current draw...short v-10 basic questions
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current draw...short v-10 basic questions
I have a plow 250 1999 v-10 that has a short....battery is great...the alternator is charging at 15 I know some primitive shade-tree mechanic tests...I diconnected the - terminal.....ran a test light between terminal end and battery -test light came on !!I checked for any interior lights unhooked the plows harness shut off remote alarm....still faint light......I heard some clicking from the fuse area with just the test light in the circut(door open ) any other basic stuff to check ?? its to the shop for a royal hosing (anything w snowplow this time of year ! )
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From: Spanaway
I have a plow 250 1999 v-10 that has a short....battery is great...the alternator is charging at 15 I know some primitive shade-tree mechanic tests...I diconnected the - terminal.....ran a test light between terminal end and battery -test light came on !!I checked for any interior lights unhooked the plows harness shut off remote alarm....still faint light......I heard some clicking from the fuse area with just the test light in the circut(door open ) any other basic stuff to check ?? its to the shop for a royal hosing (anything w snowplow this time of year ! )
one of the fastest ways known to destroying the computer. Don't do it. What happens is you create a huge voltage
spike that can kill all the computers in the system. At 15 Volts you over charging and will soon boil a battery . Take the
alternator out and have it bench tested.
You say what you think the problem is but not what it's doing. So please tell un what it's doing.
Sean
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it cranked kind of slow one day when I was just moving it....then the next it would not crank enough to start.....after charging over night the parts store says mym 2 year old battery is fine.....I am not a master of the m meter I do know there is a light draw in new computer driven systems I want to be sure it will start in a week thanks for your help mike
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The test light may limit your diagnostic options. Here is what I did to figure out a power draw that was killing batteries in my 2000 250SD gasser:
- attach one end of a jumper wire on the negative post on the battery and the other end on the ground cable.
- disconnect the ground cable from the battery making sure the jumper wire stays connected to the post and the negative cable. This will ensure all the computer settings stay intact.
- take a multimeter and place one lead on the ground post and the other on the ground cable.
- disconnect one end of the jumper wire
- read the amps on the multimeter. It should not show more than 0.050 amp draw.
- pull fuses one at a time until you see the amp draw drop to normal - the fuse that drops the draw is the circuit you need to focus on.
- attach one end of a jumper wire on the negative post on the battery and the other end on the ground cable.
- disconnect the ground cable from the battery making sure the jumper wire stays connected to the post and the negative cable. This will ensure all the computer settings stay intact.
- take a multimeter and place one lead on the ground post and the other on the ground cable.
- disconnect one end of the jumper wire
- read the amps on the multimeter. It should not show more than 0.050 amp draw.
- pull fuses one at a time until you see the amp draw drop to normal - the fuse that drops the draw is the circuit you need to focus on.
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testing questions
It is probaly to late as far as losing computer settings...as I was trying to do this with a test light.....I wonder how they change batteries ??everthing is getting soooo complex ANYWAY back to my q do you recall how you set your muli-m ??? AC side I asume...was it 20 ? ....I tested the voltage with it running it was 14.8.....do you agree w DUDE that said thats way too HIGH ??? thanks electronics are not my thing mike buried in Omaha
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From: Isanti, MN
Hi Mike,
Sean is correct, you will always have a small electrical draw even when everything is shut off. So a test light won't be of any assistance to you, as it will always light up even on a brand new truck when wired this way.
How many volts are you seeing with the engine running? Ford defines overcharging as anything over 15 volts, so Sean is correct about this also. You could have a bad starter as well.
Sean is correct, you will always have a small electrical draw even when everything is shut off. So a test light won't be of any assistance to you, as it will always light up even on a brand new truck when wired this way.
How many volts are you seeing with the engine running? Ford defines overcharging as anything over 15 volts, so Sean is correct about this also. You could have a bad starter as well.
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From: Oregon
What you need to figure out is if the hard starting is due to your battery slowly losing power because of a short somewhere or because the starter is bad - bad cables etc.
One thing you could do is fully charge the battery and than check the voltage over a few days. A fully charged battery should be 12.6 volts or so, depending on temp. If you see the battery losing power over time you may have a parasitic power draw. Dial the mult. meter to 20V and place red lead on positive post and black on negative to read battery voltage.
Check all accessories, lights, power locks etc. Anything staying on? Is something not working like it should? Disconnecting the battery will clear the computer so the truck will have to relearn stuff - no big deal. I believe 14.8 volts from the alternator is OK.
One thing you could do is fully charge the battery and than check the voltage over a few days. A fully charged battery should be 12.6 volts or so, depending on temp. If you see the battery losing power over time you may have a parasitic power draw. Dial the mult. meter to 20V and place red lead on positive post and black on negative to read battery voltage.
Check all accessories, lights, power locks etc. Anything staying on? Is something not working like it should? Disconnecting the battery will clear the computer so the truck will have to relearn stuff - no big deal. I believe 14.8 volts from the alternator is OK.
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It is probaly to late as far as losing computer settings...as I was trying to do this with a test light.....I wonder how they change batteries ??everthing is getting soooo complex ANYWAY back to my q do you recall how you set your muli-m ??? AC side I asume...was it 20 ? ....I tested the voltage with it running it was 14.8.....do you agree w DUDE that said thats way too HIGH ??? thanks electronics are not my thing mike buried in Omaha
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thanks for the post....after a deep charge the truck started fine the batt is new and just tested fine. and full...... then truck starts great.... so I next checked alt.....which is putting out 14.8 now I wonder about draw....that sounds like a good simple check to see how the batt is doing soooo I am getting mixed posts 20 on AC correct ??? buried in Omaha
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thanks for the post....after a deep charge the truck started fine the batt is new and just tested fine. and full...... then truck starts great.... so I next checked alt.....which is putting out 14.8 now I wonder about draw....that sounds like a good simple check to see how the batt is doing soooo I am getting mixed posts 20 on AC correct ??? buried in Omaha
GPS are known to draw power, especially if they have "bluetooth" enabled on them. (just a thought).
If this happens every morning, you could,...
disconnect the battery before putting your truck to bed.
In the morning, re-connect it and see if it starts well, this will eliminate the battery, if it's at fault.
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I have a 03 Superduty with a blade on it. Since the day I bought my truck, if I let it sit for a week or so without using it, it wont crank hard enough to start it. Even with a new battery and a good alternator. I just bought a Shumacher battery tender for it. It came with a adapter to hard wire to the battery. I just leave the connector hanging inside my grill and plug the battery tender into it when the truck is gonna sit for awhile. Keeps the battery topped off. I use them on my tractor, boat, motorcycle and quads. I swear by them. Doesnt let the battery freeze. So when I do need to plow, my truck or tractor crank write up!! Even below zero.
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not the battery ... MERRY CHRISTMAS POSTERS !!
2 yrs old charged all night then load tested @ autozone perfect......maybe this plow issue is related to all the celonoids everywhere INTERESTING a mechanic known for auto electronics said to check draw between post and negative teminal.....then recheck it 60 minutes later and then it should be .5 somethings or another that it would simmer down after an hour....nothing on GOOGLE about this
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2 yrs old charged all night then load tested @ autozone perfect......maybe this plow issue is related to all the celonoids everywhere INTERESTING a mechanic known for auto electronics said to check draw between post and negative teminal.....then recheck it 60 minutes later and then it should be .5 somethings or another that it would simmer down after an hour....nothing on GOOGLE about this
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started right up at 10 degreed charged at 14.75......diconnected negative as per video.....tested w red in red and black in black on volt side at 200 read 11 amps or milli amps (whatever ) will look in an hour MERRY CHRISTMAS !!