Parasitic Drain

[teasers]

I have a 91 explorer that drains the battery down, usually with in a matter of hours.

I have replaced battery and alternator, pulled fuses like crazy, and had it with two separate shops with no luck. The radio is off. The doors are fully closed because all the interior lights go out.

I'm now to the point I disconnect the battery every time and carry a jump box.

Any one have any ideas where I might look next?

Mechanically, everything else works except the radio, which only gets AM and is really quiet, and both back windows, which will be an easy fix when I get to them.

 

[general x]

I once tracked down a battery drain issue by removing the negative battery cable and putting a test light inline between the negative terminal on the battery and the negative battery cable. This caused the test light to illuminate. I then pulled fuses one by one until the test light went out which narrowed the draw down to one circuit. I did find that the radio circuit had a dim illumination of the test light even after the issue was found due to the power draw to keep the settings and draw from more than one circuit could cause the test light to not go out pulling fuses one by one.

My 91 FSM suggests battery draw shouldn't exceed .05 amps. It suggests checking all lamps (including underhood and glovebox) Then pulling fuses. Failing that it instructs to disconnect the leads at the starter relay one by one.

Hope this helps!

 

[awood]

If you've done as suggested above, here's maybe something else that might be considered a long shot -
I started my old 92 once and the starter wouldn't release. It continued cranking even though I'd turned the key off. Turns out the positive battery cable had worn through the insulation at a spot. Maybe you have something similar, where the positive cable is shorted just a little, causing a direct short to ground.

The suggestion above is a great way to check individual circuits. I've used that method many times. Using a meter isn't as good as a test light. The Keep Alive Memory will cause the meter to show voltage even though there's not necessarily anything wrong. A test light will illuminate only if there's a larger draw on the battery.