Forever,... If I've let my 1998 24 valve sit for 3 or 4 days,..it usually doesn't have enough juice to start.. But since it's my everyday truck,..I've never really cared.. But now I am on a job where I need to take my old 4x4..sometimes 3 or 4 days in a row. And you know what that means... I now want to figure out my parasitic battery drain. Anybody have any ideas other than putting an ampmeter on the mains and removing the fuses/relays one by one until I find it????? This truck has been that way since day 1,... So,..I guess I should have sooner or later cared... I don't like having to deal with this in the winter..but I don't see this particular job (where my 4x4 is required) ending any time soon.

 

That is the only way I know how to do it. In the mean time check to make sure there are no lights on. Glove box, ash tray, cargo, drink holder, map, etc. How are your batteries? Test them, do not assume they are good.

 

Unplug the under hood light and just plug it in if needed. Also there is a fuse called the IOD ignition off draw, it's encased in a yellow cover and in the fuse panel inside the truck. It's what the dealers pull when the truck is sitting on their lot. If the IOD fuse doesn't fix it you know it's something that is not usually powered when the ignition is off.

 

What does IOD stand for?

 

Ignition off draw

 

OK, Sorry so long to re-post on this..But..I think it is important,..and I don't believe I had read anywhere (on any forum) of this particular possibility.

I believe my battery drain was the alternator. About 2 weeks ago my alternator went out without a warning,. So I installed a new one. It seems the problem has solved itself..as well as another problem not related to drain.

(a leaky diode in a rectifier in the alternator would cause this,...but it NEVER crossed my mind that this could be a possibility.)
The voltage put out by the old alternator was slightly above 14 up until the minute it died,....the new one is also at the same voltage. Why was I thinking that they would always have a spare diode downstream somewhere just to protect the computer??? I guess I was wrong.

One more problem that was solved instantly by changing the alternator was the APPS "hunting" problem. Now, looking back,.. my apps needed to be reset very VERY often after I installed the last alternator a couple years ago. The problem went away with the new alternator and has not came back. So.....I have a nice DODGE oem apps that I took out a couple months ago and replaced it with the one from genos? I think. (Of course it didn't make any difference,..and I couldn't see how the apps that I had replaced would be causing the problem..but,..was worth a try.

Anyway, if anybody has the "hunting" problem and can't figure out what it is....you might add an alternator to the possible list of culprits (or a leaky diode in an alternator's rectifier circuit).,
Ok.