I am still dealing with this issue. Almost 2 years now. If I pull the IOD fuse when parked for more than one day, the batteries are fine, but if the fuse is in place then they are going dead. I can't afford to take apart everything, my truck is a daily driver and a dealer ask to much for troubleshooting. Did you have this problem? What was your resolve? Where you able to pinpoint the culprit and how did you fix it? Thank you all.

 

I suggest to get a clamp amp meter - I had a drain on a 69 mustang that drove me nuts. Battery cables would spark when connecting which tells you a significant drain. You can quickly find the wire that is draining by using a $100 amp clamp meter without cutting wires.

 

I would think it would be more expensive than that to buy an amp clamp capable of reading on a scale that small with accuracy. I know Snap On has a "low amp clamp" that's capable of reading down into milliamps, but it's several hundred dollars. I agree it would be great for this though.

On today's modern vehicles, I wouldn't read too much into seeing a spark when hooking up the cables. There are lots of modules coming to life and charging capacitors right then, and a draw of over one whole amp is completely normal for several minutes after hooking up the battery.

Like suggested above, you need to measure the draw to know what you are dealing with. I myself would use an inline ammeter placed in series with the battery's negative terminal and the negative battery cable. Before you do this, you need to bypass the door ajar switches, because you will be doing this procedure with the doors open, but the truck needs to think they are closed. Make sure your key is right out of the ignition from this point forward.

At this point, you can disconnect your battery cable and install your ammeter between the terminal and clamp. Also, take a small jumper wire and install it in parallel with the ammeter. (this is to maintain the connection during the power-down period, in case the meter times out.)

Now that the meter's installed, everything in the truck is off, the front doors are open but the truck thinks they are closed, walk away and come back in an hour after all the modules have gone to sleep. Your meter probably went to sleep by now, so turn it back on to amps and remove your jumper. Whatever the meter reads is your draw, Chrysler's maximum spec is 30 milliamps (.030 amps). If your reading is higher than that, you need to start removing fuses, one at a time, until the bulk of the draw disappears. When you remove a fuse, do not reinstall it, just put it aside and go to the next one. Putting one back can wake up a module and you would have to start the waiting period over.


Once you remove a fuse and the bulk of the draw disappears, then you need to find a list of everything on that circuit, and start unplugging components after you've re-created the draw.

In your case, you indicate the IOD fuse seems to control the draw, so I would start there of course. Verify with the above procedure that the draw drops below 30 mA when you remove it, now re-create the draw and consult the fuse chart, and a wiring diagram to see what all this circuit does. (and I know this circuit does lots. At this point you need to start disconnecting components and watching the meter. Consult your wiring diagram, see if it's possible to disconnect complete branches, rather than components, to help send you in the right direction.

Sorry this got so long, it was just supposed to be a couple of pointers but I've done this for lots of years and kinda have a system developed. Hope it helps.

 

Thank you guys. I'll get to work as soon as I get some good weather around here and I will post my findings so every one else with this problem can learn what to do. Much appreciated.

 

Finally I found the culprit! Took me a while but it's the inside rear view mirror. I have replaced the factory rear view mirror with an auto dimming, fancy mirror that I took from a Nissan Versa a couple of years back. I installed it right, or so I thought. Anyways, I have disconnected it from the overhead and voila, my truck starts after sitting for a week with no problems. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Nice find! Thanks for posting back with the answer.

 

Thanks you Torquefan, now I'm facing a P1755 code. I already posted hoping to get a solution. Do you have any ideas?

 

From the service manual. If you want more info I can send you the entire troubleshooting section for that code.


The transmission throttle valve cable has been replace by the transmission throttle valve actuator (TTVA). The TTVA
consists of an electric DC motor, two potentiometers, and a gear drive system. The TTVA is mechanically connected
to the transmission throttle valve in the valve body by the “D” shaped opening in the bottom of the TTVA shaft.
The Transmission Throttle Valve Actuator (TTVA) does not require any mechanical adjustments. All changes in throttle
valve position are controlled by the Engine Control Module (ECM).
The TTVA does require an initialization period after the actuator has been removed or replaced. After the actuator
has been removed or replaced, move the ignition to the ON position for thirty (30) seconds. This will allow the ECM
sufficient time to perform the internal calibration procedures to learn the TTVA’s current “zero” position.
² When Monitored:
Continuously with the ignition on.
² Set Condition:
The current detected on the TTVA circuit is greater than a threshold for a calibrated amount of time or the
feedback to the controller does not match the intended state.
Possible Causes
(F856) 5 VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT OPEN
(K314) TTVA MOTOR (+) CIRCUIT OPEN
(K315) TTVA MOTOR (-) CIRCUIT OPEN
(K314) TTVA MOTOR (+) CIRCUIT SHORT TO GROUND
(K315) TTVA MOTOR (-) CIRCUIT SHORT TO GROUND
(K314) TTVA MOTOR (+) CIRCUIT SHORT TO VOLTAGE
(K315) TTVA MOTOR (-) CIRCUIT SHORT TO VOLTAGE
(K314) TTVA MOTOR (+) CIRCUIT SHORT TO ANOTHER CIRCUIT
(K315) TTVA MOTOR (-) CIRCUIT SHORT TO ANOTHER CIRCUIT
INTERNAL TRANSMISSION
TRANSMISSION THROTTLE VALVE ACTUATOR
ENGINE CONTROL MODULE
Always perform the Pre-Diagnostic Troubleshooting procedure before proceeding. (Refer to 21 - TRANSMIS

 

No ideas here, I'll wait and see what everyone else has to say about it.

 

this sounds good to me. I might have to do this

 

Got an amp clamp from home depot for $99 plus tax and with the tipm lifted up slightly, I was able to to locate the wire with the parasitic draw which directed me directly to the wire harness behind the stereo. I’m still not sure if it’s the harness or the stereo. The stereo still works. I’m thinking something maybe supplying a ground fault through the harness but if none of the fuses are blown including the one on the stereo itself, what method would one need to use exactly to track it down through that harness? Also my truck won’t start without the radio connected. Just got a used tipm in the mail today so I’m going to try that first

 

I could never find mine so i just installed a 2 amp onboard charger, fixed.

 

HA good find. I had a vampire issue, and it was driving me crazy,, turned out to be a stuck CD- one night, i could here the **** thing engaging disengaging,,, it wouldnt eject, just bumped it with my fist, the DC came out,, fixed.