Want to find short circuit causing dead battery in my car.?

Question

I have a 98 Chrysler Sebring convertible. Recently the battery is dead after leaving it for about 2 hours. Always jump starts. The Sears guy used a battery tester and said it looks ok. Also did not show any short circuit on his tester. Said give it a long drive. Went for a long drive and left it overnight. Next morning the battery is dead.

I decided to repeat but to pull the fuses one by one overnight. Pulled fuse #4 for the interior, vanity, radio, etc. left overnight. This morning, car started. I also used meter to check voltage. The first overnight when it was dead, the voltage read 8.5v. This morning when it started, it read 12.6v.

Reason for pulling #4 first was the instrument panel light now shows "deck" (CD deck?). Manual has no mention of this display.

1) like to figure out what is shorting off that fuse. Any suggestions? 2) any hints on how to pull radio/deck cluster out of the dash? Don't see screws.

A site suggestion is also good.

Thanks much.

Thanks backroads and captainlo. I'm out of town now and will try as soon as I return next week. Deck meaning trunk did not occur to me and it might work. Let you know. Nice weekend to all...

Answer 1

The other guy pinned it... "dECk" I think is how it looks, means the trunk light is still on. My '98 just had the same problem - the switch that controls the light would stick and then in the middle of the night would become unstuck and set off the Security Alarm. I opened the trunk, sat down and looked up at the lock system. After operating the lock with my finger, I could see a small box behind the actuator arm controlling the light. I sprayed it down with WD-40 and no more spazzy lights! Mine is a Sebring coupe, but the way the light works should be somewhat similar.

If it doesn't look the same, get a can of WD-40, spray all the mechanisms like mad, then hire an exorcist to get the nasty trunk light demon from your car. :-) Good luck!

Answer 2

First of all, I want to tell you, this is one of the best questions I've seen in a long time. Thank you.

Now for the radio.
If it's a D.I.N. radio it uses an outer shell that the radio slides into. Kind of like a metal sleeve. Without the propper tool, it's nearly impossible to remove without damaging something.
On the other hand, if you had the right tool, it would slide out with amazing ease.

You have two options;
1) Take your car to any local dealer, or stereo repair shop and they should do it for free. (If they're nice anyway.)
2) Go to your local auto parts store and ask them for the propper removal tool for your application. I think they cost about six bucks.

Good luck.

Answer 3

sounds like a bare wire touching off behind the face plate . i had this happen before.if your car doesn't have a daed battery anymore then it was your radio. if it still has one then it may be a short in your alternator. i had a car that would charge fine when the car was running but once it was shut off the alternator would drain the battery. one way to eliminate that ( if you can't afford a new on ) is to disconnect your positive terminal at night or when you leave the car for more than a few minutes, i had to do that before.

Answer 4

I might suggest that "deck" may be referring to the "Deck Lid" or Trunk Lid? If the switch that operates the trunk light is broken or shorted, the light will remain on even when closed and run down the battery. Easy fix, just disconnect it...

Answer 5

You can measure the current draw on your battery by disconnecting battery terminal and connecting an amp meter. Current value should be something like 200 mill amps if higher than this it is you problem showing itself. Try disconnecting or turning thing off that are easy to get to.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

i do this for a living,,and the face plate just snaps off and on,,once its off you can get to the screws that hold the radio in ,,be care full though,,it may break ,,there real thin,and will break if you pull on them the right way,,.good luck hope this help,s.

Answer 8

If your car has an Alarm system, Check it. A bad installation of these system cause battery to die.

Answer 9

try disconnecting the power supply to the vanity mirror lights,I've seen those get stuck on before,and you won't see it because the visors are folded up.