Parasitic Battery Drain 08 Sport Trac Ltd

[Tokyojo1]

Hi guys

Bought a 2008 sport trac limited a few weeks ago, loving it until the other day woke up to a flat battery, I have done a parasitic drain test and found that when I connect both leads to the negative battery and the battery cable there is a 1.2ma drain, pulled the fuses and found that the fuses for both headlights bring the draw down to 0.18ma, I also noticed that during the drain test there is a relay (I think it's a relay ) clicking behind the light switch.
Has anyone had this issue, is there a relay behind the light switch, does anyone know the part number, and how to change it out.
Apologies for all the questions guys but any help would really be appreciated.

 

[shucker1]

Stupid Question?

You are of course putting your amp meter in series with the battery cable correct?

Positive side or negative side should not matter.

 

[Tokyojo1]

Ok, so I took off the negative side of the battery, connected one end of my meter to the negative battery post and the other end of my meter to the negative battery cable, pretty sure that's the correct way to test, it's how I've always done it anyway, is that correct?

So , just found out that pulling the trim from the side of the drivers side dash gives access to the headlamp switch, unplugged the switches "dimmer & headlamp" and the draw is still there, so rules out the switch, so I worked my way down and the clicking is actually coming from the fuse box under the drivers side dash.

Also, noticed that when I put the negative battery cable back onto the battery the headlights flash on for a second.

Also, noticed that when the negative side of the battery cable is off and I connect my meter there is a tiny electric arc, something not grounded correctly ?

Just a bit more info, I installed a pioneer nex7200 radio using the idatalink maestro and the F01 harness a few days ago, I have double checked my wiring everything look good, I'm going to pull the radio tomorrow and unplug it to see if the drain is still there, hope the radio install is coincidental.

Anymore advice would be welcome.

 

[shucker1]

Ok, so I took off the negative side of the battery, connected one end of my meter to the negative battery post and the other end of my meter to the negative battery cable, pretty sure that's the correct way to test, it's how I've always done it anyway, is that correct?

Correct. Just asking, sorry. Didn't want to be condescending.

1.2 Ma doesn't seem like a whole lot to me. Nothing the battery should not be able to handle.

Question?

A) Ambient Air Temp getting colder up there? I have found that thermal shock of colder temps will usually draw out a dying battery.

B) Is battery new? Older batteries may now have the "Guts" to keep up with a small draw.

C) Connections are clean and tight?

D) How many days did your rig sit before you wound up with the dead battery?

Just trying to rule out the easy stuff and or "The Kiss Principle" .

KISS Principle = Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

[Tokyojo1]

Hey, no worries, didn't take it as condescending .

Yeah, just started getting cool, not cold, not sure how old the battery is it has no markings on it, only had the truck a short while.

Battery terminals are good and tight, died overnight.

I'm going to disconnect the battery tonight and check the battery voltage in the a.m. then check then I'll pull themail radio,

 

[shucker1]

Usually a date code burned into the plastic case on the side or top.

First Letter corresponds to the month of production. A=January, B=February Etc.

Second digit is production year. 2=2012, 3=2013 Etc.

 

[Trac Marks]

Would the truck happen to have aftermarket LED or HID headlight bulbs, and if so - the normally associated ballasts, control box,antiflciker, CANBUS fooler, etc?

Headlights come off (or is it out?) with a 10mm socket. 3 bolts. One on top and one forward facing get removed. The one down deep - you can just loosen it, no need to remove it completely. Then the entire assembly pulls forward. Hope this makes sense.

If it has the normal halogen headlight bulbs, ignore me.

Wouldn't happen to have aftermarket remote start, or a cell phone charger plugged in 24/7, would ya?

 

[Tokyojo1]

Hi, thanks for all the replies.
Headlights are standard bulbs.

I installed a remote start a few weeks ago, battery has been fine since the install, unhooked this anyway just to see, still had the drain.

Checked the battery this morning and it still reads 12.76v.

Pulled the aftermarket radio still had the drain.

Headlight fuses pulled stopped the drain, checked the wiring back to the headlights, looks like the previous owner for some reason cut the connector and taped in more wire???FFS. Anyhow I cut off the tape and the joins looked ok but not great, as a long shot I soldered the joins and shrunk taped them up and rechecked the drain, this seems to have fixed the issue "fingers crossed".

I'll let you guys know in a few days if this was the issue.

Once again, really appreciate the replies.

 

[shucker1]

Cool.

No problem. That's why we are here.

Wonder what the extra wires were for????

 

[Tokyojo1]

Don't have a clue, wondered if something aftermarket was in there at one point?