Weird clicking sound when car is shut off

[novanutcase]

1999 Ford Explorer V6 SOHC

There is a weird clicking sound when I shut off the car. Can anyone tell me what this is and what I need to do to fix it? It doesn't do it when the car is on only when I shut it off. If I leave it doing that for more than 5 minutes it drains the battery. I have to turn the car on and then off, several times sometimes, to get it to stop.



John

 

[koda2000]

Sounds like an electrical relay opening and closing to me. There are lots of relays to chose from. but whichever one is clicking, it should not kill your battery in 5 mins (unless the battery is shot to begin with). That fact that's what you say is happening makes be think that perhaps your battery is on its last leg and perhaps the relay that's clicking is the battery saver relay (which I believe is one of the ones inside the car, under the dash, over the gas pedal. There are also other relays in the power distribution box in front of the brake master cyl, in the aux relay box located under the air filter box and (depending on options) quite a few relays located in the rear cargo area in front of the jack storage area.

I'd start by getting your battery and charging system tested.

 

[novanutcase]

Sounds like an electrical relay opening and closing to me. There are lots of relays to chose from. but whichever one is clicking, it should not kill your battery in 5 mins (unless the battery is shot to begin with). That fact that's what you say is happening makes be think that perhaps your battery is on its last leg and perhaps the relay that's clicking is the battery saver relay (which I believe is one of the ones inside the car, under the dash, over the gas pedal. There are also other relays in the power distribution box in front of the brake master cyl, in the aux relay box located under the air filter box and (depending on options) quite a few relays located in the rear cargo area in front of the jack storage area.

I'd start by getting your battery and charging system tested.

Actually the battery is only a few months old. What's weird is it only happens when the car is shut off and I have to start it and shut it off a few times before it stops.

John

 

[C420sailor]

Is it a loping on/off at the rate of about 1 cycle per second? If so, could be the anti theft.

 

[Gary Crist]

I would have the battery rechecked. Are you sure the
terminals are clean as well as the posts

 

[novanutcase]

Is it a loping on/off at the rate of about 1 cycle per second? If so, could be the anti theft.

I have a feeling you're right. Before, all I got was the clicking sound but yesterday the anti theft light turned on for a second, turned off and then turned on for another second then turned off but it continued clicking.

How do I check to see if this is the issue?

John

 

[J_C]

Use a multimeter to probe on both slots of each fuse to see which have enough voltage difference to indicate a significant power draw, OR pull them out one by one till the noise stops, then look at what that circuit powers.

While the multimeter is out, also measure running and off, battery voltage.

The dash anti-theft light normally flashes on and off at some rate when it's off.

I'd have to agree that the battery itself or the alternator must be bad in order to drain in a mere 5 minutes because that's quite a lot of power loss, if the battery were fully charged and cable/clamp were in good condition you would notice something else acting up to have that high a drain.

 

[1998Exp]

A fully charged battery in good condition holds almost 1KWh of energy. To dissipate that in just five minutes something will be drawing around ten kilowatts, getting very hot and most likely smoking. If you don't sense anything like that the battery is not even close to being fully charged when the problem occurs -- which makes me tend to agree with the person who suggested that the clicking is an indication of low battery voltage.

 

[koda2000]

As J_C said, it is normal for the "THEFT" light to flash about every 2 seconds when the engine is off. A fully charged battery should read a min of 12.6 volts or perhaps a bit more. Anything less indicates a battery that is not fully charged. Just because the battery is new does not mean it's good. Get it load tested.

As I originally said, I can't imagine anything that would kill a good battery in 5 mins. The alternator/voltage regulator might also be bad. What does your voltage gauge read while running? You should be seeing around 14 volts across the battery terminals charging with the engine idling and accessories off.

 

[Turdle]

Could be rear wiper motor. I believe there is a "park" switch inside, if the wiper is non operational it might be worth checking.

 

[koda2000]

Could be rear wiper motor. I believe there is a "park" switch inside, if the wiper is non operational it might be worth checking.

That still doesn't explain killing the battery in 5 mins. You could turn on every electrical light and accessory in the vehicle with the engine off and it still wouldn't kill the battery that quickly.

 

[C420sailor]

Agreed. Short of the starter, there isn’t anything on that vehicle that could crush through a fully charged battery that quickly.

 

[mikeranger2011]

1999 Ford Explorer V6 SOHC

There is a weird clicking sound when I shut off the car. Can anyone tell me what this is and what I need to do to fix it? It doesn't do it when the car is on only when I shut it off. If I leave it doing that for more than 5 minutes it drains the battery. I have to turn the car on and then off, several times sometimes, to get it to stop.



John

My 2011 ranger does the same thing and it's in the multifunction switch , hit the flashers it stops or put the turn signal up or down and stops but the relay makes noise sounds like behind the dash , even when the truck is off or on , gonna replace the switch and hope that fixes it before something bad happens