drawing voltage when ignition is off

Asked by mikefitz78 Jul 15, 2018 at 11:37 AM about the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Touring FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

my 20133 Chrysler is drawing voltage when the ignition is off. I checked across
all the fuses and found that several are drawing. I wanted to know which ones
should be and which ones shouldn't be?

4 Answers

42,930

Several fuses are live while key is off, like the horn, lights, power seats, etcetera. But that doesn't mean they are actively consuming power. If something is wrong, the battery would be going dead. Makes sense to be concerned but I think you are okay.

Well I wouldn’t necessarily be concerned but has killed the battery 3 times within the last month and I’ve had to come jump her. I did notice that the PCM is drawing voltage and it seems that it has been an issue with this vehicle in some reviews I’ve read.

42,930

Mikefitz78. Thank you for the email concerning your 2013 Chrysler. You had stated that your concern of "key off voltage flow" was based on the battery going dead three times recently. You are correct, that is not normal. The easiest component to test is the battery. Have it tested, especially if it is more than four years old. And yes, there is always a small standby load of the computer (ECM) but I don't know just how much is acceptable. I will look for technical info on these concerns and post them if I find anything relevant. Good luck with your testing.

42,930

Another idea. Sometimes an alternator's diode becomes "leaky" allowing battery power to drain back into the alternator's circuit while "key is off". Like a mild short circuit. Okay, test between the battery terminal and cable disconnected for how many amps or milliamps draw (drain) you have. Now disconnect the heavy red output cable on the alternator and keep it from shorting to ground. Now test again between the battery and cable to see if the drain decreased. A decrease in amps means alternator diode is leaky. Replace the alternator or have it tested first. All this is done with the motor off. Hope you find it.

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