So I bought this explorer thinking it would be a great running vehicle. But of course I have had nothing but issues with it since day one.
My battery is constantly going dead. It will stay charged for a day maybe 2 but then it goes dead again. As I am a stay at home mom I haven't driven it cause I'm afraid the stupid thing will die on me while I am out. It does have the keyless entry/panic feature to it as well. My cousin told me to change the batteries in that and then reset it. I did and it didn't help the problem. I have ran down every wire I could see to make sure it wasn't touching metal or another wire even. I have done replaced the alternator and the battery. I am at my wits end with this thing. I have been trying to find the issue for some time now and I am having no luck. I was going to pay a garage to put it on a diagnostic machine but once I told the guy what the problem was he said it would be a waste of money.
Does anyone have any ideas??

 

I believe you have a short somewhere in the wiring, not something confined to Explorers. To test that theory, disconnect the negative battery terminal in the evening so it cant drain overnight. Do that a few more nights. If you find the battery not draining so soon, you have validated you have a short.
Another way to test but will cost you $10 is to buy a test light at Auto Zone etc. Post back again.

 

The guy at the garage was correct, a scan tool checking for diagnostics will not tell you if you have a wiring issue.

As Oneowner83 suggested above, buy a test light (they're even cheaper if there's a Harbor Freight near you) and use it as a current monitor. Close all doors, then disconnect the negative battery cable and place the test light in series between the battery cable and the battery post. You may see a rather bright glow of the test light. This means current is flowing (and draining your battery). Now start removing fuses and relays from the Battery Junction Box, one at a time, to see which ones cause the test light to dim considerably or maybe even go out. I'd suggest replacing each fuse before moving to the next. That way you won't forget what fuse goes where. Don't stop after finding the first fuse or relay that causes the light to dim, cycle through all fuses and relays.

Once you identify a fuse or two that cause the light to dim, post back with the fuse number and we'll review wiring diagrams to determine what all is on the circuit(s).

-Rod

 

Thanks guys
I am heading out this morning and will get a test light. That seems to be a cheaper way than buying a volt meter. I priced them things and they are expensive. I will post my results as soon as I get that done.

Thanks again!
Misty

 

Well I didn't buy the test light because the father of one of my daughter's friend had all them hand held devices to test everything. Everything came back fine and the only code that showed up was for the EGR valve. Which I already knew about. I was driving it every day. Then I let it sit for a day and now the battery is dead again. I was checking to see if maybe just maybe I would get lucky and it wouldn't die. HAHA!! Anyway, it has an alarm system on it that goes with the panic/keyless entry key chain. I was wondering if maybe I didn't reset the stupid thing right when I changed the battery? Is there a certain way you have to do it? I want to atleast get the thing running without dieing. I am wanting to sell it so I can get a bigger vehicle. I thought it was going to be big enough for all of us but I of course was wrong.

Thanks for reading

 

If the devices you mention (probably a multimeter?) tested everything "fine" you should have received a current reading when the vehicle was just sitting. What was that reading?

Is the alarm system the factory installed unit or an aftermarket unit? For the factory unit, there's no reset necessary after changing out the battery. But if there's a faulty door pin switch or glovebox light switch, that can drain the battery over a short amount of time. The current measurement would have indicated such an issue though.

-Rod

 

Okay Hubby just said it was 13.8. As for if it is a factory install I have no clue. I know the book shows that it is with the radio fuse if that helps at all. So I imagine it would be a factory?? As I said I am at a loss and have just about given up on trying to find the drain problem.

 

If the reading was 13.8 on the battery, that would have been a reading with the engine running. All that really says is that the alternator is putting out power when the engine is running. That won't give any indication as to if there is a drain on the battery when the truck is sitting. To determine that, the current being drawn from the battery when the engine is not running needs to be monitored. A test light is the "quick and dirty" way to do this. A current meter or DC current probe is the more accurate way. A test light probably won't allow the system to go in to standby mode after 45 minutes or so. A current meter / current probe will allow the system to get in to the minimum draw mode. Since it sounds like you might have found a source for a current meter, install one in series with the positive battery cable, let the truck sit with the doors closed for 45 minutes or more, then see what the current draw is reading. If it's greater than 0.07 Amps (70 mA) there is something placing a load on the system that shouldn't be.

Since there was an option for a factory alarm on these trucks, the owner's manual will show a fuse for the factory alarm (the owner's manual is not tailored for each vehicle), however that doesn't mean that if someone installed an aftermarket alarm they would have used that same fused circuit. Does the key fob for the alarm have the Ford log on it? If so, it's probably factory. If it has some other logo, like Viper, Clifford, Autopage, DEI, etc, then it's aftermarket and could very well be the source of the drain.

-Rod