Battery dead a lot- radio drawing 60ma

My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
fine.

The battery drain is around 90ma. When I start pulling fuses, I find
the radio fuse is 60ma of the draw. The remaining 30 is probably
computers, alarm, etc.

This is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

My questions a

1) How long would a 90ma draw run down a good, fully charged battery
2) Is a 60ma draw from the radio (it is a stock radio) out of line?
3) I couldn't find the fuse for the alarm (aftermarket) w/o ripping
things apart. Is that normally installed with an inline fuse or is it
fused off one of the standard fuses?
4) What else would be wired to the Radio fuse other than the stock
radio?

Thanks

Mike C > wrote:
>My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
>more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
>fine.

How were these tests done? Was the battery done with a full load test?

>1) How long would a 90ma draw run down a good, fully charged battery

A few months.

>2) Is a 60ma draw from the radio (it is a stock radio) out of line?

It seems a little higher than I'd like, but not out of line.

>3) I couldn't find the fuse for the alarm (aftermarket) w/o ripping
>things apart. Is that normally installed with an inline fuse or is it
>fused off one of the standard fuses?

Depends how cheesy the installer was.

>4) What else would be wired to the Radio fuse other than the stock
>radio?

Any external amplifier or CD player harness. Even if you don't have
the CD player, the harness is probably still wired up. The motor for
the retracting antenna, if you have one.

I would be really suspicious of your battery.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Mike C wrote:
>
> My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
> more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
> fine.
>
> The battery drain is around 90ma. When I start pulling fuses, I find
> the radio fuse is 60ma of the draw. The remaining 30 is probably
> computers, alarm, etc.
>
> This is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
>
> My questions a
>
> 1) How long would a 90ma draw run down a good, fully charged battery
> 2) Is a 60ma draw from the radio (it is a stock radio) out of line?
> 3) I couldn't find the fuse for the alarm (aftermarket) w/o ripping
> things apart. Is that normally installed with an inline fuse or is it
> fused off one of the standard fuses?
> 4) What else would be wired to the Radio fuse other than the stock
> radio?
>
> Thanks

I hope I remember this correctly:
In the ideal world, a one a/h battery can supply one amp for one hour.
So, your 60 a/h car battery THEORETICALLY could supply 90ma for 666 hours,
or about 27 days. However, chemicals wear out, temperatures change, so
in real life I'd be happy with 2/3 that or 18 days.

On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 01:27:50 GMT, "« Paul »" <" « Paul
> wrote:

>Mike C wrote:
>>
>> My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
>> more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
>> fine.
>>
>> The battery drain is around 90ma. When I start pulling fuses, I find
>> the radio fuse is 60ma of the draw. The remaining 30 is probably
>> computers, alarm, etc.
>>
>> This is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
>>
>> My questions a
>>
>> 1) How long would a 90ma draw run down a good, fully charged battery
>> 2) Is a 60ma draw from the radio (it is a stock radio) out of line?
>> 3) I couldn't find the fuse for the alarm (aftermarket) w/o ripping
>> things apart. Is that normally installed with an inline fuse or is it
>> fused off one of the standard fuses?
>> 4) What else would be wired to the Radio fuse other than the stock
>> radio?
>>
>> Thanks
>
>I hope I remember this correctly:
>In the ideal world, a one a/h battery can supply one amp for one hour.
>So, your 60 a/h car battery THEORETICALLY could supply 90ma for 666 hours,
>or about 27 days. However, chemicals wear out, temperatures change, so
>in real life I'd be happy with 2/3 that or 18 days.

My parasitic drain with engine off is 11 milliamperes ( after the GEM
module turns off, of course ).

I think 90ma is way way too high. I would toss the radio, or put a
power switch in line with it to cut B+ until I want to listen to it.

Lg

Lawrence Glickman wrote:
>
> On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 01:27:50 GMT, "« Paul »" <" « Paul
> > wrote:
>
> >Mike C wrote:
> >>
> >> My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
> >> more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
> >> fine.
> >>
> >> The battery drain is around 90ma. When I start pulling fuses, I find
> >> the radio fuse is 60ma of the draw. The remaining 30 is probably
> >> computers, alarm, etc.
> >>
> >> This is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
> >>
> >> My questions a
> >>
> >> 1) How long would a 90ma draw run down a good, fully charged battery
> >> 2) Is a 60ma draw from the radio (it is a stock radio) out of line?
> >> 3) I couldn't find the fuse for the alarm (aftermarket) w/o ripping
> >> things apart. Is that normally installed with an inline fuse or is it
> >> fused off one of the standard fuses?
> >> 4) What else would be wired to the Radio fuse other than the stock
> >> radio?
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >
> >I hope I remember this correctly:
> >In the ideal world, a one a/h battery can supply one amp for one hour.
> >So, your 60 a/h car battery THEORETICALLY could supply 90ma for 666 hours,
> >or about 27 days. However, chemicals wear out, temperatures change, so
> >in real life I'd be happy with 2/3 that or 18 days.
>
> My parasitic drain with engine off is 11 milliamperes ( after the GEM
> module turns off, of course ).
>
> I think 90ma is way way too high. I would toss the radio, or put a
> power switch in line with it to cut B+ until I want to listen to it.
>
> Lg

90 ma is pretty high. Almost a tenth of an amp.
I'll have to measure my car this weekend.

