A problem with the draining of my battery of my 1997 Ford Aerostar began in 1999. The battery would sometimes go for weeks or months without any problems and other times need to be jump-started on a daily basis.

I brought it to Ford on three separate occasions over the next year and each time, like Murphy's Law, it decided not to discharge. So, I ended up paying for 1 1/2 hours of labor (a half hour for each service visit) for them to tell me there was nothing wrong.

So then, I stumbled upon a product called <a href="http://www.prioritystart.com/index.html">Priority Start</a>, which <a href="http://www.prioritystart.com/ps_faq.html">disconnects the battery from the rest of the electrical system of the van</a> when the voltage drops below 11.9. This has been a fantastic product as it has saved me from having the van jump-started on numerous occasions.

Now, four years later, the Priority Start mechanism isn't working anymore, probably due to the many number of times it's had to automatically disconnect and reconnect from the battery.

I definitely got my money's worth out of the Priority Start. And I could just purchase another PS to continue bypassing the problem. But, I'd like to try and find out:

1.) where the electrical problem lies,

2.) whether or not anyone else has had this same problem and had it fixed, and/or

3.) if anyone has any suggestions as to what the problem could be and suggest where I should start looking for the problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

- Paul

 

Using a high powered ampmeter (or a shunt and a volt meter). Hook that up between the battery and the electrical system (positive side), pull all the fuses in the entire van. and one by one put them back in and watch for a current draw. Once you find the offending circuit, you can trouble shoot further to find out what in the heck is drawing the current.

I also had a problem like this on my Taurus, turns out the ignition switch was bad and intermittantly powering up one of the accessory lines (something to do with the abs I belive) in the harness with no key in it.

I hate intermittant problems like that.

 

Tell me about it. When you need the problem to happen for the service guys, it NEVER happens.

I'm not much of a "mechanic," but my father-in-law knows a bit about cars. I'll get his help with your suggestion. Thanks!

- Paul

 

I'm my own "service guy" and it never fails, the minute I pull the vehicle into the garage it works like a charm.....


AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!