89's battery just has a constant pull on it and I can't find it

[David P.]

Hello!

 

I'm doing some work on a my friends 89 and for some reason there is a constant pull on the battery, even when it is off. I've checked fuses, alternator, and the battery is brand new so I'm lost now. If you got any advice it would be super helpful!

[89 MJ]

So the interior lights turn off when the doors are closed?

[jdog]

glove box light

[David P.]

38 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

So the interior lights turn off when the doors are closed?

 

None of the lights come on at all, and when the key is turned nothing happens. Like the starter does not try to engage.

[David P.]

2 minutes ago, jdog said:

glove box light

 

What would be causing it to drain the battery? Bad wiring?

[jdog]

Not turning off, pull the bulb and see if the draw goes away

[David P.]

1 minute ago, jdog said:

Not turning off, pull the bulb and see if the draw goes away

 

Sweet, I'll give it a shot, thank you!

[jdog]

OK let's clear this up, what exactly are you wanting to know, is it the battery dies or is it the vehicle doesn't start?

[David P.]

Just now, jdog said:

OK let's clear this up, what exactly are you wanting to know, is it the battery dies or is it the vehicle doesn't start?

So the battery is dead, I know that. However, the battery is brand new. So I'm trying to figure out why the battery would be dead. It starts just fine. Sorry, I wasn't trying to be confusing.

[jdog]

ok, verify the battery is good, just because its new doesn't mean its good, you'll have to do a amp draw test to figure out whats staying on. another thing could be either a mis-adjusted ignition switch or a bad key tumbler thats allowing the key to be removed in the acc. position.

[Minuit]

How much of a draw are we talking here? A number would really help figure out what the draw is coming from. The easiest way to troubleshoot a parasitic draw is to (with the ignition off, both doors closed, and everything turned off) unhook one battery cable, place a multimeter (on amps mode) in series, note the draw, and remove fuses until the draw goes away.

 

For what it's worth, there have been two occasions where I've had parasitic draw on an MJ, and both have been the glove box light. It must be adjusted to turn off when the glove box is closed.