Battery issue

[MINERALGSVT]

Ok, my wifes 99 has recently encountered an issue with the battery draining? or loose cable or something? Please help.

The truck has been a dream, very few issues, mainly just routine maintenance and wear and tear (it has 211k miles and we bought it new)

This past Saturday, she drove it about 2 miles, turned it off and came back about 5 minutes later. Dead. Won't start. She called me - I cleaned the terminals (they weren't that bad) and I tried to jump it - nothing. (Battery is a Motorcraft ~ 2 yrs old).

So, I took the battery out of my XP8 (walmart battery that the PO bought) and put it in her truck - started right up.

It sat overnight Saturday and started right up Sunday morning with the walmart battery. She drove it multiple times, etc. again on Monday.

Monday morning, I took the battery back to Ford and they said, yeah it's dead, here's a new one. I went home and put it in. Her truck fired right up. I put my meter across the terminals while running and got 14.3 or so. So, I thought, OK alternator is working. Ran it for a few minutes, and put it away.

This morning, she goes to start it and nothing.

Any ideas? I plan to check the cables, etc. when I get home. Could a starter cause this? (It's the original)

Thanks,
Todd

 

[dustinjorge]

A dead battery shouldn't cause the truck to resist a jump start... This indicates to me that you may have something more sinister going on. What are the symptoms during the no start condition? Does it turn over, does it click, does the fuel pump prime when you turn the key to the on position (buzzing sound), do you have dash lights, headlights dim/dead?

It could be as simple as a bad ground or bad relay... If it runs I'd rule out a short.

 

[MINERALGSVT]

What are the symptoms during the no start condition? Does it turn over, does it click, does the fuel pump prime when you turn the key to the on position (buzzing sound), do you have dash lights, headlights dim/dead?

.

In the no start - I get a click, and the interior lights will go completely out. 2nd key turn - nothing, no click. Then, if I disconnect the negative and connect it again, the interior lights will come back on, but then it will just click and repeat above.

I don't understand why it would run for 2 days just fine with a different battery.

Thanks for looking.

 

[dustinjorge]

Interesting. It does sound like a short. One explanation may be that when you changed out the battery you moved the harness around enough that the shorted/melted part of the wire was not making contact for a while. Then when your wife drove it, it vibrated back into place.

I'd trace the starter power wire along its path between the battery and starter inspecting it for a location where it may have melted against an engine component.

 

[jremington59]

When mine did this it ended up being a bad voltage regulator on the alternator. Sometimes it would be fine for a couple days and then start the draining again. I found it by pulling the fuse for the alt at night and then in the morning it would start again.

During the day, with the car off, check the battery voltage every 15 min and see how fast it's draining. If it is, pull the fuse to the alt and see if the draining stops. This issue drove me crazy for weeks before I figured it out.

 

[MINERALGSVT]

Ok, so a little follow up for what I did after work yesterday...

I traced the power starter wire around the engine and it appeared to not have any issues.

After the 1st no start condition and the interior lights would go out, we (actually my wife) noticed that we could "wiggle" the ground cable and get the lights to come back on... then it would start. - Bingo - bad cable.

I peeled back the insulation and noticed that only the exposed area and maybe back about 1" or so - the cable was slightly corroded. So, I managed to cut about 2" off the cable and put a new end on it.

Works like a champ.

I went ahead and bought the cable and when it's not 100 degrees in my garage, I'll swap the cable out.

Thanks for the help!