Wet weather dead battery

[ninjafied]

Hey guys, I have a problem with the wife's snowstang. 2007 v6 auto vert. If she drives in wet weather rain or snow and stops any where for around an hour, the battery is dead when she returns. Battery is new, I've checked the charging voltage at 14.3v. Not sure what's causing this issue. Any ideas?

 

[MrBhp]

Water intrusion into the SJB. Check behind the passenger side kick panel. It's a common leak point. Water can cause all kinds of bizarre behavior.

 

[ninjafied]

Sorry what is the SJB?

 

[MrBhp]

Fuse panel. You'll need to pop that lower plastic trim piece on the passenger side of the floor. There are a couple places water can get in on our cars. One is outside on the firewall. It's a little rubber drain grommet for the cowl. Debris will clog it up if the car is ever parked outside for years. Another place to check is under the upper window trim, outside. A few years in the heat will damage the seal There is a thread on here that goes into detail.

 

[stkjock]

Sorry what is the SJB?

smart junction box

 

[ninjafied]

Ok ill check that out as soon as I get a chance

 

[ninjafied]

Alright, so I had some time last night to look at the car. I disconnected the battery before starting anything. Once I got access to the SJB and removed it, I saw a bit of green corrosion on a few pins. Cleaned it best I could and added dielectric grease to the connectors. Put that all back together then moved to the engine bay. I cleaned and greased ground connections on the body and engine block. Checked and greased connections on fuse box and alternator. Hooked the battery back up and started the car. Now it's a waiting game to see what happens.

 

[86GT351]

Smart junction box has been an issue for years. Look carefully at the under hood drains on the firewall. If they get clogged it allows the water to come into the car.

 

[MrBhp]

Be careful with the use of dielectric grease. It's an insulator. It's fine on the outside of a connection, keeps air and water out. Just don't use it between two pieces that need to make contact.

 

[DieHarder]

Be careful with the use of dielectric grease. It's an insulator. It's fine on the outside of a connection, keeps air and water out. Just don't use it between two pieces that need to make contact.

Never had a failure due to dielectric grease. No issues ever w/connectors or continuity. Just use it sparingly. No problems ever using it between metal pieces that need to make contact (as long as they make good contact). As you point out keeps air, water out and corrosion to a minimum.

 

[MrBhp]

I've had multiple issues with it. But only on one vehicle, Dodge Cummins.

 

[ninjafied]

My drains are clear. I've had issues in the past so now I clean them out monthly. I haven't had many issues with dielectric grease in the past, so far so good this time. The car continues to work properly. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it over the next weeks and months.

 

[ninjafied]

Well shit, It happened again. Today my wife starts the car with the remote start in the driveway, proceeds to clear the snow and ice off. The remote starter timer ran out and the car shut off, she tries to restart and the battery is dead. So I drive home, pick her up and get here to work. I guess ill be looking at the issue tonight after-work

 

[ninjafied]

Well so far so good. I replaced the alternator and haven't had the issue since the end of January. Longest period of time since the problem started. Weird thing is at idle the old alternator was seeming to charge, maybe failing under load.

 

[Pentalab]

Smart junction box has been an issue for years. Look carefully at the under hood drains on the firewall. If they get clogged it allows the water to come into the car.

View attachment 93298

View attachment 93299

There are TWO of those damned things, one on either side of the eng, and both on the firewall. Reach down and pull em right out....then toss em.

 

[Miker]

1st thing I would do if I bought an S197 is pull both cowls, clean out the collection areas under the wipers, and remove, clean, and silicone all the cowl clips down.
2nd would be to pull the trim over the doors and reseal them.
After seeing the way both systems are designed every S197 ever made is going to leak water from both locations.
Super easy and cheap to fix. Just need a garage or a dry 24 hour period.