strange electrical problem

[cedarman]

1985 gas Jetta converted to N/A diesel-
This car just started draining the battery while parked. Everything else works ok except that after I shut off the ignition switch all the accessories will still remain on,   ie: windshield wipers, heater fan, etc., but even with everything shut off the batt will still drain overnight or while I'm at work.
I thought it might be a faulty switch, but after unplugging it all the accessories were still on.
Any suggestions?

[blkboostedtruck]

check your grounds! and use a test light and probe around you might find something odd where something could be positively charged when it's not supposed to be! well good luck? thanks Duane

[55mpg06]

Gotta love electrical stuff!    If everything has power with ignition off, there are things that you don’t have much control over that stay on as you probably already know. There are things like the fuel shut off solenoid or even your radio if it is aftermarket (for most of them “off” is actually standby so it still draws power).

In any case you said “This car just started to drain the battery.” Had it ever been working normally after you converted it to a diesel? If so, the fan and things would shut off with the key out of the ignition, right?

Also when you unplugged the switch am I correct in assuming this was the ignition switch?

Last question, when you did the conversion, did you have to change the fuse box? It seems that everything is now running off of a constant power source. If so I sure hope everything is still running through the fuse box!  :shock: (car fires are normally a bad thing no matter how tempting)

[somolovitch3]

I know its a PITA, remove the battery positive cable while at work, or for over-night. This simply gets you going for the next run.
Does the battery recharge after running it a bit?
Wipers and such are supposed to be controled by the X relay, along with the headlights, did you by-pass the relay?

A real PITA, pull ALL your fuses, including the glow plug fuse, and check to see if you are still drawing power out of the battery.
A test light can be used, ground to batt hot, probe to battery Positive cable.
If it lights up, SOMETHING is pulling power! Or better yet, use a amp meter to see how much power is being drawn.

More fun, check to be sure that all of your door, trunk, hood, and glove box swiches work properly. A glove box light that stays on when it should be off will drain your battery quicker than one might believe!

It sounds like you might have two seperate problems, wirering kind of messsed up (Things staying on when they should be off), and a drain on the battery.

Tha drain could also be a bad alternator, the diodes gone bad.

Like the man said...Electrical...Whoopie!!! :twisted:

[jimfoo]

Also don't rule out a bad ignition switch. I had one do this on a different car. The power for the glowplugs doesn't go through the switch does it? And by that I mean the actual power for them, not just for the relay.

[Darth Garry]

The glow plug main power does not go through the ignition switch.

Garry

[jimfoo]

Well, in a normal Diesel, but if someone converted it, who knows...

[55mpg06]

I am still very intrigued by that “switch” that he said unplugged.  :? In thinking about it, if the switch was the ignition switch, and  if everything still has power but the car shuts off (kills power to the fuel solenoid), and starts (engages the starter), then it almost seems like he has the accessories running from a constant power feed. But as somolovitch3 mentioned it does look like to separate problems unless the started at the same time (if so hunker down for the long haul)

If the fuse box was replaced, are there not two big fat wires (one red the other red with white stripe (switched power I think)) that supply the power to the fusebox? If the two wires were switched, the starter and the fuel solenoid I think would be unaffected since I think the switch has separate wires for them since the x-relay won’t shut them off during a start (cant remember for sure - need to check the book). Everything else gets power through the accessory power wire coming back from the switch (I think red with white stripe) that feeds the fusebox. This could be the source of the accessories always having power but the car shuts off. If the accessories all of the sudden started getting power when the car was off, the only thing that I can think of right now is that your car was zapped by a Martian ray gun while parked and is a constant source of power, and they are using your car to prepare for world take over (yes I am tired)

Now Problem number 2
As for what is drawing power, look at the trunk light (It drove me nuts for a month!) On your 85’ there should be a black trunk light switch on the trunk lid around where the left hand side of the license plate is. Press it with your finger to make sure it is OK. If it is then make sure it lines up with a black plastic or rubber bumper (about ¼ to ½ inch high) on the bottom edge of the trunk. Mine was missing so the switch would never trigger and I never new it was on since I try not to make it a practice to drive while locked in my trunk.

As somolovitch3 mentioned too, the glove box light could do it. On mine it came on with the ignition whether the door was opened or not. If accessories are always on then this light would be too unless you turn to switch to off on the light itself.

Keep us posted

[somolovitch3]

Main pwer comes from Batt via a RED wire to GP Relay, to GP Fuse to GP's via RED/WHITE wire. Or at least on my '81 it does.

If the GP Relay is ....uh,...knackered...... (gotts to love their language!), and is staying in the "on" position, (yes I know useally it goes the other way), there is a ~30 AMP draw. Not to mention those poor GPs, talk about a HOT start!

You have checked at night to be sure that the dash lights are not on at a low setting, yes?

Depending upon which relay/fuse block you have, pull the engine harness conector off the back and see if the drain is still happening.

If it is, at least you will know for sure it is located in the engine compartment.

Good luck and do keep us posted.................

Hummmm.......The battery/starter posts and terminals are all sqweeky clean without any crud or greese build up? Had a GMC product that we chased a battery drain to the crud on the main starter/battery terminal...covered in crud..was acting like a ground and the batteries would go flat in about 6 hrs after a full charge. Clean is good!!

[burn_your_money]

For finding the draw
http://www.dubnetworks.net/showthread.php?t=831

A simplified way to do this is keep both terminals hooked up and when you pull a fuse put the multimeter leads in the fuse terminal and look for a draw