Having a similar problem with my 2007 F350 w/ 6.0 L. I pulled each fuse and used an ampmeter to check the circuit. There is a draw in 4 different ones. The 2 biggest draws are the radio 20 amp circuit and the 10 amp instrument cluster circuit. All checks were made with the switch off and the key was out of the switch. I'll check the radio for stuck CD, but the instrument cluster shouldn't draw any when the switch is off should it?

 

A bunch of stuff stays powered up after you pull the key until the door is opened and closed. Ithink that may related to the dash circuit draw. Just guessing though

 

Just a quick FYI....

I could have purchased a new or rebuilt alternator from Napa today ,but I'm choosing to have the one rebuilt or get a rebuilt one from the rebuilder that I used for my starter. No knock on Napa ,just want to go with someone more proven. The spread at Napa rebuilt vs new is about $25 $184 vs $209. Their rebuilt units carry the 3 yr warrenty while the new is lifetime. I don't think I knew that when I purchased it from them 4 yrs ago,or maybe didn't have that option then?

The business Grove D.C. Electric Inc. in Fox Lake IL. 847-587-0864 did a great job with my starter ,and earned my trust for future business. I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to get an explaination from them that I intend to post here. It will probably coincide with what has been posted here already.

I did let my son give someone a jump start a couple weeks ago. I'm not blaming him but wonder if that could have blown the diodes (if that is the problem?). I've heard of that before but never experienced it myself. I will ask Grove about that as well.

I want people to learn from this and believe in giving back here. I've received a lot of good advise here and am proud to belong to a community that is so supportive and willing to give input.

I probably won't be able to post anything for a few days,as I'm not expecting them (Grove) to be open on Labor Day (tommorrow).

I will post when I get the skinny,and hopefully will have a solution and explanation for all this.

Rick

 

check the plug on the alternator. if it is bad/loose,the light will come on/flicker, and the batteries will not charge properly.

 

i never buy parts store electrical unless i am stuck on the side of the road and can not get home.
all my starters, alternators, fan motors, or other stuff gets built by a local shop i have know for the past 40 years.
prices are also cheaper than parts stores and everything inside gets replaced, not just the parts that are bad.

 

Well..... Finally checking back in here.

My truck is back on the road,and all seems good.

I took the alternator in the Tuesday after Labor Day ,to Grove DC Electric Inc. . They tested the alternator,which was drawing 5 amps of DC current,while sitting in it's state of rest. I saw 5.25 amps of DC current consumption with key off and radio fuse disconnected.

They said that part of the internal voltage regulator broke down and was grounding out.

I called them first thing Tueday morning. They didn't have any rebuilds available but said they'd put one together for me so I could come in around lunch and pick it up,which is what I did. Alternator was $125 plus tax.

Bolted it on when I got home and all was great,till last Friday when the battery light came on (RATS!!!).

Long and short of it was that the alternator had no output?

I returned it to Grove Monday morning. They tested it and no output?

They disassembled it right away for me,and went through it.One of the coils was faulty,which is a part they test before installation and it tested good. They rebulit the alternator while I waited,and I was out of there in 45 minutes. They apologised for the inconvieience which was nice,and said it was a fluke.

I put the re rebuilt alternator back on the truck,and all is fine.
Although there was an issue with the alternator,they had very good response in taking care of it.

Thanks again to all ,who helped me sort this mess out.

Rick

 

Rick glad to hear you got to the bottom of the problem....also nice to hear that their are some businesses that still believe in customer service, good on them!!

 

UPDATE......

Well ... The story didn't end with the second alternator fixing the problem. The plot thickened. I believe that it's completely resolved now,but I went through one more alternator before resolution...

I think the term "Which came first? The chicken or the egg?" applies here.

I wanted to post this as it ties in what some of you responded might be the problem. It turns out that a couple demons were present (unbeknown to me at the time).


Here's how I see the problem in short (no pun intended)...

