Explorer 2004 parasitic drain engine fuse #15

[wade wynn]

First time poster or maybe a poser. I own a Ford Explorer from 2004. I am the original owner and it has about 180k miles. I had a 4yr old battery die and I bought a new one about 2 months back. We had a recent cold snap and the battery was dead. I "think" I have a parasitic drain. Here is what I have done thus far. I charged the battery at my local shop. Bought a test light but that was not good enough so bought a multimeter. Did the parasitic test and was hovering around 3.4 amps. Currently I am hovering around .650 ma. When I pull the fuse under the hood #15 which is Memory (PCM/DEATC/Cluster) Courtesy lights it drops to .100 MA. ish. Reviewed wiring diagrams and pulled all my internal light, puddle lamps, mirrors, etc. I feel like I am out of options besides taking it to the dealership or mechanic. Anything I would be missing? Alternator?

 

[TechGuru]

Don't check it until after the battery saver relay has shut off. Not sure how long the timer is on it. 15 or 30 min I'm thinking.

You can know when it's turned off by leaving a courtesy light (the one that is aimed at a seat) and waiting for it to turn off.

 

[rocco123]

If it then drops to .1 amp you're good as far as a drain check goes. .65 is high. how has charging been?

 

[imp]

@wade wynn
F1.15 feeds only PCM Instrument Cluster: Air Bag light and Low Fluid Level, Master Cyl. light, and EATC (Electronic Automatic Temperature Control Module, is so equipped. 3.4 Amps. likely was a lamp on somewhere, which should have timed out and turned off. This info. from Ford Wiring Diagrams, 2004 Explorer.

Careful, don't confuse .650 AMPS with Milliamps, that's 650 Milliamps, over 1/2 Ampere. Pretty high, IMO. Alternator not likely, I think, but to prove it out, disconnect it and then look for battery drain. If still there, Alt. OK.

Don't go to dealer yet, some further discussion might solve it. A start might be the Accessory Delay Relay, located in the Central Junction Box, under the dash, C2075. After waiting 20 minutes, yank it out, check for current drain at batt. imp

 

[wade wynn]

@wade wynn
F1.15 feeds only PCM Instrument Cluster: Air Bag light and Low Fluid Level, Master Cyl. light, and EATC (Electronic Automatic Temperature Control Module, is so equipped. 3.4 Amps. likely was a lamp on somewhere, which should have timed out and turned off. This info. from Ford Wiring Diagrams, 2004 Explorer.

Careful, don't confuse .650 AMPS with Milliamps, that's 650 Milliamps, over 1/2 Ampere. Pretty high, IMO. Alternator not likely, I think, but to prove it out, disconnect it and then look for battery drain. If still there, Alt. OK.

Don't go to dealer yet, some further discussion might solve it. A start might be the Accessory Delay Relay, located in the Central Junction Box, under the dash, C2075. After waiting 20 minutes, yank it out, check for current drain at batt. imp

Yeah I pulled the Alternator but was still getting that reading. I have only pulled fuses under the dash. I will pull the relays there and see if that does it. Correct also on the MA vs Amps.

 

[tlestan]

Did you ever solve this? I'm having the same issue, I think. .5 amp draw but drops when I pull fuse 15.

 

[tesla4all]

Did you ever solve this? I'm having the same issue, I think. .5 amp draw but drops when I pull fuse 15.

I'm in the same boat folks... yet to figure it out.. I'm holding at .40A... would love to know what anyone found thanks...

 

[tesla4all]

Yeah I pulled the Alternator but was still getting that reading. I have only pulled fuses under the dash. I will pull the relays there and see if that does it. Correct also on the MA vs Amps.

I'm in the same boat folks... yet to figure it out.. I'm holding at .40A... would love to know what anyone found thanks...

 

[tesla4all]

@wade wynn
F1.15 feeds only PCM Instrument Cluster: Air Bag light and Low Fluid Level, Master Cyl. light, and EATC (Electronic Automatic Temperature Control Module, is so equipped. 3.4 Amps. likely was a lamp on somewhere, which should have timed out and turned off. This info. from Ford Wiring Diagrams, 2004 Explorer.

Careful, don't confuse .650 AMPS with Milliamps, that's 650 Milliamps, over 1/2 Ampere. Pretty high, IMO. Alternator not likely, I think, but to prove it out, disconnect it and then look for battery drain. If still there, Alt. OK.

Don't go to dealer yet, some further discussion might solve it. A start might be the Accessory Delay Relay, located in the Central Junction Box, under the dash, C2075. After waiting 20 minutes, yank it out, check for current drain at batt. imp

I'm in the same boat folks... yet to figure it out.. I'm holding at .40A... would love to know what anyone found thanks...

