In my opinion any current draw in the 50mA or lower range is fine. A healthy battery will last for months with such a low current draw.

 

Issue has bin solved , turns out my ignition switch tumbler is broken. wouldnt sit in the correct position i noticed that the chime was dinging and would continue to ding with the key out and the door closed once i played around with the tumbler the amperage would fall off to 10 mil amps

 

i ll know for sure tomorrow

 

I have a 1996 F250 with a 0.07 milliamp draw that is coming from my #8 interior fuse.
Any help by others appreciated!

 

I think I may have the same problem, but I removed the bulbs from my interior light, I have the fuse pulled for now.

In the Haynes manual in the section on replacing the alternator, the book describes how to check for a current draw using a test light, hooking a testing light to the battery, and pulling fuses until the light goes out,

 

.07 milliamps? That is next to nothing. Are you sure about that measurement?

 

Ok here's the full scoop.

I have the classic parasitic battery draw.

After having drained batteries a few mornings in a row, requiring a jump start. I took my truck to the local auto parts store to have the alternator and batteries checked over. One of the batteries tested as bad the other was in an okay range. I choose to replace both batteries with new Interstate 850 CCA batteries.The alternator checked out as charging and in good working order.

We checked the power on the new batteries just to make double sure and they were in perfect condition when I put both new batteries in that evening about 7:00 pm. The truck started right up and so I thought the problem was solved.

However, the following morning at about 7:30 am the batteries were drained enough to require another jumpstart! Very annoyed.

I left the truck run the entire day so that I didn't end up with uncharged batteries and called our local Ford dealership for an appointment.

That night I removed all four wire clamps from the battery posts. I put them back on the following morning and the truck turned right over. 13.30 volts in each of the two batteries. 14.60 when running.

I took my truck into Ford on 12/22/16 and they found that there is a power draw coming from circuit 54 which is the 15 amp #8 fuse.

The serviceman said it would be a very expensive process for them to find the draw.. He showed me with his multimeter set at 10A that it shows 0.07 milliamps on the digital display, I think that actual is 70 milliamps when spoken.

This was done using the test were both negative cables are unhooked, one multimeter lead is clipped on a negative cable and the other lead is clipped on the negative post. When fuse 8 is pulled the multimeter drops to 0.00.

He stated that anything less than <0.05 mA is acceptable, but the specs for this truck are at 0.02 mA. That's according the Ford service tech who worked on my truck.

He printed out a wiring diagram for me and I paid the $110.00 to determine this.

Since then I have recreated the test with my own multimeter and started to look around as time allowed. I spent most of today looking for worn wiring and testing continuity in some of the features on this fuse.

Lastly... I have been removing fuse 8 when I stop the truck with no jumpstart issues, but I accidently forgot to pull the fuse for about 5 hours. The truck required a jump to start.

Do you think it would be wise to start a completely new post for this?

 

my promblem turned out to be a broken tumbler in my ignition switch. replaced it and it stopped draining my battery

 

Thank you for your response and posting your original issue. It's been fun reading some of the causes for a battery drain. I'm definitely looking forward to resolving my issue... hopefully quickly too

 

it shoulnd't take long if you trace all of the wires that the #8 fuse controls,

btw,

what all does the #8 fuse control?

 

I'm guessing you have the diesel engine?
Fuse 8 engine compartment is idm relay power feed
Fuse 8 insturment panel feeds courtesy lights, engine compartment light, power mirrors, vanity mirrors, speedometer memory, warning chime, keyless entry, glove box light, map lights.

 

Yeah this is the 7.3 diesel and it the #8 interior fuse. As you point out this one does a bunch! Of course.

I started with the easiest ones to access today.
These seem to be fine:
Under the hood light and wire
Glove box light and wire
Dome light and map lamps
Cargo lamp

Ashtray light seems to be getting its hot (black wire) from the power port (fuse 9 25 amp fuse), but today for the first time since I've own the truck it stopped working?? I used my multimeter and ran a continuity test on the bulb and it's fine also while the ashtray and power port are out i ran a continuity test through the whole thing and it seems to be fine. There's 13.25 volts coming out of the hot, but once plugged back into the four wire connection the power isn't going to the light receptacle. I think there's possibly something wrong with the neutral wire past the four wire connector.

I have not gotten to the electric mirrors yet or anything else.

Any suggestions for the ashtray light? Is it part of the courtesy lights or is it on a different circuit that's attached to the power port?

Thanks

 

.07 amps is 70 milliamps. It may be a matter of semantics but proper terminology avoids confusion.



You probably should, but no harm..no foul.

 

The ashtray lamp is fed by the same Fuse 9 as the power port and cigar lighter.

 

There are 10 devices listed for that fuse left and right courtesy lights, glove compartment, radio , main light switch, instrument cluster, engine compartment, map dome lights, inside cargo lamp, power mirror. The only way I know to do this is unplug each device until the draw goes away. Can be a PITA.