[MOTORHEAD8835]

Hey guys , I'm still battling the wierd radio situation.. but now I have a NEW problem. The truck is sucking the battery dry while it sits , I just replaced it with a new one & thought it was all cool. I went to the garage last night & it was completely drained. Could all of this be caused by this radio? I noticed this the other day while I was fooling around... when the light switch was turned to the parking lamps position all the gauges lit ( including the radio ) when I left the switch in that position & turned the key to the ACC position the radio lights would go out within 5 seconds. Somewhere along that circuit that the radio is on is either a short or a bad ground... & so far I have found niether, or the radio is just trash and needs smashed with a sledge..:rawr: ! I have removed / checked / cleaned every ground point I could see under the hood , I also did one under the dash below the steering wheel. This really sucks , I WAS going to take the truck to Summit Racing this weekend for the Mopar show.. looks like I won't be going in the truck. I need to hear from anyone who has had ground problems & where they were so I can track this down!! Thanks guys! :wavey:

 

[seethrough]

Had a similar issue in one of my work trucks. I was able to measure the current draw on the battery with and without the radio plugged in to identify a bad radio. If you don't have the tools to do this you can unplug the radio for a day and see if the battery drains again.

 

[Troy's QC SRT]

yea try what seethrough recommended.....on top of that just make sure none of your lights are staying on.....glovebox light, under hood light..... stuff that you normally can't see

 

[MOTORHEAD8835]

Thanks guys , I'll try that ( Good idea! )

 

[michoan1011]

If its an aftermarket radio it was tapped from the wrong place. They mustve used an always "hot" lead. Or as seethrough said unplug it for a day or two and use a volt meter on your battery to check its power level

 

[MOTORHEAD8835]

It's the stock RB4 unit with the Nav , I just finished pulling it out again & unhooking everything. We'll see in a few days what happens. I'm pretty certain it's the radio shorting out. Since I'll most likely be getting a new unit... What models are popular that fit & work with all the stock stuff? I'm leaning towards one with a flip up screen.

 

[SpudRacer]

Funny thing, at my last car show 3 weeks ago, I had the eyebrow LEDS on the Ram during the show, and she was dead as a doornail by the end of the show, needed to jump her to get home. Had all the doors open, but the dome light was off...

I leave the truck on a trickle charger 24/7 while in the garage. I was thinking maybe this winter I'll buy a FLIR camera and check under the hood and interior on a cold day to see if anything lights up (ie drawing current), but holy cheesecake are they expensive!

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=infrared+camera&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1016&bih=563&wrapid=tlif130901364840710&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1663956314913824351&sa=X&ei=g_YFTufrBYO2tgfA773lDQ&ved=0CHgQ8wIwBA#

 

[MOTORHEAD8835]

Funny thing, at my last car show 3 weeks ago, I had the eyebrow LEDS on the Ram during the show, and she was dead as a doornail by the end of the show, needed to jump her to get home. Had all the doors open, but the dome light was off...

I leave the truck on a trickle charger 24/7 while in the garage. I was thinking maybe this winter I'll buy a FLIR camera and check under the hood and interior on a cold day to see if anything lights up (ie drawing current), but holy cheesecake are they expensive!

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=infrared+camera&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1016&bih=563&wrapid=tlif130901364840710&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1663956314913824351&sa=X&ei=g_YFTufrBYO2tgfA773lDQ&ved=0CHgQ8wIwBA#

Well , I have'nt had any trouble since I disconnected the radio , I've checked the battery twice with a multimeter & it remains happy. I did make it to the show yesterday afterall & the truck got tons of compliments & attention from anyone who walked by. Turns out I was the only SRT10 at the show! Along with 1 other 97 Viper , their were so many new Chargers & Challengers that It was pathetic. I think my distraction with answering peoples questions when the judges came around hurt my standing since I did'nt get to talk to them , but I did win a door prize... lol

 

[Major]

Hey, did you fix this problem? and how?

I have 05 srt10 QC and the battery is dying overnight. i Know its the radio and the wiring but if you've found the fix it would be a huge help.
thanks

Major

 

[2Evil4U]

I've got a 1997 F150 that had a similar problem. I could never find the source of the current drain so I just kept it on a trickle charger. Then the original alternator finally failed at 220,000 miles. I replaced that and the drain stopped. Truck can sit for weeks now with no problems. I think a diode in the alternator regulator had failed and was allowing current to go where it shouldn't have.