hi i got a 99 b4000 and when the truck sits for a few day the battery goes dead. the battery is new and tests good. alternator seems to be charging at 14.5 v at idle. i check to see how many amps the truck is drawing when not running and it drawing 0.23 amps, 230millamps
how many millamps it suppose to drawing when not running. does anyone got a chart for what the fuses are for. im going to start pulling fuses and relays . does 0.23 amps seem like to much? any ideas id appreciate them

 

Try this link and start reading from page 134:

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pub.../99ranog1e.pdf

Hope this helps...

 

cant seem to get this link to work?

 

Ugh, sorry... Try this then:

http://www.motorcraftservice.com

Select "Owner Guides" on the left (Non-Subscription). Then, in the dropdowns to the right, select 1999 Ranger & "Owner Guide 1st Printing". Then click the "View Content" button. It should bring up the pdf file in a separate window...

I didn't realize the links had a time limit...

 

With that much current draw it sounds like a lamp is staying on, or a computer like the GEM isn't timing out & going to sleep like it should, or the dome light is staying on & not timing out because of a stuck door activation switch, in which case a good spritz of WD-40 in the door latch often fixes that.

Until the above link pass word problem is fixed, look through the "Battery Tutorial" link atop this forum, for a how-too on doing parasitic load testing & also open the "Tech Info" thread & scroll down to the fleet.ford.com link close to the bottom, click on it & enter your vehicles particulars, so you can do a no cost download of an owners manual that'll show what the in cabin & under hood fuse panel numbers are for.

More thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.

EDIT: Woops, I see that the password problem has been addressed, I gotta learn to type faster!!!!! lol

 

ok when i pull the fuses one by one the Generic Electronic Module (GEM),insterment cluster. seems to stop the draw and Interior Lamp Relay, Power Window Relay,
Electronic Shift Control Module, Dome/Map
Lamp, GEM

i also unhooked the negative cable and put a test light on it and it lights the bulb up
what does this mean?

 

The lamp test you performed in series with the disconnected B- cable, indicates there is is still current draw some where.

SO, right now lots of unknowns about how you performed the lamp test.

Were the GEM fuses still pulled, or was it disconnected, or had enough time passed for it to have timed out & gone to sleep, when you performed the test lamp check????

Was a door open, dome, glove box, or underhood lamp on at the time you did the test lamp check???? If so, they'll cause the test lamp to come on, or if the GEM was still hooked up & it hadn't timed out & gone to sleep, or if you had some other electrical leakage, like the ignition switch on, alternator diode leakage or shorting problems, that'll turn the lamp on too. So we need to know more about the test setup conditions when the lamp check was done.

OR set up your multimeter in the 10 amp current position & connect it's red positive lead to the disconnected battery cable B- connection & the meters black negative lead to the battery post & tell us how much current you read. That number may allow a better guess on where to look.

 

ok well i hooked the anmeter up to the positive side and let the gem time out and it was trawing 0.3 amps

 

OK, .3 amps is 300ma & is Way more than should be there after the GEM times out. The reading should be something like 60-80ma after everything goes to sleep.

You'll have some drain from things like clock, radio memory, computer, any aftermarket equipt, ect.

Make sure all doors are closed & if you have an underhood trouble light, pull its lamp.

 

actaually i think it was 0.03 amps and before the gem timed out it was 0.23amps. the meter doesnt read anything when i put it on the 200 milliamp scale? anyway at 0.03 amp that is 30 milli amps. so that should be good and not draining my battery so fast? my battery is fairly new and has been tested a few times and says it good. i wonder if the battery actually is bad?

 

If your meter doesn't read anything on the 200ma range, it suggests that it's trying to measure More than 300ma & is over ranging!!!!

So, if you have a range higher, like 500ma, try that & see what you measure, if you have 30ma of draw, it'll read 30 on the 500ma scale.

 

ok it just gots the 200ma and 10 amp. reads 0.03 on the 10 amp scale

 

OK, well does the battery have cell caps???? If so, remove them & read & make note of the specific gravity of each cells electrolyte. Leave the B- cable disconnected overnight, then remeasure each cells specific gravity in the morning to see if any have self discharged overnight.

If it's a sealed battery measure unloaded voltage across the battery posts, then turn on some substsntial electrical load, like the head lights & measure & make note of the under load battery voltage. Disconnect the B- cable & let it sit over night. Next morning measure the unloaded voltage across the posts, then hook up the B- cable, turn the head lights on & measure the under load voltage across the battery posts. If there is a large difference in unloaded, or loaded voltage readings, suspect a faulty battery cell.

 

ok ill give that a try tomorrow and report back thanks