Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: Parasitic Draw / Battery Is Slowly Discharging
Dec 19, 2013
With the hood open and the hood light bulb pulled out, measured the parasitic draw on their truck? I checked mine because it appears my battery is slowly discharging if the truck sits 3 or 4 days. I got 0.24 amps which seems in line with running the clock memory and the computer. I have a feeling the battery is shot even though it is only 3 years old. When I bought the truck it had a ton of yellow fuzz on the terminals. That is cleaned up and with it running I get about 14.35 volts at idle so it is charging. 0.24 draw??
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I have a 2006 F250. Past two winters my batteries have died. Last yr., bought 2 new batteries and a new alternator. This winter, battries have been replaced twice. I only drive the truck maybe once a week, about 5 miles total. I live in Indiana and we have had many sub zero temps this yr. Its been in the shop all week, the mechanic states that they are finding an extremely small draw but cannot find where it is coming from. The mechanic is wondering if I am driving it enough. Any thoughts on this? Also my batteries came from auto zone, the mechanics thought it was bad that I had bought them from auto zone.....not sure if that should even be a factor....
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I have a parasitic drain on my battery. 4.5 amps to be exact. I've tracked it down to the CTSY fuse or Fuse 3 in the fuse block. When I pull the fuse it drops to 40 mA which is pretty normal.
What is the most likely cause of this drain since my lights seems to be working and shut off when the doors are shut? I've almost got the dash ripped apart to get at the wiring harness but hopefully I can find it before taking the whole dash out.
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I have a 2000 7.3 just replaced the alternator little over 2 months ago old one was wore out...heres my problem the night before last I was coming home and started to lose charge and made it home..shut the truck off and tried to restart and it would just click due to low volts.. the next day tested both batteries and they tested weak so I just cleaned the battery post and the cables..and started up and ran fine all day.. last night on the way home started to lose volts again got all the way down to 8 volts showing then all of a sudden it kicked in went back to normal.. and now today started to do the same thing by losing volts but now its dead but the batteries still test weak with no discharge under a load
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I bought my X 2 weeks ago on a Saturday. It was dead when I picked it up, due to sitting. No big deal. I live an hour from where I bought it. Drove it sunday and monday no problem. Tuesday, I fired it up, drove to work. It sat about 11 hours, I came out and it was dead. I jumped it. Drove home and put it on a charger overnight. Fired it up wednesday morning and drove to work. Just for good measure I did a charging system check. It passes with flying colors. Park it and come out 11 hours later. Dead. I jumped it and pulled it inside and threw a new battery in it. Should be good to go...
I drove it, and had no problems till sunday night. It sat about 16 hours and was again dead. I put my charger on it overnight again. Drove to work monday morning and grabbed my inductive amp clamp. I use that for larger draws so I know I won't pop the fuse in my meter.
I pop the hood, and lock the doors. Put the meter on it and its showing 9amp draw. Normal till the computers fall asleep and such. It dropped down to 4.8 amps and didnt' drop. I checked it an hour later and it was still at 4.8. So I left it sit and when I'd walk by I'd check it. Once in a while it was reading 0.0. The others 4.8. When I went out to leave for the day it was at 0.0, and the truck started just fine.
It's been a week now with no problems, and the only thing I have done is lube all the latches and hinges. BUT... last night I was working in the garage and once in a while I could hear what sounded like a motor running for a second or 2 in the clamshell trunk lid. I know it doesn't currently lock, but I didn't think it could or would continue to attempt it.
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I have a RX350 2012 model. Recently, in last 3 weeks my battery has discharged 3-4 times, I had to call for a jump start.
I got my battery checked with my dealership and they say the reports from battery are excellent!
I am not sure why is it discharging? I just think there might be a sensor failure which is keeping something running in my car.
