96 Dodge Ram 2500 van battery drain

[cinemaphonic]

So I went to start the conversion van up today after a few days of not, and the new battery was totally dead. Just replaced it a week ago. After reading some dodge forums it seems that conversions can have parasitic electrical drainage due to added conversion components. Some also claim that it can be due to a faulty glove compartment light circuit or headlight switch circuit.

I checked all the switches and as far as I could tell I didn't leave anything on.

Anyone had a similar experience with this or have any input? I'm planning on taking it to the shop tomorrow, but just thought I'd see if anyone here has experienced anything like this. I couldn't believe it. Luckily I'm not living in it yet, but still...

Thanks guys.

 

[riffraff]

Mine is a 2000 but 2 days after I bought it the battery was dead. After getting a jump had the battery and alternator checked out without any issues. Something was left on, just not sure what. I noticed it's fairly easy for the key to be removed while there's still power to the radio, etc. (like if you turn it too far before removing it) I don't know if this was my problem or what but I did notice that sometimes the van would make that buzzing noise as if I had left my keys in the ignition when opening the driver's side door, and I think that's what was happening.

Not sure if that has anything to do with your problem or not, just thought I'd mention it.

 

[cinemaphonic]

Mine is a 2000 but 2 days after I bought it the battery was dead. After getting a jump had the battery and alternator checked out without any issues. Something was left on, just not sure what. I noticed it's fairly easy for the key to be removed while there's still power to the radio, etc. (like if you turn it too far before removing it) I don't know if this was my problem or what but I did notice that sometimes the van would make that buzzing noise as if I had left my keys in the ignition when opening the driver's side door, and I think that's what was happening.

Not sure if that has anything to do with your problem or not, just thought I'd mention it.

actually yea, mine makes the same buzzing sound. I just thought it was a quirk of the vehicle. So what ended up fixing the problem? I'll make sure to mention it to the shop tomorrow. thanks.

 

[riffraff]

I just don't turn the key as much when taking it out of the ignition. Since I've started doing that, it doesn't do the buzzing noise. (Before I figured it out it was driving me crazy how sometimes it buzzed and other times it didn't.)

 

[cinemaphonic]

I just don't turn the key as much when taking it out of the ignition. Since I've started doing that, it doesn't do the buzzing noise. (Before I figured it out it was driving me crazy how sometimes it buzzed and other times it didn't.)

yea, that's weird. so I'm assuming the battery stopped dying after that?

 

[riffraff]

I don't know if it was the cause of the battery dying or not. I never had a problem with the battery going out again once it was jumped the first time. I wasn't the one who drove it home and didn't try starting it for two days while it was in my driveway... so it could have been that or something else.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

If anyone is interested, here are simple instructions for tracking down parasitic drains - at least the first part of doing so.

You need a digital multimeter , one with a built in ammeter. You leave one wire in the plug marked as "common", and you take the other wire out of the plug marked as "volts/ohm" and plug it into the one marked "amps". Move the dial to amps.

Really good meters often have two different plugs and settings, one for up to 10 amps and a more sensitive one for much smaller current flow. Try the 10 amps first, and later, if the readings look safe, you can move to the other one if you need to.

With your battery charged and the key off, take the negative terminal off of the battery, hook one wire from the multimeter to the battery wire and the other one to the negative terminal of the battery.

The idea here is that any current that is flowing must now flow THROUGH the ammeter, letting the ammeter measure it.

If the ammeter reads zero, you don't have a parasitic drain. If you get any reading at all (and it may show a NEGATIVE quantity) that's your drain.

How do you find it? Start pulling fuses from your fuse box, one by one, and see if the drain remains. If the ammeter reading doesn't change, put the fuse back and try another one. Once you pull one that causes the ammeter to read zero, you've found the circuit that is causing the problem.

If the ammeter reading goes down when you pull a fuse, but not all the way to zero, then you have more than one parasitic drain, and you need to keep going till you find all of them.

Unfortunately, once you've located the CIRCUIT(S) that are causing the problem, FIXING it may be a little more complicated than simple directions on the internet can cover. But at least you know where to start.

Regards
John

 

[cinemaphonic]

If anyone is interested, here are simple instructions for tracking down parasitic drains - at least the first part of doing so.

You need a digital multimeter , one with a built in ammeter. You leave one wire in the plug marked as "common", and you take the other wire out of the plug marked as "volts/ohm" and plug it into the one marked "amps". Move the dial to amps.

