Intermittent Battery Drain

[Fordley]

Hello Ranger Station !

first post on forum, I am having a non consistent battery drain, the battery is less than 2 yrs old. The charging system appears normal, but twice now, in a 10 day period I went to start the truck only to find batt was 99% drained.


manual locks/ windows

Batt (static voltage - unplugged) 12.40-12.72 V
Batt (engine running) 13.23 - 14.42


I discnnctd the POS lead and checkd batt after 4 days and it has not gone down


a) removed batt
b) dealt with rust, cleaned painted batt box
c) cleaned checked batt levels



Curious if anyone has had this issue, or any suggestions on what to look for next ?



Thank you, Fordley in upper Midwest

 

[DeeRanger]

Do you have any kind of alarm/anti theft system in place, be it factory or aftermarket ? That's what it was for my 2001 2.5 Ranger.
Slowly but surely drained the battery until the system was removed. Still don't know why ?

 

[Fordley]

Hello sir


no alarm, I am aware of (the vehicle did not come with a fob either)
thanks

I have 2 Ford keys ( PATS system )

 

[Fordley]

Update, checked voltage from neg terminal to neg post on batt, and saw no reading.
Next going to check for any potential amp draw, and look at fuses, possibly drivers door latch/switch

Update(AUG 3rd): switches, pinwheels seem fine, checked for amp draw on neg term to neg post it was .19 a

have not tried using meter for neg continuity and allow batt saver to go to sleep (some say 20-30 min some say an hour) .....I assume its ok to use meter to provide continuity, but its ok to turn meter off

Been going thru lots of old threads/ videos

update Aug 4th forgot to mention, that during this ordeal, the fuel and temp gauges stay on (24/7) for whatever reason (they never did that previous)... the only time I noticed those gauges go off, was when I engaged the key

 

[Fordley]

I have not discovered the mystery drain and began disconnecting my batt if left overnight.

Kinda green-beak question, but I want to try using a voltmeter to maintain batt continuity(avert batt saver function), and wondering if the voltmeter stays on during the no power period ? (20-60 min)

 

[Curious Hound]

Yes, you can use your multimeter. Set it to amps, connect it in series between the battery negative and the negative battery clamps. Leave it alone for a while until battery saver goes off. Even if meter goes to sleep, it will be measuring. They often wake up if they sense a change. Close hood and doors on truck during the test and don't touch them. That reactivates the battery saver.

Your statement about some of the gauges staying on is probably a clue.

 

[pjtoledo]

my 2000 had the battery drain problem, it got progressively worse over a couple months.
installed a battery isolator for testing and to save the battery.

eventually removed the aftermarket remote start and problem went away.
check for splices under the steering column.

your instruments staying on was not one of my symptoms.
fuel and temp get power in hot & start thru fuse 11 in the central junction box.
fuse 11 gets power from the ignition switch.

are you testing for voltage drop across fuses?
if current is flowing a few millivolts will show across a fuse.
there are charts online about the millivolts across various size fuses and current flow.

 

[Fordley]

Yes, you can use your multimeter. Set it to amps, connect it in series between the battery negative and the negative battery clamps. Leave it alone for a while until battery saver goes off. Even if meter goes to sleep, it will be measuring. They often wake up if they sense a change. Close hood and doors on truck during the test and don't touch them. That reactivates the battery saver.

Your statement about some of the gauges staying on is probably a clue.

thank you sir I will look into it

 

[tinman_72]

I recently saw a YouTube video where a guy was claiming that those spy devices that you plug into your OBD2 port for a discount will drain your battery while trying to phone home in the middle of the night. You don't have one of those do you?

 

[Fordley]

I recently saw a YouTube video where a guy was claiming that those spy devices that you plug into your OBD2 port for a discount will drain your battery while trying to phone home in the middle of the night. You don't have one of those do you?

No sir, but thanks for the information

 

[Shran]

If your truck is like my Super Duty, there is a timer built into the gauge cluster that controls the battery saver deal. I had all sorts of bad problems with that and ended up sending the gauge cluster off to be fixed. I can't remember where but it was a place in Missouri and they did excellent work. Your gauge symptoms make me think that might be related, like there is a relay stuck or something.

Another possibility is the ignition switch. The one in my Jeep is really sensitive and if you don't turn it to the exact right spot when you pull the key out, the tail lights will come on and glow very faintly like there is just a tiny bit of voltage getting past. Kind of strange because it does it even when the headlights are shut off but it is definitely an issue.

I recently saw a YouTube video where a guy was claiming that those spy devices that you plug into your OBD2 port for a discount will drain your battery while trying to phone home in the middle of the night. You don't have one of those do you?

This is 100% true. Our work insurance started requiring them and soon after we started having problems with dead batteries overnight in some vehicles. Removing the spy devices fixed it instantly. The ones we were using (made by Azuga) report GPS locations 24/7.

 

[Fordley]

my 2000 had the battery drain problem, it got progressively worse over a couple months.
installed a battery isolator for testing and to save the battery.

eventually removed the aftermarket remote start and problem went away.
check for splices under the steering column.

your instruments staying on was not one of my symptoms.
fuel and temp get power in hot & start thru fuse 11 in the central junction box.
fuse 11 gets power from the ignition switch.

are you testing for voltage drop across fuses?
if current is flowing a few millivolts will show across a fuse.
there are charts online about the millivolts across various size fuses and current flow.

Thanks yes I am checking for current flow, and need to do an amp draw test after batt saver goes dormant. I looked and there is not under hood light or wiring for one( Im guessing that hood open will not trigger a sensor ?)

I know how to set door latch, and will try the amp draw test next, thanks again to everyone for all the replies !

If your truck is like my Super Duty, there is a timer built into the gauge cluster that controls the battery saver deal. I had all sorts of bad problems with that and ended up sending the gauge cluster off to be fixed. I can't remember where but it was a place in Missouri and they did excellent work. Your gauge symptoms make me think that might be related, like there is a relay stuck or something.

Another possibility is the ignition switch. The one in my Jeep is really sensitive and if you don't turn it to the exact right spot when you pull the key out, the tail lights will come on and glow very faintly like there is just a tiny bit of voltage getting past. Kind of strange because it does it even when the headlights are shut off but it is definitely an issue.



This is 100% true. Our work insurance started requiring them and soon after we started having problems with dead batteries overnight in some vehicles. Removing the spy devices fixed it instantly. The ones we were using (made by Azuga) report GPS locations 24/7.

Thanks for info on gauge cluster. I just checked and fuel gauge stays around 1/2 plus temp stays around 1/3 even with the batt not connected.

Been looking for loose or corroded connections/grounds but found connections are clean under the surface rust. My next plan(if amp draw test is clean) is to leave batt unhooked a few days, then see if it happens again.