and not because they are actually disconnected when the door is shut. Also, don't go buying a new door jam switch because they are very easy to pull out, sand off, make sure the spring inside is still "springy" and working properly (i.e. it connects when the door is open AND disconnects when the door is shut (the latter could be your issue if there is parasitic draw). Once you pull it out I'm sure you can figure out how the little mechanism works, it is very simple. If you want an explanation, here it is: There are two wires connected on either side of a piston. When the door is shut, the piston is pushed in and the two wires are no longer connected to each other and the current is stopped, shutting off the power to the dome lights. When the door opens, the spring pushes the little piston out and touches both wires which then gives power to the dome lights and they turn on. If, for whatever reason, your door switch does not properly disconnect the connection between those two wires, then this might cause parasitic draw, and you might not find it if your dome lights are burned out.
If after all that, you are still struggling to find the culprit, you can try checking the headlight switch. This seems to be a common troublemaker on the XJ.
Unfortunately if you still cannot find the issue, there are probably some evil spirits haunting your jeep and you'll need to call a priest over to fix the issue.
The following 2 users liked this post by Texas Hank Palmer:
BlueRidgeMark (04-19-2020),
Syncubus (09-18-2020)
03-05-2022, 06:26 PM
#54
Newbie
I know this is an old thread but if there's anybody out there who struggled with the parasitic draw as I did, I would like to help.
My 89 XJ randomly started to die after being parked overnight.
I did a parasitic draw test by pulling fuses (you can find a bunch of youtube videos on this part).
Turns out it was the dome light fuse.
The problem now is that this fuse is connected to practically EVERYTHING.
After almost tearing my whole jeep apart searching for the little bugger, it turns out it was the GLOVE BOX LIGHT. When the lid is shut, it should turn the light off, however, a screw came loose and the button that disconnects the light couldn't be pressed in enough and therefore the light was constantly on. All I had to do was screw in the screw that had fallen out and viola! the light shuts off now, and no more parasitic draw.
If this isn't your issue, the dome light fuse (on the older XJ's) is connected to the dome lights (courtesy lights), radio, glove box light, another light under the hood, lights under the dash by your feet on the driver and passenger side, and probably more that I cannot remember. I'd check out those lights to make sure they are not constantly on, and then you can also disconnect the radio to see if that was the issue (sometimes the radio can get shorted out inside and you'll need a new stereo/radio or try pull apart the radio and find the short... although that's probably more work than it's worth).
If you STILL cannot find the issue, you can check out the door jam switches to make sure they are working properly. You may run into a situation where your dome lights are off because they burnt out and not because they are actually disconnected when the door is shut. Also, don't go buying a new door jam switch because they are very easy to pull out, sand off, make sure the spring inside is still "springy" and working properly (i.e. it connects when the door is open AND disconnects when the door is shut (the latter could be your issue if there is parasitic draw). Once you pull it out I'm sure you can figure out how the little mechanism works, it is very simple. If you want an explanation, here it is: There are two wires connected on either side of a piston. When the door is shut, the piston is pushed in and the two wires are no longer connected to each other and the current is stopped, shutting off the power to the dome lights. When the door opens, the spring pushes the little piston out and touches both wires which then gives power to the dome lights and they turn on. If, for whatever reason, your door switch does not properly disconnect the connection between those two wires, then this might cause parasitic draw, and you might not find it if your dome lights are burned out.
If after all that, you are still struggling to find the culprit, you can try checking the headlight switch. This seems to be a common troublemaker on the XJ.
Unfortunately if you still cannot find the issue, there are probably some evil spirits haunting your jeep and you'll need to call a priest over to fix the issue.
My 89 XJ randomly started to die after being parked overnight.
I did a parasitic draw test by pulling fuses (you can find a bunch of youtube videos on this part).
Turns out it was the dome light fuse.
The problem now is that this fuse is connected to practically EVERYTHING.
After almost tearing my whole jeep apart searching for the little bugger, it turns out it was the GLOVE BOX LIGHT. When the lid is shut, it should turn the light off, however, a screw came loose and the button that disconnects the light couldn't be pressed in enough and therefore the light was constantly on. All I had to do was screw in the screw that had fallen out and viola! the light shuts off now, and no more parasitic draw.
If this isn't your issue, the dome light fuse (on the older XJ's) is connected to the dome lights (courtesy lights), radio, glove box light, another light under the hood, lights under the dash by your feet on the driver and passenger side, and probably more that I cannot remember. I'd check out those lights to make sure they are not constantly on, and then you can also disconnect the radio to see if that was the issue (sometimes the radio can get shorted out inside and you'll need a new stereo/radio or try pull apart the radio and find the short... although that's probably more work than it's worth).
If you STILL cannot find the issue, you can check out the door jam switches to make sure they are working properly. You may run into a situation where your dome lights are off because they burnt out and not because they are actually disconnected when the door is shut. Also, don't go buying a new door jam switch because they are very easy to pull out, sand off, make sure the spring inside is still "springy" and working properly (i.e. it connects when the door is open AND disconnects when the door is shut (the latter could be your issue if there is parasitic draw). Once you pull it out I'm sure you can figure out how the little mechanism works, it is very simple. If you want an explanation, here it is: There are two wires connected on either side of a piston. When the door is shut, the piston is pushed in and the two wires are no longer connected to each other and the current is stopped, shutting off the power to the dome lights. When the door opens, the spring pushes the little piston out and touches both wires which then gives power to the dome lights and they turn on. If, for whatever reason, your door switch does not properly disconnect the connection between those two wires, then this might cause parasitic draw, and you might not find it if your dome lights are burned out.
If after all that, you are still struggling to find the culprit, you can try checking the headlight switch. This seems to be a common troublemaker on the XJ.
Unfortunately if you still cannot find the issue, there are probably some evil spirits haunting your jeep and you'll need to call a priest over to fix the issue.
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