bill88
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2010
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Vehicle Year
- 1988
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.9
- Transmission
- Manual
My recently-acquired 88 Ranger 4x4 had a weak battery one morning, then was dead the next. The battery was still under warranty, so jumped it and took it to the shop. I wasn't impressed with their trouble-shooting skills, but they eventually said the battery had a dead cell and they swapped it out with a new one. Two days later, the battery was dead again.
Put a charger on the battery and got it to 12V. Then put my multimeter at 10A DC inline between the negative battery terminal and the negative cable. I have a 2.6 A draw with everything off.
I pulled the fuses in the cab out one at a time and the draw never stopped. I then pulled the green and yellow cables off the solenoid terminal where the positive battery cable connects, and the draw was gone. Put the yellow cable back on and no draw. Put the green back on and the draw was back.
The green cable apparently powers all the lights. I'm assuming I have a short somewhere. All the lights work when the cable is attached and I can't see any that stay on.
Any hints on where the short may be or how to track it down? Is there any usual place the wiring gets rubbed raw?
Thanks!
Put a charger on the battery and got it to 12V. Then put my multimeter at 10A DC inline between the negative battery terminal and the negative cable. I have a 2.6 A draw with everything off.
I pulled the fuses in the cab out one at a time and the draw never stopped. I then pulled the green and yellow cables off the solenoid terminal where the positive battery cable connects, and the draw was gone. Put the yellow cable back on and no draw. Put the green back on and the draw was back.
The green cable apparently powers all the lights. I'm assuming I have a short somewhere. All the lights work when the cable is attached and I can't see any that stay on.
Any hints on where the short may be or how to track it down? Is there any usual place the wiring gets rubbed raw?
Thanks!