I have a 1997 F-150 and went out to start it the other day and the battery was dead. No big deal I jumped it but have gotten these problems since then.
wipers don't work
power windows don't work
4wd light doesn't work
accessory lights don't work
under hood lamp doesn't work
4wd will not come out(it was parked with it in 4wd)
and if I leave it over night then the battery is dead by morning(it's been 30 degrees at night so not that cold)

Everything else seems to work just fine.
I've checked all of the fuses and they're all fine.
I've tried anything I can think of and nothing works. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll be glad to answer any questions.

97 F-150
auto
4x4
shift on fly 4x4
cat back
electric fans
microtuner
accel coil packs
fipk
3 inch body lift

Thanx Jeff

 

replace the battry it has to be at full amps to power that stufff second check the volt reg. and the alternator

 

I will try those things and let you know if it works or not. Thank you.


Jeff

 

I tested the alternator and it seems to charge fine: like 14.2 or something like that. The battery was dead so I swapped my battery out of my other 97 F-150 and there was no change(all of the stuff still didn't work). Now when you say check the voltage regulator that's for charge only right?
I also checked for a draw and it was only .04 so that's within specs.
Is it possibly that some wires fried and that's why all this stuff went out at the same time? I've checked the wires to the best of my ability and have not found anything wrong with them.
Are all these components connected in one spot somewhere?

Sorry for all the questions I'd just like to figure this out.

thanx
Jeff

 

Are you sure about the fuses?

It sounds like something is shorted somewhere if the battery drains till its dead. I would certainly check all the fuses again...

The power distribution box under the hood (1999 F150) has Maxi-Fuses along with other fuses and relays. The Maxi-Fuses are square and in the upper right portion of this photo. I don't mean to be an *** about checking all the fuses...

Did you put all the fuses back in the correct locations? I almost put one of mine back in the wrong place! There are so many open slots here...

 

If your battery is going dead overnight (8-10hrs), then you have to have a draw on the battery of at least 600 Milliamps, and probably more consedring you have a new battery. How are you testing the draw? Please post on how you are testing, and a list of what is not functioning, and I will check Alldata for a common circuit or??

Shawn

 

Heh, Your situation kind of reminds me of a problem I had with a Maxima I owned one time. I finally nailed the problem down to a wireing harness in the door. It was rubbing against the window and had rubbed some of the wires bare. It would blow a fuse when I used the power windows. I also lost the instrument panel when it blew this particular fuse.

Haku has a good point...
If it were me, I would pull the fuses for power windows, instrument panel, wipers etc. one at a time and check for amps flowing with my amp-meter. My amp-meter only goes to 20 amps so I could only check fuses rated 20 amps or less. You would have a place to start if you find amps flowing thru one of the fuses.

 

Funny for you to say that!!! There is a TSB on that excact problem on his F150. Harness rubbin throu on the door handle, causing fuse 14 to blow, which powers the door locks, windows ect...

Shawn

 

You might want to check the cables from the battery. If they are very corroded, this could be causing your problem.
Have you checked the negative cable for a proper ground at the frame?

 

I will check and recheck everything today and let you guys know what I find.

Thanx for all the info and I'll recheck the draw. The draw was checked by unhooking the positive battery cable and putting the meter inbetween to complete the circuit. The draw was only 40 milliamps.

Thanx for all the help
Jeff

 

Was that with the hood light in the circuit? They may account for the 40mA.

 

Negative, 40 milliamps is WAY below acceptable, a under hood light would pull over 400Milliamps. There is no way that a good battery would go dead overnight without a draw on it. What kind of meter are you using for this? The way your testing it is correct, but there has to be somthing with the meter, or how you are reading it. I dont want to come across like a @#$, but like I said before, it is impossible for a good battery to go dead overnight without a draw. Whether or not it is present during your testing is another question. By the readin you got (.04), your using the Amp setting on the meter, try using the MA setting if it has it.

Shawn

 

Haku:

After thinking about that one your right. 40mA is more like a LED, I do agree if the battery is draining overnight it is going to need a good draw, even 400mA (light) could draw it down.

Correct me if I am wrong but it can't be any lights anywhere that may be drawing it down, right? Or is it just the interior lights that cut off after a few minutes? Could the hood light be staying on?

Just thinking out load...

 

No, the voltage regulator is for limiting the alternators voltage to a preset value. That prevents power surges, circuit overloads etc. during peak voltage output.

One way to test the voltage regulator is by checking the battery when your truck is running which it sounds like you did. The battery should read between 14 – 15vdc. You stated it was reading 14.2vdc so your voltage regulator is fine and your battery is getting a charge when your truck is running.

 

It could be a light, relay stuck on powering up a circuit, ect... But he says there is only a 40mA draw, which will not drain the battery overnight. The industry standard is 150-200mA draw MAX, anything over that is a problem. Fords have been going to a "battery save" mode with the GEM's, and in my expierence, 100mA draw should be the max. Once he can see the draw on the meter, he can start pulling fuses to locate the draw, once he does that, I can check Alldata for what that fuse powers up, and it should be easy from there. As far as checking the voltage regulator, he is checking that correctly, however.... I would check the diodes in the alternator. Turn your meter to AC Volts, and check for AC voltage at the alternator, using the case as ground.
You should have very minimal AC voltage, (.20ACV MAX, generally speaking) But I dont think the problem is there anyway. Whats the chances of you hooking up the jump incorreclty (sorry, have to ask)?? If that was the case, diagnosis would be a little different.