2012 Journey battery drain

[WalkerD]

Hi everyone. I have a 2012 Dodge Journey that is draining batteries. I replaced the battery recently because it failed a load test, but now the new battery is draining if vehicle is not used daily. I have found that there is approximately a 2 amp drawn when vehicle is off and parked. 

 

I have found that when I pull the ABS valve fuse (f173 I belive) the draw drops down to an OK amount. Anyone know of there are other components powered by this circuit? There are no ABS fault codes. Only code is a low voltage one that appears after battery has been drained.

 

Any ideas?

 

On a side note, anyone know where I can get a service manual for this vehicle? I'm coming up empty with my searches.

 

 

thanks in advance.

[2late4u]

there is only on line manuals and you have to pay for them that is what has been posted on here before. sounds like you have found your problem  you just need to figure out what is causing it to drain the battery   good luck and report back what you find out for others that might have this problem

[WalkerD]

Looks like I was wrong and the drop in amperage was coincidental when I pulled that fuse. I left the fuse out overnight and it still drained. 

 

So I next decided to leave the battery disconnected to see if it drains on its own. Was fine. Sitting at 12.6. Connected positive, left ground off to check current, showing a 2 amp draw. Weird thing is, when I checked the voltage again it had dropped to 10.7 almost instantly and current draw dropped to 0. Any suggestions?

[OhareFred]

You left the negative cable off the battery and got a 2 amp drain???  Or did you disconnect the remote location neg cable? The jump start location.....

[WalkerD]

I disconnected negative that goes to battery at boost location and measured there.

[OhareFred]

OK. Now the 2 amps makes sense. That’s not the only ground, there is another before that.  
 

have tried pulling the radio/Uconnect/handsfree fuse then checking your draw?  Radio not shutting down is a known issue.

[WalkerD]

So, I feel like a dumb ass. The problem was the new battery I bought a month ago was faulty. Had one bad cell.

 

I was troubleshooting it as a parasitic drain because I thought that originally it was draining over time. That was not the case. If there was even the slightest load being put on the battery, such as locking or unlocking the car, the battery would drain the 2.1 volts of the bad cell.

 

Since I was checking voltage right after charging, then checking again later I had assumed it was a slow drain. Not my brightest moment lol

 

 

[John/Horace]

Thanks for follow up. Curious what brand of battery.  Not that one early failure represents a product line.

Edited May 18, 2020 by John/Horace

[WalkerD]

It was a Canadian tire motomaster oeplus brand battery. Usually don't have a problem with them.