Hi,


I have a 2008 pt cruiser and the battery goes dead. There is always a 12 volt draw on the battery. I have pulled out fuses one by one, still has draw on battery. Removed battery cable to fuse box, still draw on battery. Removed starter motor battery side, battery draw gone but if you hook either one of them up, the draw comes back. I have the battery cable disconnected to starter and hooked up the fuse box cable to battery silinoid on starter clicks when turning key, which it should not. One tech says it may be the ignition switch which is short. Can anyone help me? The PT cruiser has needed a jump start already 3 times this week.

 

you use an amp meter to detect a draw not volts.

 

I have the same problem this thread is 4 years old though. Bet this guy junked his. Wish I could, Im to old. Anyhow it could be the alternator. There is a diode inside the alternator that goes bad and causes that. But now I have starter issues as well. So I have to fix the starter issue first.

 

look up the definition of a battery draw then ask yourself if an alternator has anything to do with it.

 

hmm, not here to debate. I found this info on You tube. Not just in one place either. You are the pro. I have a battery draw, maybe you would like to help me diagnose exactly where its coming from? I tested the fuses and these IOD fuses seem to be drawing more than is normal, yet they power several things, so it Could be a dozen different things. By the way the fuses are 6, 14, 17,20,21. The TIPM looks fine. The alternator has just gone bad AFTER I started having this 'parasitic draw.' I am hoping that after I replace the alternator the draw disappears on its own. Maybe, maybe not. Ill deal with that as I come to it. So...whatcha think? Thanks. Oh and My PT is an 08 non turbo. Just the wagon. 4 door. Peace.

 

IM not here to debate either. I want you to learn. Did you see what a battery drain is? once you see that then thinking an alternator is draining the battery is pretty silly..
IN your response im guess you did not figure out what a battery drain is.. OK science 101. To have a drain on a battery requires a load device to be on using currant. Aka bulbs, computers, modules anything that uses current can be a draw.. More science. AC currant is created by moving a magnetic strip through a wire coil in a car that's an alternator. 12 volts is supplied through a series of copper wiring to create an electromagnet field. As the engine is spinning the fields switch from + to - as the strips for lack of terminology is rotated inside the copper coils there for creating an AC currant, then a rectifier cuts away the - part of the wave leaving only the + part available in turn pushing amps and voltage through the system and charging up a battery when a battery is 12v and the alternator is doing 14.
Now that you have that info do you now think an alternator would be a source of a battery draw when the engine is not running ?

 

I know what a battery draw is. Its umm a draw on the battery? Which causes a fully charged battery to go dead after a period of time depending on the amount of the drain. Furthermore these drains which are called 'parasitic drain' or 'parasitic battery draw' as you like can be tracked down easily by anybody with a 5 dollar volt meter. But thanks for the rundown. Now we got that out of the way we have...No answer? From the GM Tech mod? hmm, makes ya wonder. As I said b4 the draw is coming from a couple fuses which power about 19 different things in the car. Any One of those 19 things could be the culprit, and if thats not enough it could be a bad TIPM or a bad alternator diode or a short someplace. So all we really need is a real car electronics expert at say 60 bucks an hour to diagnose the car, then another 60 bucks an hour plus parts to fix. Or take it to the dealer which couldnt help if he had the wizard of OZ as his backup. So what we are really saying is get yourself about 1200 bucks together and get er done. That about it? Seems kind of silly doesnt it?

 

dude here is a saying i use quite often and take this to heart.
"I can explain it to you but i can not understand it for you/"
No what I'm saying in your last line is learn first how to check something correctly. I will gladly teach the willing but if you dont want to learn how's its done then its a waste of my time and yours.

"Anyhow it could be the alternator. There is a diode inside the alternator that goes bad and causes that" no and alternaotr does not cause a battery draw read the post sent again and again AN ALTERNATOR WILL NOT CAUSE A BATTERY TO DRAIN THERE IS NOTHING THAT WILL DRAW THE BATTERY DOWN BUT A LOAD DEVICE AKA LIGHT BULB, COMPUTER, ECT.
Watch this so you know how to test for a battery draw. Im betting that once you do this correctly after all the computer have timed out after 10 min then your draw will present itself on the correct circuit.

Watch the video and then we can talk.

 

The red push tab on the wire connection for my 2005 pt cruiser is broken and won’t budge. Is there a way to repair or replace or do I have to take it into a shop? The red tab completely came off. Thanks!

 

the red tab is just a lock for the connector its will not be of any consequence