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I have a 2006 Suzuki Forenza with original battery, so it's been about 9.5 years now. Yesterday, I couldn't start the car, and it made a few rapid clicks on trying to start it. I didn't have time to deal with it so took a spare car to work. Came home to check/try the car and it had so little charge that dashboard lights, automatic door locks, etc. didn't work, the warning indicator lights that light up on turning power on barely lit up. Seems like the battery was nearly discharged. I'm attempting to have it charged with an external charger right now to check on the car later (and try to check for parasitic drain), have the battery tested, and bring the car to mechanic for a more thorough inspection (I'm not a car person).
I was just wondering though in the meantime: did I get lucky to get nearly 10 years of life out of a car's factory installed battery? and that it's likely time for a new battery regardless of whether the battery still holds charge? The car was working fine the previous day, I never had to jump start the car. Although I had trouble starting car once or twice in the past, but that just required waiting a bit and attempting to start car again - may have been warm weather related. It just failed yesterday, and I don't recall leaving headlights on or things like that. I'm just wondering had my car been parasitically draining already and just hit a critical point yesterday (slow drain before but faster drain at some point like yesterday), or can parasitic drain just happen all of a sudden like fine one day, then some drain/short the next that kills the battery.
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So I think I have a slow battery draw. Did a test and the first result showed a 1.4/1.6 amp draw. So I started pulling fuses, and the F8 fuse (in the engine bay) dropped it to 0.4/0.5. F8 fuse is what I believe is labeled as the Radio. I have no audio upgrades. Just the stock RCD-510.
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I narrowed my battery drain to the box on top of the battery. When I disconnect all three fuses and the 4th wire from inside the box my draw goes to 0 but when I connect any of those 4 it will go back up. Connecting all of them will not increase the draw any more but it seems all of them are connected in some way?
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What is wrong with her car. It is an 05 subaru outback 3.0. She bought it 4 months ago. A week ago the battery died at red light. It tested bad and was replaced. Then yesterday it died at stop sign. Jumped it and died in 5 seconds. Before dying, car would not rev. Jumped it leaving cables on for 5 minutes since battery was almost drained. She made it half mile back to office and coasted into lot. Battery tested good but drained and was fully charged. Alternator tested 7 times to be certain. We bought a 10A multimeter (our town has no 20A).
Tested for parasitic drain. No results. We took Alternator off and tested a couple more times. We took out non essential fuses to be safe. Nothing was left running. There was a phone charger that has been plugged in for the whole four months. She took it out for good measure. Starter tested good. 3 people said battery cables are good. They appear to be non corroded and tight imo as well. They checked fuel pump. All was well.
She wants to go on vacation for the 4th but is scared to try. Mechanic friend said wait until it happens again, go to o reileys and demand them replace the battery as it has to be bad even if testing good. I'm not sure of this is the correct approach, but what else is there? One online mechanic said a voltage test on electrical system is next step but only a few select mechanics even know how to do it such as one that specializes in electrical wiring or something like that.
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I have an 1997 F150/4.2 V6/220,000 miles/4x2. During hot weather (over 90F) the engine slowly overheats. While driving on the interstate (from Indy to Fort Wayne), the coolant temperature shows normal on the gauge. Slowly the temperature gauge creeps up to close to the red area. I am running the A/C.
When I switch the heater on and the heater fan at max, the temperature gauge drops pretty quickly to a normal range. I switch off the heater and the A/C back on, then it takes 30 minutes for the temperature gauge to start rising again.
When I open the hood when the gauge shows close to the red area, the upper coolant hose has a lot of pressure (can not squeeze it), which would mean that the thermostat is open and the water pump is working. Also the fan is running fast.
The coolant was changed out a few weeks ago and the coolant level is at normal level when the engine is cold. At lower ambient temperatures, there is no overheating. I am puzzled what the problem can be. I am thinking of a restricted coolant flow.
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Just wondering if leaving the key in the ignition in the lock position causes the car to draw power from the battery.
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What can cause shutter in 1998 f-150 4.6 4x4 4r70w when slowly accelerating?