 

[Lurkin]

First time poster or maybe a poser. I own a Ford Explorer from 2004. I am the original owner and it has about 180k miles. I had a 4yr old battery die and I bought a new one about 2 months back. We had a recent cold snap and the battery was dead. I "think" I have a parasitic drain. Here is what I have done thus far. I charged the battery at my local shop. Bought a test light but that was not good enough so bought a multimeter. Did the parasitic test and was hovering around 3.4 amps. Currently I am hovering around .650 ma. When I pull the fuse under the hood #15 which is Memory (PCM/DEATC/Cluster) Courtesy lights it drops to .100 MA. ish. Reviewed wiring diagrams and pulled all my internal light, puddle lamps, mirrors, etc. I feel like I am out of options besides taking it to the dealership or mechanic. Anything I would be missing? Alternator?

So, I'm guessing no one has ever ever solved this? I have the same issue on a 2002. I'm wondering if everyone just sells their Explorers, like the person I bought mine from, because no one ever figures it out...................................Hmmmmmmm...........???????????

 

[rocco123]

I don't drive my 02 as much as I used to. Every once in a while noticed it cranking slower then normal. Thought the battery was going after jumping it twice in one day. Brought the truck home, and was ready to change the battery and noticed (but forgot) it was only 2 yrs old. Then started to check wires at alternator which were fine...changed that a couple yrs ago too. Checked ground wire off battery and I lifted it right out from left side of engine with the terminal end in tact. Rather then try to figure out how to reattach to the block (i couldn't really see where it was originally mounted), I drilled and burnished a hole in power steering pump bracket. No problem since. Just throwing that out there that before changing a battery have a look at the wiring.

 

[Lurkin]

I don't drive my 02 as much as I used to. Every once in a while noticed it cranking slower then normal. Thought the battery was going after jumping it twice in one day. Brought the truck home, and was ready to change the battery and noticed (but forgot) it was only 2 yrs old. Then started to check wires at alternator which were fine...changed that a couple yrs ago too. Checked ground wire off battery and I lifted it right out from left side of engine with the terminal end in tact. Rather then try to figure out how to reattach to the block (i couldn't really see where it was originally mounted), I drilled and burnished a hole in power steering pump bracket. No problem since. Just throwing that out there that before changing a battery have a look at the wiring.

Thanks rocco123, I'll check that tomorrow. I'm just out of ideas at this point, and any suggestion may help. Thank you

 

[tesla4all]

Thanks rocco123, I'll check that tomorrow. I'm just out of ideas at this point, and any suggestion may help. Thank you

Will check that on mine as well.. good thought…fixing to change-out all coolant hoses.. pull radiator and “maintenance” the plastic ends as they are leaking.. figure at this point it is not cracks but rather age.. so’ll uncrimp.. clean up.. inspect .. apply Form-a-Gasket .. reassemble & see it that corrects the leakage.. great time to check ground you mentioned there!.. thanks

 

[jzak56]

Hav same problem in my case was gauge cluster

 

[Lurkin]

Thanks for the post jzak56, how did you track it down, and how did you fix it? if I may ask....?

 

[Sereno011]

+1 for it being the cluster. On my 2003 Mountaineer just had to reflow the connector pins on the back. Complete disassembly wasn't required, only the back cover to expose the board.

In my case the draw was settling at ~200mA (Total ~250mA with my aftermarket accessories). And pulling the #15 fuse also caused it to reset going back to normal. Annoyingly you do have to wait ~15+ min after every key cycle to resume testing. But this is also normal behavior. Closing the door latch with a screwdriver and locking the vehicle helps all the modules go to sleep a bit faster.

Was a good time to finally repair the upper defroster door arm anyway. Now that job was a PIA. Of course no parts available so had to get McGuiver that fix. The one on the passenger side is cake in comparison.

 

[Sereno011]

+1 for it being the cluster...

After several weeks drain came back. Not sure if cluster itself is faulty or feeding power to some other faulty system. Not willing to throw more time and $ at the problem I opted to make a bypass for the cluster's power feed.

On the RH connector constant power is fed from P1 (Blk/Grn) wire. The quick "fix" is to simply cut that wire and install a remote switch.
I opted to create a simple time delay circuit. This emulates the factory delay function for radio and window operation.

Required parts:
N-Channel MOSFET (eg; IRFZ44N, IR5xx series)
any value diode (Schottky is preferred)
330uF capacitor (min 16V, preferably 25V+)
10MΩ resistor
(optional ~1kΩ resistor)

The MOSFET is triggered by P7 (+12 Acc power). and the capacitor/resistor combo acts to keep the MOSFET energized for ~5-10 min after a key cycle. Using P14 as a ground where it can slowly discharge and bleed off. An optional ~1KΩ resistor can be placed before the diode as some circuit protection. I don't have a wiring diagram for the cluster so can't guarantee the Acc power and ground I'm using are ideal, but functioning fine for me as is and just preferred not to chase additional wires through the dash.

Downside to cutting power to the cluster is loss of dome lighting and the MPG will be reset on the Message Center. Oil life and user prefs are stored in memory and not reset. Possible other systems may be affected but these seem to be the only issues of note doing the bypass. Interior lighting will be active exiting the vehicle, but will require a key cycle to reactivate the lost systems.