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Constant battery drain on 2009 2.3L 2WD


chetvaldes

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Hello,
Recently, one day my battery was too weak to start my engine, so I had to jumpstart it. It was fine for a few days until I let it set for 2-3 days, then the problem would reappear. If it sets for over 4-5 days the battery is completely fIat. figured that my battery was beginning to fail, so I was planning on replacing it. But first, I did a drain test and found a constant .3A drain. No lights were on anywhere. So I'm wondering what the best way to isolate this drain? I thought about removing the fuses one by one, but that will be very tedious. I'm hoping it's not the GEM, but there are a couple of erratic issues like intermittant automatic door lock operation and instrument lights that I've discovered are controlled by it. For now, I'm disconnecting the battery ground cable if it needs to set for over a day, and I carry a jumpstarter.
Any expert suggestions are appreciated.
 


Dirtman

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First, you do not have a GEM module. You have a SJB. Second, in order to do a parasitic draw test the truck needs to sit with the doors shut for 30-45 minutes with the meter connected. There is a battery saver that is on a timer, it doesn't shut down everything until some time has passed after the truck is off and doors are shut. If you try to wait and then connect the meter, you will "wake" the system up again and see a larger draw

If you still see a large draw after ensuring the battery saver has shut down, start pulling fuses. Its not all that tedious, only takes 5-10 minutes to run through them all to find the affected circuit.

You also need to test your battery itself... anything under 12.2 volts is a dying battery.
 

chetvaldes

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Thanks Dirtman!
It's confusing because there's plenty of references to a 2009 Ford Ranger GEM module online complete with videos. So I'm getting a possible false positive because I'm not letting the battery saver time out- I guess I'll need to redo the test with alligator leads on my meter.
But what about my erratic door locks- sometimes they automatically lock when I startup and unlock when I shutdown, and most of the time lately they don't- is this controlled by the SJB? I read somewhere online that the SJB on this model is prone to water damage if the windshield leaks- I don't think mine does but should I pull it out and inspect it for corrosion?
 

Dirtman

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It's up there.
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It's down there.
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I would test your battery before doing anything. Low battery voltage can cause all sorts of erratic functions. Put the battery on a charger overnight and then turn the headlights on for a while to spill off the excess voltage and then check it. 12.8 is a new battery, 12.2 is dead. Sometimes you can also have good voltage but low amps so you should do a load test too.

Once you rule out a bad battery then move forward... check for voltage drop through the battery connections as well. You need to know 100% that you are getting proper power to the SJB before you can start testing anything.
 

RonD

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+1 ^^^^^

2009 vehicle should be just on its 3rd new battery
Car batteries last 5 years some times 6
So your at 11 years old, so end of life on 2nd battery if not on 3rd battery

When a car battery is near end of life it often becomes self draining, a cell gets shorted internally and it self drains over 6 to 8 hours
You can unhook a battery cable and test battery voltage, write it down
Then test it again 4 hours later, should be EXACTLY the same, if not, time to shop for battery sale


North American Ford Rangers used GEMs from 1995 to 2003, in 2004 to 2011 they used SJB(smart junction box), so what you read was..........Wrong
GEM or SJB is the Body Computer, the BCM(body control module), and that's the end of the Alphabet Soup, lol
 

Blmpkn

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My '10 2.3 2wd had the same draining issue when I got it. Turned out that the a/c clutch was holding on all the time regardless of hvac knob position.

Quick and dirty fix was to just unplug the a/c compressor whenever I didn't need it lol. I really hate figuring out anything to do with wiring so that was an acceptable fix for the meantime. 2 years later I still need to make time to figure out WHY the clutch is always on... but oh well.
 

09fx4guy

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I agree with Dirtman and RonD. Check the battery. If the battery is over 5 years old, it should be the first item you check.
 

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