Take the battery cable off your alternator. You could have a diode gone bad and it’s turning the field winding into a load.
Electrical issues
- Thread starter johndl58
- Start date
Take the battery cable off your alternator. You could have a diode gone bad and it’s turning the field winding into a load.
With the ignition connector disconnected, I can put the ignition fuse in and have .97a draw. Any of the others cause the draw to go to 3.7a.
WestCoastDan
TJ Addict
Sounds as though you are exhausting the root causes one at a time.
At this point, I suspect there is either damage to a wiring harness that you cannot easily see, or a PO may have wired in aftermarket accessories (radio, amp, lights, etc.) without knowing where or how to tie them into existing circuits correctly.
I've seen some really jacked up wiring in my day.
At this point, I suspect there is either damage to a wiring harness that you cannot easily see, or a PO may have wired in aftermarket accessories (radio, amp, lights, etc.) without knowing where or how to tie them into existing circuits correctly.
I've seen some really jacked up wiring in my day.
Yeah. Exhausting is definitely the correct word to use. I'm new to jeeps but not so new to cars, and I'm an electrician by trade. So this hurts extra haha. Everything in the car seems very stock. Original head unit. No evidence of any alarm system either. I just find it weird that something could just be shorted and not pop a fuse.
Any signs of a security system being installed? I might start with disconnecting all aftermarket electrical stuff.
Take out the radio fuse, can you still power on the radio with the key off?
I'm at work the next 3 days. I'll try that next. The mfsw didn't come till late so I didn't get to swap it out.
At one point I pulled everything and slowly started putting them back in. I even went so far as pulling all 3 computer plugs to see if that made a difference. Next chance I get I'm gonna do a full pull and see what happens.
Easy enough to test. Put your finger on the ASD relay. You'll feel it click when the jeep turns on. If you just turn the key on you'll feel it click, and then click off again 2 seconds later. If you start the jeep, the ASD will stay on; it's essentially what allows several other important circuits to run. Fuel pump is the easiest one to check, but O2 sensors are another. Then when you turn the jeep off, the ASD relay will click back off.
So the test would be to put your finger on the ASD while it's running, and feel for it to click back off. And/or remove the relay and then see if you still have the same current draw.
I will definitely check this. Probably not till Friday as I'm at work until late Thurs. Thanks for the info.
I would be checking everything that is ground activated since a ground wire can short to the chassis and not blow a fuse. All the HVAC controls are ground activated as well. None of it should be energized normally without the key on but something gone wrong like a stuck relay could do it.
That's not going to work for me. I'm going to need closure before then.
WestCoastDan
TJ Addict
Look for an unused amplifier connection that may be hidden under the dash, behind the glovebox, under a seat, in a sun visor... 
Did the PO have aftermarket audio installed that may have been poorly/incompletely removed before you bought it?
Did the PO have aftermarket audio installed that may have been poorly/incompletely removed before you bought it?
Tell me about it. I just wanna be done with this nonsense. And I just was told I have to work ot on Friday now.
Here we are. New mfsw installed. Still no blinkers or hazards. All fuses and relays installed, one blown/shorted rear wiper fuse. Radio and front wipers work with key off. Wtf.
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