Battery Drain on a 98

[cajunman87]

I hate starting threads like this because I'm sure if I search previous posts I will find some info, or actually get under my hood with a test light I can find it, but to be honest I'm feeling pretty lazy today. If my truck is parked for more than one day it is a guarantee that my battery will be dead and I will need a jump. Now, I do have a lot of electronic accessories attached to my battery, but i was wondering if anyone knows of any common occurring battery drainers on the 98-2000's.

 

[RonD]

How old is the battery?

Batteries drain themselves once they get enough shorts in the plates, which is inevitable with age.
If its a 1998 then it should be on it's 3rd battery, depending on use car batteries are good for 5-7 years.

Clocks, canopy lights, trailer light connections, but these would take days to drain battery without being noticed.

As much as you don't want to, lol, I would disconnect the battery and test it with a volt meter, 12.4vDC or below is a battery well past it's prime, it would have a hard time holding a charge is cold weather.
If voltage drops while meter is connected for a few minutes then you have an internal short.
Or you can just disconnect the battery after driving the truck and then hook it back up the next morning, if it doesn't crank or cranks very slowly then you have a short in the battery.

If voltage on battery is good, above 12.6vDC, then disconnect negative battery terminal and hook up a test light between battery "-" and negative cable, test light should glow because power is flowing, usually from the clock.
Pull out clock fuse, then pull out one fuse at a time until you find the offending circuit that is drawing power.
If you think it might be from things you have added disconnect those first.
Test light will go off when no power is being drawn through it.

There are a few power relays and fuses in the engine compartment power box that can be pulled to shorten the test time.

 

[Earl43P]

To add to Ron's good advice, put the alternator on the list of possibilities.

Here's a handy link to read through: http://flashoffroad.com/electrical/Batteries/BatteryDrain.html

My simple test is to look at the brightness of the spark when you touch the - bat terminal to the post. Bright spark with audible snap is a big draw.

Another thing to consider is killing the dome light. Use a screwdriver to latch the driver door latch to simulate it being closed. That way you can go in/out, pull interior fuses etc without the dome light interfering.

There may also be a battery saver relay. It will turn off the dome light in about 20-30 minutes if you left a door open. I know 99-00 had that if you had the power windows / PDLs, not sure if 98 got that or not. If your windows have cranks, I don't hink you have a battery save relay.

 

[cajunman87]

Well the first few times I had to jump start it I assumed it was a bad battery, which made me kind of mad since I had purchased a new battery only months before. When I put the new battery in it did the same thing. I'm pretty sure the alternator is in good shape because the truck will run without a battery in it and if I run the truck every day it keeps a charge enough on the battery to crank the next day. I have electric seats, train horns with compressor, HID head and fog lights, and electric cruise control all added 4ish years ago, this battery drain only started about 5 months ago. I guess Ill have to get a little dirty and poke around and see whats drawing juice.

 

[caveman_joey]

The factory radio on my 98 started causing my battery to be dead after sitting a day or two without running but daily driving would keep the battery charged enough to keep me from having to jump it off unless it was extreme temperatures. I confirmed it when i disconnected the factory head unit and the battery stopped dying after a two day sit (weekend). It was 12yrs old so it was time for and a good excuse to upgrade to an aftermarket head unit. Anyways that's my two cents worth i hope it helps.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1205097&postcount=7