Help Identifying Cut Wires

[TC]

While removing a dealer installed tracking device tucked underneath the dash today I noticed four small wires that have been cut. These wires are behind the drivers AC vent. Anyone recognize these wires?


I have been chasing a parastatic drain on the battery since I purchased truck 6 months ago. I have identified the radio fuse outside the fuse box to be drawing high amps after the truck is shut down for a minimum of 30 minutes. Draw was measured at 3.3 amps. When I remove the radio fuse, amp draw immediately dropped to 0.3 amps.
Last night I took the radio out, disconnected and inspected all wires and pin connectors. Everything looks fine. When reinstalling the radio I hooked up the main wire harness first and noticed an immediate high pitched noise somewhere in the center of dash, sounded like a fax machine connecting only not as loud. This noise continued for the next half hour while putting everything back together and was still making the noise when I closed the door. Went out this morning, opened the door and did not hear the noise.


The tracking device was not plugged into the OBD so that suspect is no longer a suspect. i am hoping the cut wires may be the culprit.

Radio is 8.4 Uconnect v3. According to CarFax the previous owner had navigation installed at the dealer about 12 months ago. Is it possible they cut these four wires in the process of upgrading?

Any help will be much appreciated.

 

[GTyankee]

I am pretty sure that the difference between Nav & non Nav is just software & activation.
Unless your roof antenna is just a Puck, not a Shark Fin
With a Puck antenna, a GPS unit would be plugged into the back of the radio & it would be placed above the radio, near the center dash speaker, close to the windshield

 

[SitKneelBend]

While removing a dealer installed tracking device tucked underneath the dash today I noticed four small wires that have been cut. These wires are behind the drivers AC vent. Anyone recognize these wires?
View attachment 544274

I have been chasing a parastatic drain on the battery since I purchased truck 6 months ago. I have identified the radio fuse outside the fuse box to be drawing high amps after the truck is shut down for a minimum of 30 minutes. Draw was measured at 3.3 amps. When I remove the radio fuse, amp draw immediately dropped to 0.3 amps.
Last night I took the radio out, disconnected and inspected all wires and pin connectors. Everything looks fine. When reinstalling the radio I hooked up the main wire harness first and noticed an immediate high pitched noise somewhere in the center of dash, sounded like a fax machine connecting only not as loud. This noise continued for the next half hour while putting everything back together and was still making the noise when I closed the door. Went out this morning, opened the door and did not hear the noise.


The tracking device was not plugged into the OBD so that suspect is no longer a suspect. i am hoping the cut wires may be the culprit.

Radio is 8.4 Uconnect v3. According to CarFax the previous owner had navigation installed at the dealer about 12 months ago. Is it possible they cut these four wires in the process of upgrading?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Nope, not for upgrading Nav, as previously stated on the older radios it's a software activation. I believe those wires are aftermarket power wires of some kind and not original to the truck. I'd start pulling them out and see where they lead.

 

[TC]

Thank you guys. I pulled the wires out only to find a second tracking device. Obviously not connected to anything due to cut wires. Can't afford to replace the radio right now so the amp draw search continues. I will be flying out of state next week and the truck will be parked for three days. Is pulling the radio fuse once parked a good idea to prevent a possible drained battery? I have a jump pack but would rather not drain the battery while parked, again.

 

[turkeybird56]

Thank you guys. I pulled the wires out only to find a second tracking device. Obviously not connected to anything due to cut wires. Can't afford to replace the radio right now so the amp draw search continues. I will be flying out of state next week and the truck will be parked for three days. Is pulling the radio fuse once parked a good idea to prevent a possible drained battery? I have a jump pack but would rather not drain the battery while parked, again.

If U got that much of a draw, yer battery gonna be toast. Pull the fuse, and/or negative cable till U can track down and stop the draw IMHO...
NOW if U pull negative cable, remember all those modules will be reset and truck will have to relearn stuff, LOL.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Thank you guys. I pulled the wires out only to find a second tracking device. Obviously not connected to anything due to cut wires. Can't afford to replace the radio right now so the amp draw search continues. I will be flying out of state next week and the truck will be parked for three days. Is pulling the radio fuse once parked a good idea to prevent a possible drained battery? I have a jump pack but would rather not drain the battery while parked, again.

I'd pull the fuse and see if the draw remains (if you haven't already) and it is a good idea to leave it pulled. It won't hurt anything although it will take several power cycles/hours for all of the features to reappear on the radio.

 

[GTyankee]

Would his 2016 Ram have a

IOD Fuse ? ( Ignition Off Drain )

questionable comment ?
Dodge hid one fuse that you probably missed. It's called the ignition-off draw (IOD) fuse, located in the inside fuse box, the Junction Block. Look under the panel at the far left end of the dash... The fuse is held inside a black colored fuse holder with tabs to make it easier to pull out of the block.

It may be a 60 amp fuse, like it was on the 2012 & earlier models

 

[04fxdwgi]

Don't have That IOD fuse in my '16, that I am aware of and don't see it on the chart.

 

[Marshall]

Have you turned the radio off as well as turning the truck off, still same draw?
3 amp draw will kill the battery fast. at one time I use to work on those things, but it has been a while.
Something in the radio crapped out I would think, unless you have a pinched wire.
Until its figured out ,if you have everything open, I would make jumpers for the main power plug and meter each one and see if you can figure out which wire is the heavy draw & you could run a separate off/on switch to it , save having to pull fuse until you get it fixed.

 

[Marshall]

PS, those cut wires, did you put a meter on them to see if power?

You could also put a battery charger on while away, but I have never liked the idea of leaving a battery charger hooked up while away, thou auto ones will turn them self's down when battery is charged.

 

[TC]

Update: While inspecting the wiring behind the radio and dash, noticed lots of dog hair and a ground wire that was not screwed tightly to the frame. Took a 10mm wrench and tightened snug. Pic was taken after tightening bolt/screw. Not sure if this is even related to the radio but it was loose. See pic below:





I also did not re-connect the Bordeaux colored Fakra connector which I believe to be the Cellular antenna (3G which is obsolete these days) in the event the air card was defective causing a short. One of these (or both) adjustments seem to have worked. Disconnected the negative battery cable, manually closed hood latch, removed under hood light and closed all doors for 1 hour before checking amp draw. Noticed a spark when attaching lead to battery terminal with an initial draw of 3.35 amps. After about 20 seconds the amp draw began to drop eventually stabilizing at 0.46-0.47 amps. Any thoughts or comments on this shade tree fix and/or diagnosis?

PS, those cut wires, did you put a meter on them to see if power?

You could also put a battery charger on while away, but I have never liked the idea of leaving a battery charger hooked up while away, thou auto ones will turn them self's down when battery is charged.

I did not test the wires before yanking the second tracking device but nice suggestion. I will remember to do this if there is a similar situation in the future. Thank you.

 

[HarryS]

bad grounds will always cause problems. Glad you found it.