Wreed, Norm is absolutely right in his analysis!

I checked my truck battery's voltage this morning too. It is now 12.43 volts after sitting overnight. It fell 0.04 volts. Yours fell 0.2 volts (5 times the drop I have).

Because you have a new truck, I suspect a faulty battery more than faulty wiring. Your decision to disconnect the battery and check the voltage drop is a good one. If you get a similar drop, replace the battery. Since it is new, you will probably get a free replacement.

If the battery does not lose its charge, you have something specific to to tell the dealership and they have the capability to locate the component or wiring fault that is pulling your battery down.

And, I'm sorry there seemed to be such a "smoke screen" in all of this discussion. As I recall wreed, you said your battery would not crank the engine after about one week. That clearly indicates a problem, as Norm was trying to (and did) point out. Others though talked about a three week interval, which is my experience, and I know that got into the discussion somehow. I'm fairly convinced that the KR's electronics are not kind to batteries when the vehicle sits a long time.

But, sounds like you're on the right track now!

(That was good info on the batteries, Norm)!

- Jack

 

Suggestion
I had a problem with that especially when I usually dont touch my Expedition in the summer.

What I do is I bought a Solar Battery Charger that plugs into my cigarette lighter I bought it for $15 at Harbor Frieght Tools... Does a great job... I Leave the solar panel on the dash, and it replaces any power consumed by computer

I had the Expy off the road since early Off since early June and just went out to try to start it... and it started!

The only other thing was I turned off the automatic air suspension ( switch under glove compartment) because it will add air every so often whether I drive it or not)

 

Wow! the air suspension HAS to hit the battery hard! You have a good solution too, but for those of us in garages.... I hooked up a Battery Tender today.

Wish gas was cheaper - I'd drive it more often. Still, when I need it, it's there - to take me out into the boonies with our trailer. Can't ask for much more than that!

- Jack

 

This thread is full of good info - Good title for search as well. . You rule Norm! BUT! I know what the book said for the 97-98 model. Yea , I realize the vender's aren't always correct. Sort of like LT headers; - It use to be that you couldn't find a set of those listed for the 97, 98 models. That didn't make sense because from 97 -03 , the heads are all the same on the exhaust port side.

wreedKR - At least check the harness for water. I'll post a pick of where they hold water , If it can't find the exit. Keep in mind , this is an earlier model. They may have changed the set up.

A pic of the main line (hot) - That loop is where it will trap water. Something worth checking. -

 

I unhooked the battery at 4:30pm CST and have taken two readings since then. The battery has read 12.4V both times.

It has to be the truck draining it.

Ford dealer said it should last longer than a week so I think I am going to drop it off tomorrow.

 

What is this a picture of? the starter motor? Where exactly does it hold water? Can you draw a arrow to it?

 

That loop - That's the starter/solenoid , you haven't even looked at it. Geezz, yea , take it in.

 

Instead of laughing at me could you tell me exactly what I should look for? I know you mentioned something about a wire on your starter but didnt get very detailed on the actual problem and fix.

 

That loop could hold water if there is no drain in it. Which then might cause corrosion to the wire and insulation. Crawl under the truck and take a look see.

A higher than normal drain on a battery would cause a lot of discharging and recharging which could weaken any battery. Take it in to Ford and get it checked out. They will probably just say you need a "motorcraft" battery.

 

I was having the same problem with the motorcraft battery.

 

Can the dealer read the battery draw with a scanner/computer or do they do it the old fashion way of pulling fuses one by one?

 

Oooff

Is it just me , or is he not getting it . wreedKR - generally the first thing to do is a good visual check of the system for the obvious. This is what I've been trying to have you do from the get go.

I'm tellin yuh - just one little nick in either cable can compromise the battery over time - it can get progressively worse.

The problem very well could be on the surface, but you have to take a look at it in order to determine.

Follow the cables from the battery. These -

 

My 01 may be set up different than your 07 but another breakdown point I have seen is where the positive cable is attached to the battery tray. When you have a bad connection either at the battery or starter end I have seen sparks at this point. Whenever there is a bad connection anywhere in the wires shown above (thanks Jbrew) you will have a larger current draw.

 

Since I used to teach engineering jbrew, I can understand your frustration. However, from his symptoms I think we all agree there is a wiring fault or possibly some other component problem and it's not the battery. Since he has an '07, this would qualify as a manufacturing defect in my book and Ford, through the dealership, has an obligation to set it right. After all, we DO pay for these things and Ford should provide value for our money.

I suspect though, that like me, you would want to find the problem yourself, even if the truck was still under warrenty. But, not everyone has this desire or is equipped to do this.

Our discussions on the subject though (which probably should have been in the Electrical Forum) have been most educational (to me at least) and I've enjoyed the learning experience.

I probably need to revisit my own truck, rather than just writing off the 0.05 - 0.1 amp draw as an artifact of a King Ranch. I was willing to accept it based on what several others were saying, but, I really DO need to find the actual culpret - then I can decide if it's normal or not.

Wish it wasn't so hot right now (in the upper 90's) - this is more of a cool weather project! Anyway, I've enjoyed the "back and forth" with you and Norm! (And my multimeter's not worn out - yet).

- Jack

 

lol ( :

wreedKR -I have the FORD Service DVD 05 -07 ,if you need a specific procedure for your model, I can e-mail in - "Word", "PDF" (UNIX/MAC Friendly) Formats.

They go long on details in the DVD sets.

BTW - Not laughing at you, just a few things JackandJanet said above / Not in a sarcastic way JandJ.