Recently, out of the blue, my battery died, I turned on the ignition and nothing, turned it off and the for a second or 2 there was a clicking on the passenger side.

- The terminals on the battery were a little bit carodded, so I cleaned them
- I jump started the truck, let it run for like an hour in the driveway to charge up a bit, turned it off, waited a second and then it would not start again.
- I put a new battery in the truck, worked great, went out to drive it the next night again, and almost completely dead.

Does anyone have any Idea on what could be causing the drain, I have change any wiring or anything. The alternator is about 1 1/2 years old

Please Help

 

you need to find out how many volts you are getting when its running. throw a multimeter on you should be around 14 volts consistently. is it a reman alternater?? ive seen them die after 3 months so...... check your wires again, make sure all your main grounds are clean and tight.

 

Do you have an aftermarket stereo and amp in your vehicle? if you didn't hook up the remote wire or the radio is not wired correctly you might be putting uneccesary drain on the battery. Also the voltage regulator may be bad on th ereplacement alternator. It is not uncommon and can be a hassel. Do the voltmeter check as suggested in the previous post and get back to us.

 

I like that name!!! you will have to isolate what is drawing down the battery. The first thing is a visual check, any light that can be on glove box, dome light, map light, etc. if nothing is found, remove the negative battery wire and install a 12 volt test light between the battery terminal and the battery wire, if there is draw you should have a bright light. If this is the case begin removing fuses until the light goes out or becomes very dim. this will have to be done with the door latched so that the dome light does not draw when the door is open, this should give you an idea which circuit is being effected. Did you have the cruise control recall done?? the cancel switch could be shorted!!!

 

Sounds like you've got a parasitic drain! This happens when something is running when the power or key is turned off. Look for glove compartment light, brake light, hood light or anything that can turn on while the engine or key is in the off position. You can also find the circuit by putting the multi-meter in Amp test range and reconfiguring the test leads. You will will then take off the neg. cable and reconnect the one lead of the multi-meter to the neg. terminal and the other lead to the neg. cable. this will complete the circuit and now all you have to do is look @ the reading on the LCD screen or analog part of the multi-meter and start removing fuses @ the fuse panel. when the over draw drops off to 0 you've found the circuit. Keep in mind you will have a certain about of amp draw even when everything is off because you'll have to keep power to the ECM or PCM and radio clock. Hope this is clear enough! Good Luck.

 

Sorry Chucks bp. I was typing mine when yours posted. Didnt mean to plagerize.

 

So I disconected my amp and my deck, still there is a drain. hooked up the battery, started it and put the multi-meter on it and it read, 12.20v then 12.19v, 12.18v, 12.17v, 12.16v, 12.15v. then I disconected it. Could this mean that it could be the voltage regulator or alternator. How can I check the voltage regulator, and is it seperate from the alternator or bulit in?

Thanks

 

i think in these trucks the voltage regulator is in the alternator, have to replace whole thing. turn on your a/c , wipers, headlights etc.. and see what kind of voltage drop you get. if its the alternator thats junk it wont take long for it to die.you should be getting around 14 with no accessories turned on. my guess is youll get 10-11 when all is turned on.check make sure your belt is nice and tight.

 

Voltages are going to fall, just like you illistrated 12.20-12.15. You need to do the AMP load check as I prescribed and not throw parts at it. What ever it is has power when your engine is off and the key is off. Check for voltage at your fuse panel with the key off and probe all fuse tops. Identify what is 12vdc and what is not. If it doesn't have pwr its not your problem. Like I said before, Glove Compartment, Hood, ect. Or what ever the live circuit feeds when the ignition is off.

 

If it's less than 13 volts at idle with no accessories turned on, your charging system is not charging. It should be 13.8 to 14.2.

 

I think you need to have the alternator checked out. My alt. gave out along with the battery and I only had 60k miles. The dealer was not sure which shorted out first, battery or alt. I had to replaced both..I think the volts now read 14.4 using a scangauge.

 

What glc said but add that this is correct if the idle speed is correct. If the voltage goes up with engine speed, the next thing I would check is the following:
Fully charge the battery. Use another vehicle or battery charger but make sure it is topped out. Install it in the truck and hook up all of the cables. Disconnect the lead wire from the battery to the alternator at the alternator. Make sure to protect it from touching anything as it is HOT. Leave it sit over night. Reconnect the lead wire from the battery to the alt. Start the truck. If it starts normally, the alternator is bad and you are losing current back thru the alt. DO NOT BUY a rebuilt one. Always buy a NEW alternator. This is the most common cause of your condition with Ford charging systems.

Side note: when you disconnect the lead wire at the alternator from the battery and it sparks, you can pretty much be assured that the alternator is the problem.