I have a new-to-me 2006 Ford F-150. It has a red light and a blue light that are constantly flashing on top of the dashboard, presumably to scare off would-be thieves. The ignition is also alarmed and the gas cap has a lock. I'm guessing the previous owner lived in a bad neighborhood!

Anyway, I notice the battery runs down pretty fast. I went about 5 days without starting it and almost didn't think it would start.

If I get these lights disabled, will that solve the problem? They literally flash 24 hours a day. I'm not in a high crime area, though I like how they deter potential joyriders.

How long should these trucks be able to sit without a problem? This is not my daily driver and I'd like to be able to leave it for a few days (or even weeks) without worrying. Am I dreaming?

I had a jeep for years that had no pull on the battery at all and I never had to worry about it. I also have a BMW that has a ton of electronics constantly draining the battery so that has to be driven regularly. I was hoping the truck would be more like my jeep! The truck is automatic if that makes a difference, and has manual windows and locks.

When I lived in England I had a Land Rover that I only drove on short runs around town and one day my battery went flat even though I drove it every day. The mechanic told me that the batteries there are not very powerful so the kind of short drives I did were actually running it down. I hope it's not a similar situation here, as I rarely drive more than about 15 mins.

What should my expectations be, with and without these lights? What else could be pulling on the battery? Do these just need to be driven a certain distance to stay alive? Do I need a battery tender and if so, what kind?

 

Sounds like you've got something left on that is draining the battery. I doubt the lights are doing it that fast unless it's an old battery. FYI the red light is factory from ford and will always blink, so that shouldn't be an issue. I would dig around for aftermarket stuff on the truck and see how it is all wired up.

 

Thanks Ford4wd08. I'm not mechanical at all. Should I take it to the dealership for this and have them look it over?

 

I took my mustang to a local shop to hook up and check up for a parasitic draw. They couldn't find one but I think in your case they could tell the draw coming from those lights. I avoid the local dealership at all costs,

 

The first thing I would do, especially if it's the original battery, is take the truck to some auto parts place like Autozone and have the battery tested. They will do this free of charge. Your problem could be simply a weak battery.

I read once a Ford engineer saying that an F150 is designed to be able to sit for 3-4 weeks before the built in parasitic draw starts to run down the battery. If you have any aftermarket electronics installed that time could be less.

 

Mine has sat a month with no problem and I'm still on the original battery.

 

When I was on the road my truck would sit a month in the winter and still start fine.

 

I also thought it should be able to go a few weeks without the battery draining so I'm glad that is the case. Now I just have to get to the bottom of this issue. I suppose it could just be the original battery so I'll get that checked out.

 

You have one of the most frustrating jobs there are - finding that damned power drain! However, you have a leg up on it with that flashing alarm system. I might be inclined to pull the plug on that and see how it goes.

 

Personally I have been here with the family Volvo S80 it would be dead after 6 hours sitting (maybe less) and would require a jump, so I originally took it to autozone and they "tested" the battery as "good", nope the car died still

So I let the car sit for a few weeks to months trying to stew all possible issues, so I took it to advanced auto parts just for the heck of it (needed the car the next day anyways) and had them retest the battery and they showed that it had failed (dead cell) so I replaced the battery and low and behold that resolved all the dead electrical issues. I now have made it a point to avoid auto zone for any thing engine or electrical related as they failed both times and nearly cost me a $5K engine when a part they'd sold me failed coolant wise.


Do your self a favor and test the battery at advanced they seem to know a lot more of what they are doing!

 

I agree with Jaime74656, I had the same problem one time, my battery was draining but turned out to be the alternator not charging. Took it to Autozone to test and they said battery was bad even though it was only 8 months old at that time. Then took it to Advance to have them test it and turned out to be the alternator, replaced it and no more issues! I'm done with Autozone only go to Advance now.

 

I say you do need to check the battery and alternator to be safe for sure. I would also like to recommend you buy a solar powered battery tender, I've been using one for about 3 years now when I stopped using my truck as my daily driver. I just took out my original battery at 10 years old and 140k also, the one I have you plug into the power port and set it right on the dash. Works fantastic...

 

My '04 will go for 3 weeks in the winter and start like it ran yesterday. It has the factory red flashing light in the dash also.