2006 ram 1500, wipers and battery drain.

[chicaria]

Is it possible that a bad wiper motor or a bad multi function switch cause a battery drain?
Looked for the fuse but apparently the wipers dont have one in my 3rd. generation 06 1500.

Thanks

 

[Smokeybear01]

When I first got my truck the wipers did all kinds of strange things. Sometimes when I hit the door lock the wipers did a swipe. If I put them on intermittent you didn't know what they were going to do. Turned out to be the arm control inside the actual wiper motor. If it gets corroded it screws with a lot of stuff. Don't ask me why or how. It's not that difficult pulling the covers off and removing the motor and servicing the contacts. I cleaned mine up and sanded all the contacts but I forgot to grease them before putting it all back together and now 2 years later I'm starting to see the gremlins again. There are lots of vids on utube showing how to do it because it is a common problem. Just remember to have some diaelectric grease handy when you do it instead of being an idiot like myself. Good luck

 

[chicaria]

I was surprised to find there was no fuse for the wipers. I seen the diy videos on utube regarding this issue. It looks like another cause can be a bad multi function switch. It also looks like fixing/replacing either cause is not difficult but ... I'm in the midwest and I dont have a heated garage. So, I can either wait for spring and do it myself or give a dealer or auto shop my first born to get it done now.

While the wipers have a mind of their own when on,
I couldnt find anything about either problem causing a battery drain.

 

[Smokeybear01]

I can't say whether mine effected the batteries or not. I'm originally from MN so I know all about working on vehicles outside in the snow. Frozen fingers, wet knees, and lots of frustration haha. Good luck,

 

[chicaria]

Found a site that shows the wipers are on the #two 20A fuse along with the front lighting / instrument cluster / and turn signals. I know that the inside of the fuse box cover lists the function of each fuse but my cover doesnt mention "wipers" anywhere....no matter how many times I go over it.

I disconnected the battery last week at 12.20 volts. Checked it again today and it's holding at 12.20 volts.
As soon as I can drag my lazy 72 year old ass out to the unheated garage...I'm going to pull the #2 fuse and reconnect the battery and see what that does after a few days.

Good fishin.
Airborne...All the way!

 

[chicaria]

Hey Smokey,
Outside in the snow, frozen fingers, wet knees, and frustration....sounds like a bad day of ice fishing

 

[chicaria]

So....to keep my sanity I bookmarked this page (below) that shows a diagram of the 06 fuse box and a list of the fuses and their function. You have to scroll pretty far down to get to the Dodge 02 to 08 fuse box diagram and fuse function.

Checked the battery today and it' held at 12.20v for a few days (disconnected) Pulled the No.2 fuse,
reconnected the battery...voltage dropped to 12.11 immediately.
Went into the cab and turned on the wipers...they were still operating, still had a mind of their own and the turn signals that are on the same line did what they should do as were the front lighting and instrument cluster.
I'm going to leave it like it is for a few days just to see how much the battery dropped. After that I'm going to put the fuse back in and put the charger on the battery then when the battery has a full charge,
I'll turn the wipers on and start pulling fuses one at a time until the wipers stop.

Fuse box Dodge Ram MK3 (DR/DH/D1/DC/DM)2002-2008

Locate fuse and relay. Fuse box diagram. Identifying and legend fuse box Dodge Ram 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.

fusesdiagram.com

 

[Smokeybear01]

Hey Smokey,
Outside in the snow, frozen fingers, wet knees, and frustration....sounds like a bad day of ice fishing

I never had a 'bad' day ice fishing. haha