"« Paul »" <"=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul
> wrote in message

90 ma is pretty high. Almost a tenth of an amp.
I'll have to measure my car this weekend.

It is a bit higher than one would want, but not so high as to say it is
completely out of range either.

The current draw (90 ma less 30 ma residual= 60 ma) is equivalent to a lamp
bulb of less than one watt .
So while it would perhaps leave you with a flat battery after a couple of
weeks (or a month as someone
estimated), it isnt really a red flag item.

Hope you get to the bottom of it

Mike C wrote:
> My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
> more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
> fine.
>
> The battery drain is around 90ma. When I start pulling fuses, I find
> the radio fuse is 60ma of the draw. The remaining 30 is probably
> computers, alarm, etc.
>
> This is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
>
> My questions a
>
> 1) How long would a 90ma draw run down a good, fully charged battery
> 2) Is a 60ma draw from the radio (it is a stock radio) out of line?
> 3) I couldn't find the fuse for the alarm (aftermarket) w/o ripping
> things apart. Is that normally installed with an inline fuse or is it
> fused off one of the standard fuses?
> 4) What else would be wired to the Radio fuse other than the stock
> radio?
>
> Thanks

I see you're still working on this problem. There are two fuses to the
radio. Did you find a 60 mA drop when you pulled the #5 25amp fuse or
the #30 15amp fuse?

The #5 fuse also feeds the trans control module (TCM) and the TCM power
relay in the PDC *if* you have the V8 option. This fuse is always hot.
Replace the fuse(s). Pull the TCM connector and the TCM relay
alternately. See if they are the cause.

The #30 fuse is only hot in run and accessory positions, so if it is
causing your problem with the key off I would suggest there is a
shorted contact in the ignition switch or related wiring. It appears
to only feed the radio.

Toyota MDT in MO

Mike C wrote:
> My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
> more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
> fine.

In an earlier posting, you wrote that it's a 2001 vehicle. If that's
the original battery, it could simply be that it's dying from age. The
life of a car battery can be as short as four years.

According to what type of test is the five-year-old battery "fine"?

Kaz Kylheku wrote:
> Mike C wrote:
> > My battery has been dead quiet a bit in the last 2 months. I did some
> > more testing over the weekend. The alternator and battery test as
> > fine.
>
> In an earlier posting, you wrote that it's a 2001 vehicle. If that's
> the original battery, it could simply be that it's dying from age. The
> life of a car battery can be as short as four years.
>
> According to what type of test is the five-year-old battery "fine"?

The battery is less than 1 year old. I had this problem about 8 months
ago. I replaced the battery and it was fine for a while. Now it seems
like it is back.

I actually am suspicious of my alternator. Even though it checks as
fine, I wonder if there is an intermittant problem with it. Last night
(this only happened once before) I was driving. I had to jump the car
to get it going. Even after driving around for a while, the car would
die if I completely stopped. If I was going 1 mile an hour, it was
fine. This indicates to me that it is the alternator as even if the
battery were not fully charged, why would the car die when stopped?

Mike C wrote:

> I actually am suspicious of my alternator. Even though it checks as
> fine, I wonder if there is an intermittant problem with it. Last night
> (this only happened once before) I was driving. I had to jump the car
> to get it going. Even after driving around for a while, the car would
> die if I completely stopped. If I was going 1 mile an hour, it was
> fine. This indicates to me that it is the alternator as even if the
> battery were not fully charged, why would the car die when stopped?

Obviously you need to check charging voltage at idle to go further with
this theory. I would further rule out B+ or ground side voltage drop
with your DVOM. I would also look at the charging Current rate as
close to the battery as possible using a low amp probe. If charging
current is near zero or negative and your wiring is intact then you
have an alternator or PCM regulating issue. If charging current is
high like 10 amps or more then you most likely have a problem internal
to the battery, though it could still be a regulation problem with the
PCM. It should be noted that this test is only valid with a fully
charged (or attempted charged) battery, otherwise the PCM *will* charge
the battery at a high current rate until it determines the battery is
charged.

This isn't a blue label Delco replacement battery by chance?

Toyota MDT in MO

P.S you should still do the checks I outlined in my last post.