I.O.D. fuse / system?

[PS78]

Car's been sitting for few months.
Tried a hopefull start without charging:
> turn key to 2nd stage and hear fuel pump as normal
> 3rd stage (start) and nothing, as normal when battery's low...but also hear a click
> turn off and back to stage 2 and this time no fuel pump and gauges etc...completely dead.
> can hear a faint clicking at rate of 1hz, from under windscreen area, on driver's side....??
> checked all fuses in all 4 compartments - all fine

Battery was new 2 months ago and car has been used since it was installed.
Charge battery overnight on slow charge
> turn to 2nd stage, can hear fuel pump as normal etc
> 3rd stage and cut out again - no hint of turn over/ start etc.
> 1hz clicking starts again.

Disconnect battery for 1 night and try again
> same result...

> clicking stops when i pull 'IOD' ( = ignition off drain) fuse

This seems to be a fuse covering a sytem to do with current leakage from the battery while the car is turned off (ie a short somewhere?). I can't find any info about it in the manual - can anyone please explain it?

On the car's last use before storage the indicators/ flashers didn't work. They had also failed the previous month - a blown fuse was replaced to correct the problem, but the cause was not determined.
This time the fuse hasn't blown.

Could these 2 occurences be related?

 

[99 R/T 10]

I have a 96 RT/10 doing the same thing. turning on the key and getting no fuel pump action. I am thinking it is the fuel pump relay, but I hear a clicking. I think the 1996 RTs are unique. Not sure if they have a fuze for the fuel pump or not. Anybody have this issue with the 1996?

 

[coupe]

I just went down this road on my '96 GTS. It was killing a battery every 4-5 days. When I heard that "clicking" sound underneath the cowl area, the battery had been drained down to 6 volts! Putting it on a "battery tender" wasn't acceptable to me because a car is not supposed to kill batteries that quickly.

I chased every possible circuit through the IOD fuse by testing current draw from the battery. I eventually found my way into the Electronic Entry Module (EEM), which is the keyless entry brain. Something was keeping 3 small relays energized on the EEM circuit board, and these relays were pulling 140 milliamps, which is the equivalent current-draw of a small light bulb, thus a dead battery in 5 days.

The relays were staying energized no matter if I "armed" or "disarmed" the system. They were also keeping the inside door handle LED's on unless they were locked. I knew this was not right from having a '99 a few years ago. I had to find what was keeping these 3 relays energized, and hopefully solve the notorious issue of the "Gen 2 killing batteries."

I replaced the ignition switch (per a recommendation) because alot of circuits go through it. The switch from a '93 Dynasty is the same part and a little cheaper. After replacement, I thought I had the problem solved due to no current draw on the circuit (and the relays were de-energizing!), but the current seemed to return after I put all the EEM box and wiring back together under the dash. The only other thing I had disconnected was the "hood open" switch up near the right-side hood hinge. Could it be that simple? I unplugged it and the current draw went to zero. Funny thing is I had actually tested it before by pushing it closed and it did not register a current change, but it was late and I assumed it wasn't an issue. Turns out it needed to be totally closed (or unplugged) to tell the EEM that the hood was closed, and thus de-energize the relays on the EEM. Pushing it closed didn't fully close the circuit, probably due to corrosion. I can only imagine that it gets moisture and dirt in it being fairly close to the front of the car and just inboard of the suspension.

So now my system isn't drawin 140 mA through the IOD fuse and I audibly hear the relays click after a few seconds now. I also get a confirmation "honk" from the alarm 10-15 seconds after arming and the LED's also go off! Battery voltage after 3-4 days is still 12.6V which is what the battery was NEW.

It's still a good idea to get a battery tender for long-term storage (month+ ?), but it should not need it after a few days. I hope this info helps others. PM me for any questions...I feel fairly informed about the EEM and supporting circuits after studying the darn diagrams for hours. LOL.

 

[Jack B]

I just went down this road on my '96 GTS. It was killing a battery every 4-5 days. When I heard that "clicking" sound underneath the cowl area, the battery had been drained down to 6 volts! Putting it on a "battery tender" wasn't acceptable to me because a car is not supposed to kill batteries that quickly.

I chased every possible circuit through the IOD fuse by testing current draw from the battery. I eventually found my way into the Electronic Entry Module (EEM), which is the keyless entry brain. Something was keeping 3 small relays energized on the EEM circuit board, and these relays were pulling 140 milliamps, which is the equivalent current-draw of a small light bulb, thus a dead battery in 5 days.

The relays were staying energized no matter if I "armed" or "disarmed" the system. They were also keeping the inside door handle LED's on unless they were locked. I knew this was not right from having a '99 a few years ago. I had to find what was keeping these 3 relays energized, and hopefully solve the notorious issue of the "Gen 2 killing batteries."

I replaced the ignition switch (per a recommendation) because alot of circuits go through it. The switch from a '93 Dynasty is the same part and a little cheaper. After replacement, I thought I had the problem solved due to no current draw on the circuit (and the relays were de-energizing!), but the current seemed to return after I put all the EEM box and wiring back together under the dash. The only other thing I had disconnected was the "hood open" switch up near the right-side hood hinge. Could it be that simple? I unplugged it and the current draw went to zero. Funny thing is I had actually tested it before by pushing it closed and it did not register a current change, but it was late and I assumed it wasn't an issue. Turns out it needed to be totally closed (or unplugged) to tell the EEM that the hood was closed, and thus de-energize the relays on the EEM. Pushing it closed didn't fully close the circuit, probably due to corrosion. I can only imagine that it gets moisture and dirt in it being fairly close to the front of the car and just inboard of the suspension.

So now my system isn't drawin 140 mA through the IOD fuse and I audibly hear the relays click after a few seconds now. I also get a confirmation "honk" from the alarm 10-15 seconds after arming and the LED's also go off! Battery voltage after 3-4 days is still 12.6V which is what the battery was NEW.

It's still a good idea to get a battery tender for long-term storage (month+ ?), but it should not need it after a few days. I hope this info helps others. PM me for any questions...I feel fairly informed about the EEM and supporting circuits after studying the darn diagrams for hours. LOL.

Another issue is that any time you drain the battery into an extremely low state it will never recover totally and storage capacity suffers. It also seems that the maintenance free type seen to drop off faster once you have abused them a couple of times.

 

[PS78]

I have a 96 RT/10 doing the same thing. turning on the key and getting no fuel pump action. I am thinking it is the fuel pump relay, but I hear a clicking. I think the 1996 RTs are unique. Not sure if they have a fuze for the fuel pump or not. Anybody have this issue with the 1996?

fuel pump no go? fuse in my RT's in the trunk fuse box (left hand side - see manual; can photo and post...). clicking on key turn? i had to trickle charge my RT for 48hrs to get the battery back up - that was the solution for my problem in the original post!