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Battery draining while running

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Old Sep 4, 2022 | 07:46 AM
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Battery draining while running

2001 F-250 XLT
Hi guys , so the truck was worked all winter as it’s a plow truck, once snow left it sat for quite a few months with turning it on regularly letting it run a bit an let it shut off on its own sense I used the key fob to start, well it’s needed some fixing so I go to pick it up from where I was storing it at and I started it with key fob to let it warm up an it shuts off starts up 3x an then stops, I turn on with key an it runs for awhile then dies, so I jumped it, it started but eventually died out again, so I put a new battery in and alternator seemed fine then the battery light came on and once gain battery starts draining, , any help is appreciated
 
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Old Sep 4, 2022 | 08:14 AM
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Obviously, the alternator isn't charging the battery while the engine is running.

You need to diagnose that malfunction.

 
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Old Sep 7, 2022 | 01:24 PM
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Quick simple alt check: get truck running, pull off the + terminal at the battery, if truck continues to run alt is at least working (might not be putting out all of its amps, but it is working) if the truck dies the alt is dead.

Once the battery is out of the circuit unless the alt is putting out voltage and a few amps the ignition system looses power and the truck dies.

Be sure all connections on the terminal ends and the inside of the terminal are clean and can transfer power 100%. Dirty connections have stranded more than 1 truck.
 
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Old Sep 7, 2022 | 03:04 PM
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Quick simple alt check: get truck running, pull off the + terminal at the battery, if truck continues to run alt is at least working (might not be putting out all of its amps, but it is working) if the truck dies the alt is dead.
Good grief! DO NOT DO (or recommend) THIS!!! This procedure stands a very high chance of damaging expensive electronic components.

 
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Old Sep 7, 2022 | 03:15 PM
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If you want to check to see if the alternator is charging, start the truck and take a multimeter, check voltage at the battery. With the truck running it should be around 14 volts right after starting. If it's less than this then you've either got a bad alternator (typical) or bad wiring (not normal but plausible on an older vehicle). If you're not comfortable checking it this way, then pull the alternator and take it to an auto parts store, they'll bench-test it to see if it's good.

DO NOT unhook the battery with the truck running. As said above, this could easily destroy some electronics that are going to cost more than they're worth to replace.
 
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