acplunkett1392

I've been chasing a parasitic draw on my 90 xj Laredo. I've already done the testing where I pulled fuses one at a time while watching my meter in series with the battery. No change on any fuses.
Now I'm thinking the problem may be in this 2 inch silver junction box in the under hood fuse panel with a bunch of wires running to it. One of which is running straight to the positive side of the battery. When I disconnect this wire, no power rubs through anything. I'm lost here. No clue what this is or if it is the source of my drain.
Any suggestions before I just put in a kill switch?
Id rather fix it right. What is this junction box? Why did the PO wire it directly to the battery? Could be my drain?

moparado

The picture isn't clear, but it looks like a relay. Is it plugged into a fuse panel socket?
If so, what relay is it?
If not, is it a PO add-on relay for some accessory?
Again hard to tell from that pic.

Could be the PO jury rigged an existing relay or added a relay to do who knows what.
You might try disconnecting the power to it and see what does or doesn't happen.

acplunkett1392

When I pull the small gauge red wire off the battery it completely kills everything. No ignition, no accessories, no nothing.

djgrayxj

Note from DJ
I think you are talking about the Starting Relay

moparado

What year is the Jeep? Engine?
Is that silver thing a relay or junction box of some kind? Should be easy to tell.
Does it look added on by the PO?
Since its drawing current that suggests an energized relay coil even with ignition off.
Can you follow the wires coming off it and see where they go.

If its an older model like a Renix, i'm not familiar with those fuse panels or electrical systems.
Hopefully KenCC, Cruiser or someone else will spot this thread and chime in.

From the pic, it also looks like the red power wire coming off the battery is not fused.
Could be a potential fire hazard if so.
If the silver thing is an OEM relay plugged into the fuse panel, could be the ASD relay is tied into some kind of home brewed alarm system.

Does the Jeep have any kind of kill switch, after market or home brewed alarm? system?

acplunkett1392

That's what it is! Could this be my parasitic drain? Maybe it has a short in it? How do test it?

moparado

Thanks djgrayxj, that could be what the OP is talking about.

acplunkett1392

So we've identified that the drain is going through the starter relay. So in order to find out which thing plugged into the relay is sucking power through it, I need to know what is even plugged into it. What are all these wires plugged into it? Is there a diagram somewhere?

acplunkett1392

So I took off the wires one at a time that were on the starter relay. Hooked the meter in series with each one and found one set of wires, orange and green, that were drawing power. Just for giggles I hooked it all back up and no parasitic draw on the battery! Bad connection maybe? Maybe the Jeep went to sleep? Who knows? I guess I'll find out in the morning if it's still sucking juice. Thank you all for helping me at least identify what the starter relay was.

acplunkett1392

Good thing it's just my beater and not my daily! Had this thing for 10 years and I'm still trying to figure out what the last guy did to it.

djgrayxj

Note from DJ
What was the Amperage draw?

BlueRidgeMark

Sounds like a sticking contact in that relay. If so, it will stick again. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life." The cure for that is to replace it.


But that wiring from the battery is a hack job. I'd want to know why, and I'd be trying to find pictures or a diagram to tell me what the correct wiring is, and putting it back to that configuration.

nujeepguy

batt

freegdr

Kinda hard to read....

freegdr

This is better...http://jeep-manual.ru/index.php?page=196