Unexplained electrical draw with the battery going dead.

[IlToro]

okay guys, got the battery recharged and was running fine until the starter quit...figures... took it to mechanic who is replacing starter (have to see how solenoid is doing) and explained continuous electrical draw. Now he says battery is bad.

When I bought the car, the battery was bad but they "swapped" out for a new one, so the guy said. Not sure who to believe. It was a Motorcraft red label, which I read somewhere is a reconditioned battery?

I am thinking it might be best to start with a new battery and see what happens, since I can't be sure what really came with the car and that it is charging the way it's supposed to charge.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[YBCold]

well the even though it was a good battery if it runs down too low it wont hold a charge it will have to goto the factory so they can rebuild it. there could be a chance the battery was defective. but not as likely as a key off battery drain.

once he puts the battery in keep checking the voltage with a VOM. make sure its holding the charge. and not draining. and if push comes to shove do the checking with the VOM to find the circuit.

 

[IlToro]

Great idea YB.
Definitely planning the extra bucks for a solid battery. Hoping that the previous problem--that is the defective ignition switch on the column--was enough of a culprit that now that it is fixed the problems should be taken care of. I am thinking that the "new battery" I received from the dealer when I bought the Explorer may not have been as new as need be. When I test drove the car, the guy told me not to turn off the car and I did, and it wouldn't restart. He put in a "new Battery" didn't see it, but if all he did was run the charge on a that defective one, then I never had the good battery to start with--just the badly charged "replacement."
Last time I go down this road in purchasing a car.

 

[YBCold]

yeah i dont trust mechanics either. had to get my car to pass inspections. when i got it back my AC didnt work and niether did my turn signals. they swapped out a fuse, and removed some R12 i think it took like 10 bux to fix. but for someone that doesnt know anything about cars could seem like a big problem.

 

[jremington59]

Great idea YB.
Definitely planning the extra bucks for a solid battery. Hoping that the previous problem--that is the defective ignition switch on the column--was enough of a culprit that now that it is fixed the problems should be taken care of. I am thinking that the "new battery" I received from the dealer when I bought the Explorer may not have been as new as need be. When I test drove the car, the guy told me not to turn off the car and I did, and it wouldn't restart. He put in a "new Battery" didn't see it, but if all he did was run the charge on a that defective one, then I never had the good battery to start with--just the badly charged "replacement."
Last time I go down this road in purchasing a car.

You should be able to look at the battery and see if it is new or not.

 

[luis balderas]

I also need help with my 1999 ford explorer...battery drains dead even after replacing the alternator? is there a solenoid involved or a electrical relay? please help!

 

[drbenz]

This article describes how to find electrical drains a fairly easy way, by using a volt meter to check the voltage across the fuses. Just keep in mind that some circuits stay hot when the key is off such as the clock, radio and pcm. If a fuse shows that the circuit is drawing current when it should not at least you now have a place to start looking. http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=1701

 

[1998explorerdude]

Current draw with engine off

Hello,

I have a 1998 explorer XLT 4.0 L and when the engine is off and the key is removed there is a current draw of 4 amps. Found the fuse that causes this and when I remove the fuse the draw disappears. Not sure where to go from here. One more thing the brake light stays on when engine is off but it is not on when the engine is running.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[pbnj22]

well whatever fuse you pulled.. i would check behind it (figuratively) like the wires after that fuse.. because you probably have a wire that is grounded out causing it to get power all the time instead of just when the car is running like its supposed to..