Car Electrical Mystery

jonnoj · Post by **jonnoj** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:01 pm

Hi All,

Hopefully someone could give me some advice.

Last night my car alarm went off (after being locked and off for 2hrs+), when I went to check, the wipers were wiping, the radio was on, the a/c was running, cigarette lighter powered.

I unlocked with the keyfob to stop the alarm, everything stayed on even after locking again.

I turned the engine on then turned the key back to off and removed, Everything stayed on including the running engine...

I stalled the engine and pulled the battery. :(

Today I drove to work fine as usual, parked and locked car as normal (everything off as it should be). About half a hour later the alarm is going and insides are alive again.

Assuming my ignition switch is fine (the car turned off earlier with the key) I replaced the ASD/Main 40A relay as some reading suggested that could be the problem. Unfortunately not the case as I just had to pull the battery again.

Any advice on where to look next would be greatly appreciated.

My Car:
Chrysler Sebring 2.0CRD 2009

Dave54 · Post by **Dave54** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:06 pm

Water getting in somewhere would be my guess.
What or where is another matter.
Check all the bulkhead drains anyway.

jonnoj · Post by **jonnoj** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:19 pm

With yesterday's weather that wouldn't be a surprise... I'll have a check of that... Kinda hope it isn't the case though because there would be little to nothing I can do about it.

Would it heal itsself when it dries out?

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:25 pm

I had a similar problem with an Escort, the fuse box was vulnerable to water penetration when the gutters got blocked above. It was a common issue with that car but it played havoc with the electrics. I would advise getting an auto electrician to test the system for you as the normal fault codes probably will not show this problem. Although the box does not look that vulnerable https://fuse-box.info/chrysler/chrysler ... 2010-fuses. I had trouble with a Clio caused by water getting in through a blocked sunroof drain channel which messed with the immobiliser.

DWD

jonnoj · Post by **jonnoj** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 3:13 pm

In all fairness, I can see that being the issue now. The fusebox is a Chrysler special pcm and while it looks well proteted from above I can see the connectors on the bottom...

My car will be off the road for the weekend I might pull it out and investigate for water damage then see how it is once it has had a chance to think about what it has done..

Bob225 · Post by **Bob225** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 4:01 pm

sorry to say its a Chrysler product its usually waster ingress into the TIPM (fuse box) what never ends well - YouTube is your friend (South Main auto)

Im sure there is many a TSB issued for these sorts of issues by Chrysler

Dave54 · Post by **Dave54** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 4:03 pm

jonnoj wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:19 pm With yesterday's weather that wouldn't be a surprise... I'll have a check of that... Kinda hope it isn't the case though because there would be little to nothing I can do about it.

Would it heal itsself when it dries out?

Rain like that gets in everywhere. I've got a roofer coming tomorrow. . .

If you're lucky it'll dry out OK. A hairdryer used carefully so as not to melt stuff might help.
Obviously if you can get in to connections, and clean it up it'll help.
It's not the water itself, it's the impurities in it.

wine~o · Post by **wine~o** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 7:38 am

As per above get those drainage channel cleared, remove wipers and all the plastic grilles below windscreen to get at them. A job I need to do mn the Mrs's Renault every couple of years as where she works she has to go down a long gravel drive, kicks up loads of dust/grit which when it gets wet turns to clay...