The Junction Box replacement did not fix the issue. The car is still drawing 12 volts somewhere. It's not the Junction box, or anything after the box because we disconnected the power from the battery and the battery was still drawing 12 volts. its not the alternator, we disconnected the alt and the battery was still drawing 12 volts. The only thing to see is the starter. Anything else to check?
Thanks in advance.

PS my driver side seat adjustment is not working properly, works sometimes, then doesn't work. Related to battery drain?

 

We are not looking for volts we are looking for amps, most leakages will be 12 volts.
Pizzaguy was tongue in cheek when he suggested the little fuse box replacement. Any leakage downstream will be detectable at one of those three fuses or the alternator and it will be 12 volts.
pulling fuses is the best way to find the drain, these cars use some power to keep memories alive and that power will be 12 volts just a very low amperage.
Maybe your so-called drain is the normal amount.
Throwing parts at the car is the most expensive way to source a problem.iii

 

ugh my car just drained it's battery 3 days after I used it. I'm pissed.

 

Early in March around the 10rh my wife and I left Ft Lauderdale to go to my grandson's birthday party in Melbourne Fl. and then return home for a few days then , then for sprinf break we were going to North Georgia for 10 days,, well because of the coronavirus, we have been " stay at home in our condo in Indalantic fl. We will be here until this thing is over.
I guess my battery is not only dead but bad even though it is only 5 months old . we are not leaving here until this thing is over .I guess the same goes with the battery in our Fusion. I usually disconnect my batteries when we leave for over 5 days ,,i left both cars in the garage, we took our 2002 C320 wagon for the trip all is well hope it stays that way ., Every one stay safe and stay home. jim

 

I don't understand where my drain is coming from. It's dead again. I hate this car. Had so many battery problems and even changed one under warranty

 

There is ONE way to fix this, do this:

Remove key from ignition.
Pop the hood.
Verify all lights are off, any accessories plugged into the cigarette lighter are unplugged.
Close doors and trunk.
Raise hood.
Disconnect the battery ground cable and insert a digital multi meter in series with the battery post and ground cable, configure the meter for current measurement.
.... You should see current flow of at least a fraction of an amp up to 2 amps.
... If you see NO current, you have the meter configured wrong, or the internal meter fuse is blown.
... Once you get a current reading, WAIT THREE MINUTES.
(It takes time, upon power up, for all modules to hibernate, the reading you get is meaningless until all have hibernated - two minutes may be enough, but make it three minutes.)

After three minutes, teh current reading must be .055amp (55 milliamps) or less. Mine is 19mA or so (about .019 amp)

If you have a lot of current, start pulling fuses in the big box next to the battery. SOMETIMES, pulling a fuse will make hte current go UP - that is because you "wook up" a module somewhere, wait 3 minutes again.

Eventually, you will pull a fuse that makes the current go down. IF you can't find a fuse that does that, go to the little cigarette-box-sized box next to the battery, open it.
Inside are three bolt-in fuses. One 50amp fuse powers the engine fan. One 50amp fuse powers the brake controller. The 200 amp fuse powers the entire car.
Start pulling the 50's. If neither does it, pull the 200 amp. If that does is, we have work to do. If the 200amp does not do it, yank the big fat red cable from the back of the alternator. If THAT does it, have the alternator rebuilt.

THAT is how you diagnose this.

 

Yeah I have my multi-meter ready. I just need to go pick a battery to power it. Honestly my car was poorly rebuilt so there's bunch of wires that I suspect that are just hanging there from a previous stereo install.

 

I just did a test on my 2005 Convertible tonight. I saw a current reading of 22 milliamperes (ma). It jumped up a few milliamps every few seconds from a blinking LED on my radio. Otherwise, I saw 22 ma.

I had wanted to check the current reading for the doors locked and unlocked. But for some reason, the doors kept locking themselves. When I bought the car, it had a Clifford alarm and remote start system installed. I don't have any documentation on that. Who knows what they re-wired for that. I'm still trying to figure that out.

 

I have found my problem!!! Under the hood, Fuse 13 on the driver side panel. The anti-theft alarm/horn. Pulled that fuse and the parasitic drain is gone. The alarm horn is not working. I didn't even know it had it's own horn. Anyone has ever replaced theirs? Any recommendation for a replacement that will last?

 

Simple solution.
If you hate the car you should get rid of it and save yourself the agro.

 

Did you read my update? I was obviously angry because I need to go to work and I rely on it. No need to take everything so literally.

 

To answer your question, yes you can replace the alarm siren. Just do a search on this site.

 

Thanks Pizzaguy for the detailed alternator troubleshooting post...it should be a sticky somewhere in the list 180 has if it is not already.

 

Own a 2005 crossfire with 9,000 km. and having BATTERY issues.
Based on forum conversations tried the following to no avail.
Verified all lights are off, any accessories plugged into the cigarette lighter are unplugged.
Close doors and trunk and closed convertible top
Raise hood.
Disconnect the battery ground cable and insert a digital multi meter in series with the battery post and ground cable,
showing a 3.4 amp draw. also waited 3 minutes.
Checked all fuses in the vehicle, under hood and drivers side container.still draining.
Then checked 3 large fuses next to battery. 2 - 50 amp and 1 - 200amp. still draining!
Pulled the big fat red cable from the back of the alternator. still draining.

Any suggestions re my next move greatly appreciated prior to taking to a dealer?

 

Did checking all fuses mean you pulled a fuse and watched if the amperage draw was reduced while it was out?

 

Yes to the pulled fuse and waited for reduction of amperage draw. No change in reading
The battery is 3 weeks old, I believe some 900 cold cranking amps.
Currently charging battery - will check to see if it is in fact defective.

 

If you have a 3.4 amp current, it is not the battery. So you say you pullled EVERY fuse and still have 3.4 amps?

Really? If you remove the 200 amp fuse, both 50 amp fuses AND the alternator cable you STILL Have a 3.4 amp current flowing? REALLY? Are you SURE?
The 200 amp fuse feeds EVERYTYHING in the car except for:

The Alternator
The Brake Controller (one of the 50 amp fuses)
The Fan Controller (the other 50 amp fuse)

The only way you could have current flowing with those THREE fuses out and the cable off the alternator is if there is leaking current thru the starter solenoid.
And I REALLY doubt that.

 

Thanks for your response, tomorrow will do a final check on quality of battery then will head to starter motor.
I had a friend with me working on the car this afternoon. He comes with 20 plus years as a service mechanic on VW's.
After 3 hours we decided to give a rest,
Thanks again for your feed back - I enjoy the troubleshooting and this one is getting my attention.

 

Is there a reason to connect the meter on the negative side, and not the positive side?

Thanks

 

It's just safer. If you accidentally touch ground with the connections on the negative side, nothing bad happens. Touch ground while connected on the hot side and really BAD things can happen, when you consider that the battery can source as many as 400 amps in some cases.

The current is the same value on both sides of the battery - why risk it?