Re: [Chrysler300] non-300 electrical

["obiwan10" <obiwan10@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I too have had batteries that would discharge.  I found that if were to
disconnect the ground cable and place a test lite(for higher voltage drains)
or a meter for all others and find if there is a drain.  If there is none
you should get no lite or meter signal when everything on the auto(doors
closed, radio off, alarm off etc) is inactive.  If there is a measurement,
and you can see no obvious cause then you must then begin removing fuses one
by one and any other possible circuit draining components(circuit
breakers??) until there is not measurement of signal.

I once had a BMW M645 that I brought in from Germany and within a few weeks
the battery was totally gone.  I replaced the battery, sold the car.  I then
bought another(this was 1985, you got 4 marks to a dollar, the gray market
was in high clover) and this car also lost its battery.

I went thru the above troubleshooting and this is what I found.  I found a
discharge, I could not find the source.  I removed every fuse and  doing
this I found that removing the fuse that controlled the trunk lite(among
other things) resolved the drain.  I could not though figure why the trunk
lite was remaining on and as I fussed with it, I discovered the following.

If you were to disconnect the trunk mounted battery(as was done when cars
were loaded to ships for transport) and subsequently reconnected the
battery, for some reason this would cause the trunk lite not to go off when
the trunk deck was closed.  I found that if I were to manually hold the
trunk lite switch in its off position and then connect the battery all would
be well.  Turns out that many folks had this same problem and I was told by
a local BMW repair facility that I had solved a long running mystery.

I suspect that this car was unique and had this chain of circumstances
because of the design of its internal computer for controlling the alarm
system and dash mounted trip computer.

My old Corvette will lose its battery in a few weeks because of the
tick/tock clock that is battery wound from time to time.  The winder will
sometimes hang-up and leave a continuous drain on the battery(in small
milliamps but enough to do the battery in) as the battery is trying to force
the winder from its "stuck" position.  I also found this drain using the
above procedure.  I always disconnect the battery on both cars when parked.
NEVER disconnect using positive cable(on negative ground cars).  This could
generate a spark that could kiss your car and you goodbye.  Most of you
probably know this, but at car shows, I still see those who disconnect their
positive cables(doors, trunks open, etc).

I was also wondering about the self arming alarms someone reported.  Is it
possible that something in your neighborhood(garage door opener, microwave
tower, neighbors car alarm) is arming yours.

Roger Schaaf
300 B Calif
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <john_nowosacki@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <my300g@xxxxxxxxx>; <crossram@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>;
<300country@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <dhovey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>;
<Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <remerritt@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 6:56 AM
Subject: RE: [Chrysler300] non-300 electrical



I once had a 1994 Dodge Intrepid ES, and my next door neighbor currently has
a Sebring convertible.  Both of these cars have/had (I got rid of the
Intrepid) electrical gremlins such as yours.  It seems like the cars must be
used every day to keep these electrical gremlins away.  Both the Intrepid
and Sebring are 'low use' vehicles, and even with new batteries, weird
things happen on the way to a dead battery if they're left unused for more
than a few days.  I'm beginning to wonder if this is true of all 1990's
Chrysler products?  As the voltage drops, the on-board computer starts to do
flaky things.
I used to leave the Intrepid unlocked in the driveway, and after a few days
the car would lock its doors and pop open its trunk lid all by itself.  My
neighbors Sebring will also lock its own doors and arm its alarm system- it
did this about a week ago while we were standing about 10 feet away talking
in the driveway.  There is something to be said for older, simpler,
technology.
John

-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Finger [mailto:my300g@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 9:18 AM
To: admin admin; ad administrator; Dane Hovey; main listserver; Bob
Merritt
Subject: [Chrysler300] non-300 electrical


Need some guidence. In addition to my 300G I have a 1990 Chrysler LeBarron.
My problem is a very slow electrical discharge that left alone will kill my
battery in short order. I can't get a mechanic to touch electrical without
wanting to replace everything imaginable. The only thing that keeps the car
alive is my battery tender.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Gary Finger



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