Really good meters often have two different plugs and settings, one for up to 10 amps and a more sensitive one for much smaller current flow. Try the 10 amps first, and later, if the readings look safe, you can move to the other one if you need to.

With your battery charged and the key off, take the negative terminal off of the battery, hook one wire from the multimeter to the battery wire and the other one to the negative terminal of the battery.

The idea here is that any current that is flowing must now flow THROUGH the ammeter, letting the ammeter measure it.

If the ammeter reads zero, you don't have a parasitic drain. If you get any reading at all (and it may show a NEGATIVE quantity) that's your drain.

How do you find it? Start pulling fuses from your fuse box, one by one, and see if the drain remains. If the ammeter reading doesn't change, put the fuse back and try another one. Once you pull one that causes the ammeter to read zero, you've found the circuit that is causing the problem.

If the ammeter reading goes down when you pull a fuse, but not all the way to zero, then you have more than one parasitic drain, and you need to keep going till you find all of them.

Unfortunately, once you've located the CIRCUIT(S) that are causing the problem, FIXING it may be a little more complicated than simple directions on the internet can cover. But at least you know where to start.

Regards
John

Thanks John, this is really great advice. I know I really need to start learning how to do this stuff myself, but I have so much work this month, and with the cold coming in, I'm not sure I'll be able to get to it in time. Would it be safe to assume that the shop will run through this same procedure? Is it pretty standard procedure?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Thanks John, this is really great advice. I know I really need to start learning how to do this stuff myself, but I have so much work this month, and with the cold coming in, I'm not sure I'll be able to get to it in time. Would it be safe to assume that the shop will run through this same procedure? Is it pretty standard procedure?

This is pretty much the standard generic procedure. An experienced mechanic will have a pretty good idea which circuits are most likely to be the problem, and will start with those. Especially dealership mechanics who are used to working on that brand exclusively. There may be known issues and factory service bulletins that they are familiar with.

Regards
John

 

[highdesertranger]

you must keep in mind that when using that method on newer vehicles that there are a lot of drains that are normal, radio memory, computer memory, clocks, etc. on an older vehicle that works great on a newer vehicle not so much. recently while working on a 2013 vehicle I pulled all the fuses and the radio still had a parasitic draw. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

you must keep in mind that when using that method on newer vehicles that there are a lot of drains that are normal, radio memory, computer memory, clocks, etc. on an older vehicle that works great on a newer vehicle not so much. recently while working on a 2013 vehicle I pulled all the fuses and the radio still had a parasitic draw. highdesertranger

You're absolutely right. I'm not at all up on working on the newer stuff.

I learned to fix cars back when you still had to take em to a blacksmith to beat the parts into shape.

Regards
John

 

[cinemaphonic]

thanks guys. I hope I don't get some horrible news tomorrow.

 

[cinemaphonic]

Tried to jump the truck last night, wouldn't work. Got AAA to tow it to the shop. Shop says it needs a super tune-up before they can find out what the electrical problem is. The tune-up is $450, and on top of that the alternator might be screwed up. I have the worst luck with vehicles.

 

[LeeRevell]

I never understood why "tune ups" are so expensive these days. There isn't much they can actually do, with everything controlled by computer. I miss the days of doing a ten minute "Points, plugs & condenser tune-up" in K-mart's parking lot.
Modern plugs can go many tens of KMiles before needing changed, timing is controlled by the black box, no adjustment there.
I guess they need to pay off those expensive diagnostic analyzers.......
Fluids & filters aren't that expensive - maybe a C-note at Quickie-Tune.

 

[riffraff]

Yeah mine was $400 too. Felt like it was overpriced. But he's getting a "super" tune-up. Of course it's gonna be more =)

 

[highdesertranger]

cinemaphobic I can't see why you need a tune up to find out what's wrong with your charging system. if a shop told me that it would be a red flag.
there are several reasons why tune ups are so expensive nowadays. most new vehicles have very expensive parts. spark plugs can start pushing the 20 buck a pop range, distributor caps if the vehicle even has one can push 75 bucks and wires big bucks. some vehicles don't use caps and wires they use coil packs these start at around 50 bucks and the sky is the limit after that. factor in the shop rates, today 70/hr is cheap. even the parts for older vehicles has gone way up, unless you buy cheap junk. it is true that tune ups don't need to be done as frequently on newer vehicles but they still must be done. highdesertranger