Any of you guys know how many amps a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee should be drawing with everything off? My wife's Jeep is running down the battery at night and when I hook up the trust Fluke it tells me that It is drawing about 3 amps!

 

Should be in the milliamp range, clock, radio memory, computer memory should be the only current draw with key off. Can be hard to find sometimes. Put your meter on it and start disconnecting stuff till you find the load draw . Could be anything ............

 

Since it is also made by mother Chrysler, check the seat belt module under the seat, can't remember it's real name.

It is the thing that locks the seat belts in case of a collision, or in most cases, bumpy roads.
I know it can be an engine off amp draw when it wears out.

In our trucks, it's under the center seat, not sure where it is in a Jeep, but I'd guess around the same area.


phox

 

The battery is an Optima red, about 8 months old.
I just got done pulling every fuse with no luck. If I pull the power bus to the fuse box the amp drain goes to zero, but with every fuse out and the bus connected it shows the 3.4 AMP drain it was. I'm scratching my head on this one.

I'll try pll the power to the module as soon as I can find it. Thanks for the tip!

 

Don't forget to check the light in the glove box .

My wife slammed the glove box closed on her truck with too much crud in it, broke a hinge just enough so the light switch would hold the lid up enough for the bulb to burn.

I checked everywhere on that truck before I finally figured that one out.

 

Thanks for the tip. I will check that too. I need all the help I can get.. I'm in dutch with the wife!

 

Yeah, and that brings to mind the under-hood engine light too! Pretty sure a nice late-model Jeep would have one. Good luck to you. :-)

 

Amazingly, no underhood light.

 

That IS amazing...I can hardly think of any upscale(and the Grand Cherokee should be considered upscale to me...) vehicle since about 1990 that DOESN'T have a underhood light...What's the world coming too??!! ;-) Well, sorry to hear that wasn't it, would have been an easy fix. Best of luck!

 

Bit of a long shot. but worth checking anyways..........disconnect the alternator positive..( make sure you don't catch the frame/engine with it)..then check with your meter...possibility the diode pack in alternator gone south...had that with a car a few years back....

 

Thanks, tried that.
Since it is my wife's rig, and the pressure has been "intense" I had to punch the eject button and took it to a local indy who assured me they could find the problem without making us eat beenie-weenies for 6 months....
I'll know tomorrow morning what they found, and I'll let you guys know.
Thanks for all the input!
Mark

 

Turns out it has something to do with the radio. My first guess is there is a problem with the switched lead that turns on the amp when the radio is powered on, but I need to throw the Fluke on it to find it. Apparently my wife cannot live without a radio!