- Alternator dies and damages batteries from massive discharge short inside alternator. Short kills batteries with truck off at rest.
- Rebuilt alternetor installed and dies in 4 days from bad part
- Rebuilt alt #2 installed dies in one week from batteries being damaged
- Batteries and alternator (rebuild #3) replaced all good now


Hers's a more extended recap.....

- Found truck dead (electrically) one day .Drained batteries.

- Batteries (Sears Diehards) were purchased new back in Nov 2012. Charged batteries (which took forever to charge) . Seemed OK

- Reconnected batteries and found the alternator (getting hot with key off) . Was drawing current with key in off position. Great tip from forum member here led me to check this. Alternator had an internal voltage regulator short which was drawing current ( 5 amps) (confirmed at rebuilder ) before diassembly.

- Purchased rebuild #1 from rebuilder

- Installed rebuilt alternator ... Charging properly,crank speed good on engine start,everything seemed good. Four days later,battery light came on and no alternator output.

- Took rebuilt alt back to rebuilder and they said that a coil internally had opened (very unusual) . Said it was a part that is checked and reused on rebuilds and they rarely go bad. They re-rebuilt the alternator for me on the spot. They said was a problem with caused by a faulty alternator part,and nothing more. They apologised for inconvienience and off I went.

- Installed alternator #2 . Batteries were charged prior,started engine ,alternator had output (13.7 VDC) . All seemed good.

- Alternator #2 lasted 7 days ,then battery light came on again and little to no output...RATS!!!!!!

* When all this first happened , I'd brought the truck to Sears for free electrical diagnostic . The alternator at the time (the Napa one I'd put on four years ago) was bad (no output). They said the alternator had no output ,but also that both batteries were testing bad (one more than the other). They were reluctant to warrenty the batteries with the alternator issue . I could understand this as the batteries at that point were running the electrical needs of the truck and may have been low.

- At this point I was suspecting that one or more of the batteries might have an issue and could be the problem . I took both batteries out,and brought them to Sears for testing. They both tested bad ,and Sears warrentied them on the spot .Got two brand new batteries as replacements (no prorating) and the new warrenty started then.

- Rebuilder built third alternator for me (still no charge under warrenty).
They said that alternator #2 burnt out as it was trying to put out like mad to make up for the batteries being bad.

- I installed the two new batteries and rebuilt alternator #3 . Had electrical system checked locally at a shop. All tested good.Truck has been back on road for three weeks with no issues.

I hope !

Rick

 

What an adventure

 

Just went thru this with my '99 SD 7.3. Hood and interior lights pulled, ground cables off both fully charged and load-tested(new Aug. 2013) batteries, test ammeter showed a drain of approximately 6 amps when connected to battery ground and chassis. Pulled all the interior fuses one at a time and saw 1.2 amps drop in the draw for each of three, pulled all three and saw a drop of about 2.5 amps total on the drain. Put 'em all back in, went to the underhood box, pulled fuses one at a time again, found one that killed the drain down to .011 amps. THAT one is for the alternator field "A". I'm betting the regulator is shorted (and the previous owner had replaced it just before I bought the truck 6 years ago). I bought a new (not rebuilt) alternator and bingo the drain is now .011 amps. Truck (as of now, 3 days later) is still fully charged and starts fine, showing 14.4v on the system. I kept the old unit ($5.00 core charge, why not?) and it's being overhauled at a shop I've trusted for 40 years. Nice to have a spare.

 

Thanks for the reply Jim, this has been giving more than a few of us fits, for some time now.

 

After driving and working as a mechanic for almost 50 years, the one thing I've learned well, is that, the same problem on vehicles can be caused by many different things. Friends call me on the phone and say my truck is doing this or that, and all anyone can do is give an educated guess based on having the same type of problem. Sometimes, we can help each other by sharing this information, and sometimes we completely miss it. The good thing about this forum, we can all share and compare, and come up with a solution most of the time. If you're having a problem with your truck, you can bet, someone has had it before---good job guys!

 

Good Points.....

I drew from quite a few of the replies here,to help sort out the mess.

At the very least , it's great to have such good willing members,that offer their experiences freely.

Hats off to all of you.

Rick