| From | Message |
ST
Dodge Dakota
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1/24/2006
20:16:43
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 Subject: Battery drain
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Message:
I have a newer battery (i yr old) and I have a slow drain somewhere. I was waondering if it were possible to drain a battery if wet mud was packed around the starter? I drive my Dak in the mud everyday to get to work.
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Bob Lincoln
Dodge Dakota
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1/25/2006
08:20:04
| RE: Battery drain
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Message:
The '92 Dak, and probably that whole generation, have a tachometer drive board that draws 105 mA by design. Usually this will take several days or a week to notice, though.
Use a multimeter and pull fuses one at a time to find out which circuit is drawing too much current.
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OBIO3
Dodge Dakota
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1/25/2006
18:33:12
| RE: Battery drain
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Message:
Just to add a bit > anytime you have a coating of water, mud or in reality any coating of forein material going between a hot wire and ground will carry a currant and drain your battery > This is the reason it is important to keep the top of your battery clean > If infact you do have hot wires covered in mud , it's going to carry some currant to ground (miner short as a rule )
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ST
Dodge Dakota
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1/25/2006
21:05:00
| RE: Battery drain
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Message:
Bob Lincoln - I'm not sure what you mean by 105 mA. Are you saying that a battery can drain in the GenII just by sitting there?
OB103 - I just cleaned my battery connection yesterday - it seemed to help but something is still not right. The battery still seems weak after it sits 12 hours at work in the cold. Its always been a bit muddy but lately its been soupy.
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OBIO3
Dodge Dakota
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1/25/2006
21:12:23
| RE: Battery drain
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Message:
Have you had the battery checked > New or old you may very well have a shorted cell in it > Thinking that would be your next best check before getting your fingers dirty digging for problems that may not be there
So many problems > So little time
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ST
Dodge Dakota
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1/25/2006
21:54:04
| RE: Battery drain
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Message:
I am going to start taking a voltage reading before I start the truck. How do you check for a bad cell? My truck also went dead twice - dome light and instrument lights worked until I went to start it - then click - nothin but a very faint glow of my dash light. No headlights - no dome light - after a couple of tries at trying to start it finally started like the battery woke up.
The truck is a 93 318 2WD auto.
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OBIO3
Dodge Dakota
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1/26/2006
00:23:06
| RE: Battery drain
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Message:
that sounds like dirty posts on your battery > Remove the cables and clean the cable ends on the inside plus the battery posts > When clean they will be shinney > You need to go to a parts house to check the cells unless you have a load tester and even that is not the proper way to check but all new batteries these days do not have exposed cell connections
So many problems > So little time
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Bob Lincoln
Dodge Dakota
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1/26/2006
08:27:13
| RE: Battery drain
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Message:
"Bob Lincoln - I'm not sure what you mean by 105 mA. Are you saying that a battery can drain in the GenII just by sitting there? " Yes. These trucks have a small circuit board that plugs into the instrument panel circuit board, which drives the tachometer, if so equipped. My brother bought my '92 new, and had several dead batteries that the dealers could never explain. When I bought the truck 2 years ago, I tracked it down to the tachometer drive board, and analyzed the circuit design (I'm an electrical engineer). It is powered off both the battery and the ignition circuit, and when the engine is off, it's drawing over 105 milliamps of current by poor design, not due to a fault. There should be no reason to run it off battery power, and indeed, I pull the fuse when not in use. It's fuse #6, a 10 amp horn/tach fuse. But your problem sounds like it's more serious, and draws more current. Unless your battery is marginal to begin with, the tachometer drain will take 1-2 weeks of non-use to be noticeable when cranking.
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modain
GenIII
 
1/26/2006
11:26:25
|  RE: Battery drain
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Message:
I just replaced the battery in my Durango this past Monday night. Strange thing was after opening the door there was *no* electricity whatsoever. It acted like there wasn't even a battery in the truck.
I took it out, took it home and checked it with my multimeter - is showed 12.85V (no load). I took it to Manny, Moe, and Jack's place and they tested it, showing 12.55V and OK. I took it to Sam's club (where I bought it 15 months ago) and the guy tested it - "hey, you have a bad battery".
Long story shortened: what appeared to be a good battery was the problem. Make sure your battery is good.
What's your left foot doing?
=========================================
2002 Graphite QC SLT Plus, 4.7L, NV3500, Superchips 3715, 3.92 LSD, loads o'fun...
2001 Patriot Blue Durango SLT, 4.7L, 45RFE, Superchips 3715, 3.55 Open (for now)
1999 Forest Green Dakota RC Sport, 2.5L, NV1500, 3.55 Open
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