red blinky light...
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Joined: May 2005
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From: great white north
red blinky light...
red blinking light on dash ...how much voltage dose it draw...Truck was parked for three day's and will not start...Batt dead...ran test and shows 10.4 volts...I still have to get this into Ford, I replaced oem batt 6 months ago...
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,200
Likes: 39
From: Easton, Pa.
If your talking the about the anti theft lamp, don't worry, it's not that lamp.
It draws so little current that a fully charge battery would operate it for a year or more.
The whole truck does draw current constantly to keep memory alive and some circuits active but it is still very little and normally a good battery without any system defects will last months.
You have an excessive heavy drain problem that has to be tested for and cleared.
There are ways but gets involved if you want to do it.
Voltage measurements mean little at this point except to see if the charge system is functioning while the engine is running.
The alternator can have a shorted recifier stack or a faulty regulator and still show it's charging when the engine is running but go into current draw from the battery, at rest.
This is where you have to begin to isolate where the drain is coming from by testing with an indicator in series with the battery cable to tell when you have opened the faulty part of the system and see the results on the indicator.
A low cost indicator is a couple of different wattage lamps and pigtail sockets then interpeting their state of brillance for there wattage rating.
With the drain flattening the battery so fast, the larger wattage lamp will light fairly bright until you open the offending circut then it will go very dim or out.
If the drain is lower but still enough to cause the battery to go low, then the lower wattage lamp is to be used and the same procedure used to find the offending circuit.
As stated above there will always be a small drain of less than 1/8 amp at all times.
Remember to take out the hood lamp when working on this or that lamp will show on the indicator while you trying to work on the problem.
Also this type of problem reboots the PCM when the battery lead is opened for testing and the general time, trouble shooting for the fault.
If you want a dealer to solve the problem, charge the battery with one cable off then start the engine and go to the dealer before it goes flat again.
Good luck and put the check in the mail.
It draws so little current that a fully charge battery would operate it for a year or more.
The whole truck does draw current constantly to keep memory alive and some circuits active but it is still very little and normally a good battery without any system defects will last months.
You have an excessive heavy drain problem that has to be tested for and cleared.
There are ways but gets involved if you want to do it.
Voltage measurements mean little at this point except to see if the charge system is functioning while the engine is running.
The alternator can have a shorted recifier stack or a faulty regulator and still show it's charging when the engine is running but go into current draw from the battery, at rest.
This is where you have to begin to isolate where the drain is coming from by testing with an indicator in series with the battery cable to tell when you have opened the faulty part of the system and see the results on the indicator.
A low cost indicator is a couple of different wattage lamps and pigtail sockets then interpeting their state of brillance for there wattage rating.
With the drain flattening the battery so fast, the larger wattage lamp will light fairly bright until you open the offending circut then it will go very dim or out.
If the drain is lower but still enough to cause the battery to go low, then the lower wattage lamp is to be used and the same procedure used to find the offending circuit.
As stated above there will always be a small drain of less than 1/8 amp at all times.
Remember to take out the hood lamp when working on this or that lamp will show on the indicator while you trying to work on the problem.
Also this type of problem reboots the PCM when the battery lead is opened for testing and the general time, trouble shooting for the fault.
If you want a dealer to solve the problem, charge the battery with one cable off then start the engine and go to the dealer before it goes flat again.
Good luck and put the check in the mail.