2004 Dodge Intrepid electrical issues, Troubleshooting an electrical gremlin Options

[roydjt]

Good afternoon,

Today my girlfriend's car decided that it didn't want to start this afternoon. It didn't feel like doing anything. She put the key in the ignition and got nothing - no lights, no locks, no ignition click, nothing. I was able to start it and it seemed to run just fine after letting the battery charge for a while. I took it to a shot and had the charging system checked and they couldn't get a good test because the battery wasn't fully charged. They offered to charge the battery if I could take it out, but Chrysler decided to be a douchebag and place the battery under the airbox and in front of the fenderwell, so you have to take a wheel off to remove it. It started fine and I drove it home.

We went out to go somewhere and heard a whiny buzz sound coming from the rear passenger side of her car. I popped the trunk and found the source of the noise to be a relay that was bracketed to the fender behind the antenna. The buzz was intermittent with the trunk open, it seemed to come and go when I pulled the wire harness one way or the other. When I closed the trunk, it came back constant. Is this the trunk latch relay? Is the relay itself bad, draining the battery, or is this a symptom of something else? The car was dead again after finding this buzzing relay.

Thanks in advance,
-Roy

[Vinnie]

[yjolly]

I would try to disconnect this relay first, then fully recharge the battery and observe it for a few days. If the problem doesn't repeat, then the relay is likely the culprit. I would also look at the control switch for the trunk(the one that activated the relay), it could possibly be always on, i.e. shorted.

Yves

[roydjt]

Thanks for the diagrams. The relay is actually on the opposite side, and after looking closer, I think it might be for an optional powered antenna. I disconnected it and flipped the trunk release switch and it sounds like the relay is integrated into or right next to the solenoid in the latch.

After jumping the car again, letting it run a while, and letting it sit a couple hours with the solenoid unplugged, it started up strong. I'm thinking that it was the culprit, but that's a lot of charge to drain in a couple of hours.

-Roy