99 voyager won't start- clicking under dash-new battery

[voyager23]

Hello,
I have a 99 Voyager with 88,000 miles. Brand new battery 12/12/06- won't start 3 weeks later - cleaned & protected battery connectors - still no start if left for more then 4 hours undriven Battery tested fine- being drained approx 2 amps- something left on...? Now there is a clicking sound under the dash before trying to start. Could it be some type of relay being left open or fuse or ???? Any ideas on what could be happening?
Thank you!!
Pam

[RIP]

Connect your ammeter at the battery again and start pulling fuses one at a time. When you get a big drop on the ammeter thats the circuit to look at. 2 amps is too much. Should be down around 100 milliamps.

Under hood or glove compartment lights could be on with them closed. The clicking is a relay on or near the Junction Block by your left knee. Chattering relays aren't unusual with a weak battery.

[jonsonton]

Originally Posted by RIP

Connect your ammeter at the battery again and start pulling fuses one at a time. When you get a big drop on the ammeter thats the circuit to look at. 2 amps is too much. Should be down around 100 milliamps.

Under hood or glove compartment lights could be on with them closed. The clicking is a relay on or near the Junction Block by your left knee. Chattering relays aren't unusual with a weak battery.

Good point. Do the same with the maxi fuses also. The rear defoggers could give a drain like that.

[voyager23]

Hello. The van is fixed!! My husbands buddy is a repair man and I thought it would take him actually longer to take it out to him to repair than it did. He drove it out last night and he new right away what it was. The van was also dieseling after you shut it off and removed the key from the ignition.

It was actually the A/C Compressor Relay. The small post was not making a connection. Replaced with a new one and presto! It started this morning.
I never would have thought that but it worked.
Thanks anyway for the information!
Pam

[RIP]

Great news. Thanks for posting the fix. Cheers!

[jonsonton]

Good job, thanks for posting the fix.

[Fixer98482]

By the time that I read this post it was over 8 years old, but it still works!

This is a tough problem to diagnose. Two of the suggested fixes are to replace the PCM and to take out the instrument cluster and solder a certain set of pins that have cold solder joints. I fixed my 1998 Town & County van with the soldering solution. That problem was that it would start and run for about 3 seconds and then just die. If you have this symptom, there is a good YouTube video on the procedure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OwrhVOHe1Y
Since the symptoms were so different in this case, I didn't think it would work on my wife's car.

My wife's 2000 Chrysler Town & Country wouldn't start until we pulled a battery terminal for a few minutes. Sometimes after a start attempt, the entire electrical system went dead and then the clicking under the dash started. This problem got progressively worse until it just didn't start at all.

One additional symptom was that the "Alarm Set" light would stay on instead of flashing when I locked the doors. This is only normal if the hood is left open, which it was not.

I saw the A/C compressor relay fix on another forum site as well, but I pulled the A/C fuse which I thought would take the A/C compressor relay out of the circuit, but it did not. So I started searching some more. When I saw this post I realized it was no coincidence and I went out and pulled out the actual A/C compressor relay. Once I did, it started right away. The only unusual looking thing about the relay was that one post was discolored about 1/8" and it looked like it had gotten really hot.

Thank you Pam and thank to Automotive Forums as well. I really appreciate the $500 - $1500 you saved my family.

Randy