'00 sport SOHC 5r55e battery draining quickly.

[Robman]

It's got the rearview mirror autolamp stuff, is there any usual suspect for this thing killing the battery after only sitting for 3 days? It's been doing it over and over and the battery is good.

On another note, my daily driver 2000 sport 5spd ohv had the passenger side upper ball joint come right out of the spindle today while driving, dangerous stuff.
It didn't break.. just popped out, bolt is still there that is supposed to hold it in.

 

[Accarguy]

put a multimeter on the battery when the vehicle is off to see if there is a draw. if there is which it sounds like there is pull some fuses one by one and see if it goes away that way you can isolate where the draw is coming from.

That is what happens when a ball joint has had play and been making noise for a long while. I'm sure it is not the best feeling to have while driving.

 

[YC1]

Swap batteries between vehicles if possible.

 

[rathrbcruisin]

Did you have the battery tested, i mean, how do you know the battery is good. I have bought new batteries and they were bad right off the shelf.

 

[Robman]

Well the battery charges up and hold power well, I can't help but suspect a parasitic draw. And it's a fairly new battery ( I know that doesn't really matter)
I was just wondering if there was a known culprit for such a thing. Nothing seems to stay on when the truck is off.

As for the balljoint, it pulled right out of the spindle, I could likely inspect it and put it back together as nothing is actually broken. I had it out, replacing the control arm bushings a few months ago so, it could be my shoddy workmanship lol... but it was fine for months. This truck sees rough ground and 4x4 action pretty regularly.

Edit* nevermind, the balljoint broke down in the spindle, new part time.

 

[96eb96]

It's got the rearview mirror autolamp stuff, is there any usual suspect for this thing killing the battery after only sitting for 3 days? It's been doing it over and over and the battery is good.

On another note, my daily driver 2000 sport 5spd ohv had the passenger side upper ball joint come right out of the spindle today while driving, dangerous stuff.
It didn't break.. just popped out, bolt is still there that is supposed to hold it in.

Best bet is to connect an ammeter in series with the positive battery cable and start disconnecting fuses. (I see after I wrote this that this was mentioned) Start with the highest amp setting (usually 10 or 20 amps). The truck may need a few minutes to power down the computer before you can get an actual baseline reading.

Was your balljoint bad or the boot torn before this happened? Sounds pretty scary, another reason to keep on top of your suspension. I don't see it being a common issue though. Was it an OEM part? Or a cheap replacement.

 

[J_C]

One area that comes to mind is a leaky alternator diode, especially if the old battery was dying slowly and that kept putting a strain on the alternator.

 

[Robman]

Ok thanks guys, I'll check out how much it's drawing.
+ I have no idea what the old battery was doing, I got this truck w/ this battery about 6 months ago.

- The balljoint had been replaced before and was greasable + was greased.
It broke where the bolt goes through to hold it in the spindle and left the bottom section stuck in the spindle. I thought I had blown a tire, lol .. heard a pop which was the balljoint popping out and then the tire rubbed on the uppercontrol arm and gave off some blue smoke, I was only doing about 65km/h at the time. I had just left off the gas and was rolling towards a stop sign, not yet on the brakes.

 

[imp]

Parasitic Drain

The usual drain on the battery while standing shut down, consists only of the "keep-alive" current needed to maintain computer memory. This is usually 5 to 10 (max) milliamps (ma or 0.005- 0.010 amps.). If the battery is drained in a couple of days, this suggests a fairly large current draw, maybe around 5 amps.

Messing with pulling fuses works. While the ammeter is connected in series with the battery, measuring current draw while standing, pulling out one fuse after another may reveal where the current is going. A quick guess to save the bother is, could the fuel pump remain running after shut off engine? Yes, is fuel pump relay has stuck closed contacts. It would run until the battery was dead, quietly, producing no other symptoms. Just a thought. I would begin the fuse pulling with the fuel pump fuse. imp

 

[Flash]

One know culprit that comes to mind is the glove box light if you have one and the door light switches.

It's pretty common with my BMW, the door lock heaters especially.

 

[Robman]

More good advice .. I'll be sure to follow those directions as soon as I dive into the problem. I certainly hope the fuel pump isn't continually running :S

Now that I'm using the vehicle a few times a day, things have been fine. Something I found interesting about this stereo is that it remembers the station presets even if the battery has been removed. (but not the bass/treble settings)

 

[YC1]

Driving the vehicle a few times a day may just mask the problem. If the caps come off check the specific gravity. I just bought a 2003 sport trac that seemed to have a very good looking and clean battery. It was no cheapy either. After running the radio for just a few hours the battery was dead. It had a bad cell.

As for the radio. That memory is called non-volatile memory.

Measuring current can be tricky and I really like a clamp on meter to start with. It takes a decent meter to handle some of the things that come on when the battery is reconnected. Batteries are only rented and can be bad from stock. I have seen them do some strange things in 40 yrs in the 12 volt world.

 

[J_C]

^ To ease the initial current rush seen by the multimeter upon initial hookup, you can just touch the battery cable to the terminal, then clamp or hold the meter leads onto both pieces, then pull the wire away from the terminal.

Typical meters have at least a 10A current range which should then do the job, providing nothing obvious is running like a motor or headlights.

 

[koda2000]

I've had batteries that seem to charge ok but don't hold a charge. I just replaced one (under warranty) on my wife's tractor that did this). They may test ok but don't hold a charge for very long. I've also had this happen with fairly new car batteries.

You can test for anything draining the battery using a VOM set on the AMP reading. I believe you disconnect the NEG battery lead and check for any abnormal draw between the NEG terminal and the NEG battery cable. I think anything over .5 AMP is too much. It takes a little bit of draw to keep the PCM and clock running.

 

[bobflood]

I just replaced one (under warranty) on my wife's tractor that did this).

I had to chuckle, Koda - not too often do you read about someone working on their "wife's tractor!!"

 

[J_C]

Even half an amp is too much. Normal drain should be a few dozen mA and over 100mA is usually a sign of a problem, but not impossible, especially if the vehicle recently ran and a pollution control solenoid is energized, but I don't know if this generation vehicle keeps that system going after engine shut off. I thought I once read somewhere that it kept working for 15 minutes but I could easily be wrong, and even if that's true, the battery would have to be connected to count down a time period.

 

[archer973]

I had to chuckle, Koda - not too often do you read about someone working on their "wife's tractor!!"

I thought that was a common thing. I do it all the time. She has a 1952 Ferguson TO-20. Dang thang's older than me (but not by much).

 

[koda2000]

I had to chuckle, Koda - not too often do you read about someone working on their "wife's tractor!!"

Yeah, I get stuck fixing everything around here. We have 3 tractors (it's a horse thing).

 

[archer973]

Yeah, I get stuck fixing everything around here. We have 3 tractors (it's a horse thing).

Yeah, sounds familiar. A bit of tragedy here. Her Morgan mare died a few weeks ago. She would let it "mow" the back yard for us, right outside the slider from her home office. In the summer, she would leave the door open and that mare would often stand just outside it with her head inside hoping for a carrot or an apple. Parfait photo