2003 Battery Draw

[scottrappley]

My explorer is my 3rd vehicle so sometimes it sits for a week or two without being ran. It has a new battery and I know the charging system is working ok. I went out one day and the battery was drained enough that the truck would not start. I charged it up and everything has been fine. I do know that if I let it sit I notice the battery is being drained slowly by something. It may take awhile to drain it enough for it to totally not to start but it does. I am to the point that I put a maintainer on it for now. It is too cold to go out and mess around with it. I do not notice anything left on when I take the keys out also. No puddle lights, no overhead lights, nothing. Just wondering if someone has any ideas on how to proceed. This could be pretty difficult to track down I imagine.

 

[Radeon]

Had a situation like yours.I do not drive this truck for weeks at a time.Battery would die.Charge battery load test ok.Check runing 14.59v at battery.Alternator ok.Driver door ajar switch was going.No lights on dash at first.Battery would die.Replaced door ajar switch and all has been well.Not sure if this helps you.Appears to have solved my issue for now.

 

[scottrappley]

I have been reading around the forum here and it seems a lot of things point to checking the wire harness going to the driver door or the driver door switch. Even read things about spraying with WD40 but I do not understand how that would remotely work at all since the switch would have have to be a sealed unit. Was it hard to replace that switch? I believe you have to take the driver door panel off and other things just to get at it? I have been looking around a little bit on here for instructions on how to do that. When it gets warm that will probably be one of my items on my todo list. Thanks for the input.

 

[essam]

a while ago, i saw this video and it sounded a good article on how to check for battery drainage. have a look, it may help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

 

[BigRondo]

I have been reading around the forum here and it seems a lot of things point to checking the wire harness going to the driver door or the driver door switch. Even read things about spraying with WD40 but I do not understand how that would remotely work at all since the switch would have have to be a sealed unit. Was it hard to replace that switch? I believe you have to take the driver door panel off and other things just to get at it? I have been looking around a little bit on here for instructions on how to do that. When it gets warm that will probably be one of my items on my todo list. Thanks for the input.

I had similar electrical issues with my 02 xlt. The dome lights would stay on until the battery saver feature turned them off, the accessory delay wasn't working, the driver side puddle light didn't work, the keypad on the door would set off the alarm when I pressed it, the door ajar light would flash and beep at highway speeds, the radio would shut off as soon as I turned the key off, the delayed accessories didn't work, etc. Most recently all 4 windows stopped working.

A lot of electrical issues can be traced back to broken/damaged wire(s) in the boot between the body and the driver's door. I found 2 broken wires and repaired them. The thin black ground wire was broken and after repairing it all was back to normal. When the windows stopped working, I repaired the thick black ground wire and the windows now work like a champ.

Here is the thread for removing the door panel: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=303524

Here is a great thread for checking for broken/damaged wires, thanks to synyster for this awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=270081

Be sure to take your time when looking for broken/damaged wire(s). Check all the wires for breaks/damage. When you think you're done looking, look again, and again, and again. A bright flashlight can be very helpful.

Could also be related to the door ajar switch.

Here is a great thread for checking/replacing the door ajar switch, thanks to borland for the awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249253

That is a great write up.

On a side note, before going through a complete replacement of the switch, you can spray WD40 into the door latch opening on each door, as these become stuck sometimes....and this can alleviate the issue.

This worked for me, after going for more than a year of the "door ajar" light coming on occasionally...mainly after a car wash, high humidity, or rain....making me unable to lock/arm the vehicle from the door keypad and keeping the dome lights on. Worth a try....it worked for me

Hope this helps out!! :biggthump