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Battery Drain


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My 2011 Dodge Journey battery is being drained by something I just replaced the battery 3 weeks ago. The alternator is good as well as the battery. It's always after the car sits overnight. Someone mentions the BCU could be doing it and it has to go to dodge to get reprogrammed anybody ever dealt with this issue. Much help needed. Ty.

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You might try resetting the vehicle's processors again by removing one of the battery leads, leaving it off for a half hour and then reconnecting it (without bobbling the connection).

If that doesn't work and if there's nothing been done to the vehicle it is probably going to be something of a scavenger hunt to figure it out.

You may well need to install an ampmeter and start pulling fuses to see what's causing the drain.

Edited by bramfrank
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Just to be certain, you don't have any aftermarket gizmos wired to the vehicle?

Try one of two things before taking it to a mechanic who will fish around hoping to stumble across a cure . . . .

1. Charge the battery and leave it disconnected. Reconnect it in the morning. You might have a battery with an intermittent cell. If that's the case and if the cell goes bad when the battery cools it should prove the point.

or

2. Substitute a known good battery for the one in the vehicle, let it sit connected and see if that one goes dead overnight - the car is supposed to have a cutoff to prevent the battery from discharging if you inadvertently leave the interior lights on . . . . . so it shouldn't be a lights issue.

Edited by bramfrank
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Called the dealer today totally blew me off saying to reset the computer which means to me clear the codes was $115 bucks Or run a diagnosis for $115 and I also ran the vin not listed for any recalls plus it's 5 years old. So basically I'm screwed

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A TSB is not the same as a recall. Maybe DodgeCares care chime in and give the number. Not sure if they charge for a TSB repair, but you gotta bite the bullet and get it done. Wait to see if someone knows the TSB, then go in to the dealer and say you need TSB number xxx done. You might have to pay, but it might fix the issue.

With all the electronics I always buy an extended warranty, not sure if you can still get one......

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While a third of an amp of idle current is unusual and too much, a charged battery has about 90 amp-hours of capacity, so over a 12 hour period you will drain about 6 amp-hours, or about 7% of the battery capacity, suggesting an issue with the battery or that the battery isn't fully charged going in.

But idle current draw should be in the milliamps, not the half amp range - so a code update may be the issue - but if it hasn't been a problem over the past 5 years, the obvious question is why now?

There are more fuses to pull - they are behind the glove box.

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Ok. All fuses checked called dodge told them I had the TSB report on the software update. There going to run the computer to see if a update is needed for $54. If it does need an update it's an addition charge depending on how long it takes to update. Hopefully this solves the problem.

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