wblonewolf

Stock 2008 Jeep JK

Ok, so I've had an issue with my battery going dead after three days of not driving.

I finally pulled out my multimeter after having the battery checked (which tested good) and found that when set to the amp gauge, I recorded the following draw on the battery...25.8 - 28.3 (I'm assuming this is milliamps?). I'm also assuming that's way to much draw on the battery when the key is not on and everything is turned off.

So, I started pulling fuses to see if it dropped. When I got to the 30 amp fuse for the Amp, it dropped to 8.5 - 10.1. I'm thinking the radio is the culprit.

Question is, what is an acceptable draw on a stock jk and why would the radio be drawing that much juice when it's not even running? I pulled the radio out and have no idea where it's grounded but all the wiring appeared good. I also checked all the grounding points under the hood that I could find. All seemed tight and not corroded.

I will say that my old radio went out and the dealer installed a new one but everything is still stock. No amps, stock speakers, stock radio, etc.

Any idea on where I should go with it at this point? Naturally the warranty is no longer in effect. lol

garrettjason

Not sure what a good draw is. But same thing happened to my 2012 jku. Dealer replaced the radio and no problems since.

14Sport

Did you wait at least 10 minutes after shutting the Jeep down before testing the draw? From what I've read, it takes at least that long for all the parasitic draws to shut down that are going to shut down.

wblonewolf

Ya, I think this started after they installed the new one.

I'm pretty sure my clock spring is going out too (horn going off for no reason, airbag light and chime keeps going on and off), so I'm not sure if that could be the cause of the draw as well or if it is something in the stereo.

Starting to drive me nuts. lol

wblonewolf

Ya, last time it was run was about 4 hours prior to me testing it. Of course now my battery is dead again. haha

14Sport

Gotcha. You said you pulled the fuse for the amp and then later said you don't have an amp. Is that the same fuse for the stereo and it's just marked amp, or is there a separate fuse? If they're separate, I would just leave the amp fuse out.

wblonewolf

Correct, or that's what I'm assuming. I pull the fuse and my radio doesn't work. lol

Talked to a mechanic and he stated that he'd like to see no more than 2 milliamps for the battery draw. Seems I probably have more than one thing drawing power when it shouldn't.

14Sport

2 milliamps sounds low to me, but I don't know for sure. If it started with the new stereo then I would suspect the new stereo. If you can stand it, unplug the new stereo and see if that corrects the problem. If so, they should replace the new stereo as it could be an internal short (cold solder) and not necessarily their work.

Teardrop

Hi did you find anything ??