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I have 1998 F-150 and the heater core was replaced 18 months ago. All was going well until about 2 weeks ago I noticed under heavy acceleration I would smell antifreeze. The smell would clear up and would not re appear for a day or so. Finally the other day when it was 8 outside I got in the truck and got about 5 miles from the house started up a hill and it was like a fog machine was mounted behind my dash the windows fogged up almost immediately so I figured great the core went bad again. Now the temperature has warmed up the last couple of days and there is nothing no fog in the cab the heater works fine just an occasional slight smell of antifreeze. Before I go through the trouble of tearing out the dash is there anything I should check I already checked the connections on the firewall and they were fine.
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I Have A 2001 F 150 And I Have Just Noticed That On Cold Morning When The Temperature Is Below 35 That My Transmission Takes A While To Shift Into High. Sometime I Am Two To Three Miles Down The Road Before It Will Shift Into The Last High Gear. Is This Normal Or Should I Have This Checked Out? I Have 53,000 Miles On This Truck And Do I Need To Have The Fluil Changed An Serviced.
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I have a 2000 SCrew KR F150. A couple of weeks ago I noticed the brake pedal was slowly going to the floor while at a red light. I pulled over and popped the hood checked the fluid reservoir. It was full, so obviously no wheel cylinder issues or fluid loss. I haven't had a chance to tear into it yet.
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Have a '02 f150 and thinking the heater core slowly dieing. Have noticed for several weeks a nice line of water leaking onto the passenger side floor. Do you have to take off the entire dash to get to it? Will be doing replacement myself as the dealer or shop would probably kill me on labor.
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Here is the critical info...1999 F-150 2wd supercab, 4.6 litre, Automatic, 138,000 mi
Recently, I had the upper control arms, upper ball joints, and lower ball joints replaced. They also did an alignment. Since then, the truck has had what seems to be a rough, jiggly ride. I can feel every little imperfection in the road, even when moving very slowly. I've also noticed that my doors sometimes rattle now (they didn't before the work was done). On the highway, sometimes it seems that a tire will get into a bouncing condition which can continue for quit awhile. It is also harder to keep the truck centered in the lane.
I went back to the same place that did the work and told them to double check everything, (which they did, found nothing wrong).
To try to fix this, I have...
replaced the shocks (new ones are bilstein)
balanced the tires
rotated the tires
checked air pressure (32 psi)
I don't know if the following facts have anything to do with anything, but... When I look at the upper control arm attachment points, there is a metal plate that is (I'm told) to keep the camber in the factory setting. This plate was removed on one side to adjust the camber away from the factory setting. Also, I don't see how the castor is controlled? Is there an adjustment for that. Can castor be to blame for any of this? Can cheap parts (control arm, ball joints) be to blame?
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I have a 2001 ford f150 4x4 xlt and it seems to be shaking violently in first gear when I try to release the clutch slowly. The person i bought it from said he had a new clutch put in this year So i don't think its the clutch. What could be the cause of it before I take it in to be checked.
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I have a 2003 F-150 4x4 with cruise control and 4-wheel disc. When I am at a stop light for a while, when holding the brakes, the pedal slowly begins to fade towards the floorboard. I have replace two master cylinders, the original and a reman and then put on a new Motorcraft one...all providing the same problem. I have been told by dealerships that it is my imagination or that this is a "normal" problem. Having my truck roll at a stop light while the brakes are applied is not normal.
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I have a 2003 Ford F150 with a 5.4V8 Triton 4X4. The truck is about to roll over 200K here soon. I am feeling/hearing a vibration/grinding sound coming from the truck when I am moving slowly and making turns, either left or right turns. Seems to happen more so on left hand turns. I have changed all power train fluids and filter, and still does it. I do not feel or notice the vibration/grinding when I am going straight or at highway speeds. It is only when I am moving from a stop and making turns. How to diagnose, find out, repair, fix this issue?
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