battery draw. any suggestions?

[ready2explod]

i searched a little and saw all the other problems people are having but none seemed like mine. i drive back and forth to work i have had to jump it every morning for the past week or so. tested the battery the first few mornings and says the battery is low on charge so i charge and retest it and its fine. i put it back in the vehicle and drive home at 6pm maybe a few rides around town and then try it in the morning and nothing completely dead or dead enough so it wont even make the solonoid click.. it is getting very irritating for me and was hoping you guys would have somewhere to look. its a 96 eddie b.

i have noticed that when i hit the headlights lately the headlights dim a decent amount and some mornings the abs light is on also. this morning as i was sitting in it trying to figure out my issue i heard a noise and i found it was coming from the speakers with the key off.. almost a huming coming from the speakers.. any ideas on that? maybe a bad ground?? thanks for reading guys have a good night.

 

[koda2000]

i've had batteries tested good, but would not hold a charge. not common problem, but i've seen it happen. how old is your battery? best thing to do is test voltage at the battery with the vehicle running. should be at least 13.6 volts with all accessories off. i tested mine today it showed 14.45 volts at idle. do you have an aftermarket sound system/amp installed? if so is it wired properly? if charging system looks good I suggest you disconnect the battery overnight, reconnect it in the morning and see if the battery has held a charge. that would eleminate the battery from the equation. i don't know about the speaker hum. could indicate something's going on with the sound system.

 

[my98nnj]

Have the charging system checked. Your lights shouldn't dim if the alternator is putting out the correct voltage/amperage. How old is the battery? Have it tested for CCA. if it's low, replace it.

 

[ready2explod]

battery has tested fine multiple times and so hasnt the alternator. ive tested the alt. on the car and off the car. never a bad reading. once in a while it will say bad battery then you test it again and it says good battery. if i turn off the radio before i get out the battery is fine the next morning...

 

[yavapaires]

battery has tested fine multiple times and so hasnt the alternator. ive tested the alt. on the car and off the car. never a bad reading. once in a while it will say bad battery then you test it again and it says good battery. if i turn off the radio before i get out the battery is fine the next morning...

Why don't you do a 'poor man load test'? Charge the battery, check the voltage, turn on head lights for ten minutes ( if they last that long), check the voltage again. Voltage should be at least 11 volts. Anything less,the battery is suspect. Be sure you have somewhere around 13.6 to 14 volts with engine running.

 

[drdoom]

Why don't you do a 'poor man load test'? Charge the battery, check the voltage, turn on head lights for ten minutes ( if they last that long), check the voltage again. Voltage should be at least 11 volts. Anything less,the battery is suspect. Be sure you have somewhere around 13.6 to 14 volts with engine running.

That is true, the battery in my Explorer tested fine, actually OVER it's CCA rating, but it had no "reserve" left in it. It was getting old, and had to be replaced.

 

[benjammin97624]

i searched a little and saw all the other problems people are having but none seemed like mine. i drive back and forth to work i have had to jump it every morning for the past week or so. tested the battery the first few mornings and says the battery is low on charge so i charge and retest it and its fine. i put it back in the vehicle and drive home at 6pm maybe a few rides around town and then try it in the morning and nothing completely dead or dead enough so it wont even make the solonoid click.. it is getting very irritating for me and was hoping you guys would have somewhere to look. its a 96 eddie b.

i have noticed that when i hit the headlights lately the headlights dim a decent amount and some mornings the abs light is on also. this morning as i was sitting in it trying to figure out my issue i heard a noise and i found it was coming from the speakers with the key off.. almost a humming coming from the speakers.. any ideas on that? maybe a bad ground?? thanks for reading guys have a good night.

It sounds to me that your alternator could be the problem. have a place check it for you or pull the pos cable off the battery while the explorer is running. if the rig dies the alternator is bad. the hum sound could be from a part of the alternator called a dioad trio. the diaod trio turns AC voltage into DC. if you have a bad dioad also could cause static witch you will hear in your speakers. If that is not the problem there is a way to test for parasitic draw which is battery voltage that is used when the explorer is off. Take an amp-meter and connect it in series to the ground cable of the battery. NOTE make sure the vehicle is off. you will blow your amp-meter. there should be a max of .5 amps. if there is more go through you fuses and pull one at a time to locate where to look for were the drain could be. it can be anything like a light in the glove box that stays on. Another thing could be the battery. Have a place like napa or Auto Zone do a load test on the battery. that will tell you what your battery can take. its cold out there. I hope this could help you.

 

[benjammin97624]

Also another thing is check your grounds. make sure that you have good connection.

 

[koda2000]

FYI: with computerized vehicles you should never remove the battery cable with the engine running (more specically never reconnect it with with the engine running). the reason why is that you can cause a voltage spike which can fry the electronics in your vehicle.

 

[drbenz]

Post #4 likely told the tale, if the radio is shut off before the engine is turned off the battery stays up. Check the draw in the radio.