I have a 2004 Excursion with a 6.0 diesel, and have had numerous problems over the years with the battery going dead for no good reason. I have replaced the stock batteries with Optima Reds, and replaced the alternator at least 3 times. I've also replaced the connector to the alternator. Still nothing seems to last. Intermittently, the truck will discharge the batteries overnight and it won't start in the morning...usually worse in cold weather but it has happened in the summer as well. After a full and complete battery charge, it will last a couple of days before going dead again overnight.

My first thought after reading some of the threads posted here was that I have a parasitic draw. I do. I ran through the test procedures, and I have isolated that down to two fuses that make up the bulk of the extra current draw:

Fuse 19 - Body Security Module/4x4 module
Fuse 35 - Instrument Cluster

My current draw after the computer shuts down is about 300 mA (.300 amps). Fuse 19 accounts for 170 mA, and Fuse 35 for 70 mA. With both fuses removed, I'm down to about 60 mA which sounds like it's within normal bounds.

The truck has a Pioneer navi/DVD system installed, and a roof-mounted DVD player. I suspect both of those may be pulling power on the Fuse 35 circuit, and that I can't do much about that. Haven't yet tried to disconnect either of those to check.

My main question is Fuse 19. Is it possible for a BSM module/4x4 module to fail such that it would draw so much excess current at rest? Does anyone know if that module should draw ANY current at rest?

With the two heavy duty batteries, I'm just shocked that even the 300 mA draw kills them dead after a couple of days...even if I'm driving it a short distance back and forth to work. I'm also looking into a DCPowerInc alternator to replace the stock one, but before I spend the money for that I wanted to at least try and rule out this power drain.

Thank in advance for your help!

 

Keep in mind that you have to wait 40 minutes after turning off the ignition and opening/closing any doors or connecting/disconnecting the ammeter in the battery circuit before recording the current reading.

You have to wait for the "battery saver" circuit to time out.

 

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OK, I will give that a try. I was waiting about 5 - 10 minutes...I could see the drop from about 5 amps down to my "reading" of 300 mA after that period of time...assumed that was everything I needed to wait for.

Any chance that this "battery saver" circuit is controlled by the BSM module? That might explain the large current draw I'm seeing on Fuse 19. If it is on that fuse, and you are correct about the time it takes to time out, then I should see a big drop (170 mA or more) after that time.

 

The battery saver circuit is built into the GEM module. Fords don't have anything named a "BSM".

When the battery saver times out, your current should drop below 100 mA, typically 30-60 mA.

 

ProjectSHO,

On one hand, you were right...the battery protection circuit was drawing the bulk of the current I was reading...after connecting everything and waiting 40 minutes, my draw went down to 40 mA. So, situation normal.

With respect to the BSM, I don't know what to say...I got that straight out of my owner's manual.

In any event, thank you very much for the heads up on having to wait the 40 minutes...that was very helpful.

 

Hmmm.

The owner's manuals uses the term "Body Security Module" while the factory service manual which is what I consulted uses only the term "Vehicle Security Module".

Guess they weren't consistent....

 

I'm going to piggy back on this thread, since I highly value SHO89's expertise.

Same issue with me (battery drain) on a 6.0L diesel in a 2006 E450 motorhome. I've traced the battery drain to fuse 22. This has the radio memory and battery saver on it. I dismissed the radio since the draw is still there when I pulled the harness on it. However, the battery saver relay is still warm, even after the 40 minutes. I have a 0.7 amp draw, even after I pulled the BS relay out. Is the instrument control module (ICM) telling the relay to stay on too long? I didn't pull the harness off the ICM, since frankly I don't know where it is. But an internet search brought up a fixya item that said the ICM needs to be replaced.

 

I have an 03 F150 and when I go to crank it, it clicks one time and does not turn over but i let off the key and will try it multiple times until it turns over. I took it to Advanced Auto Parts and let them test my battery and it said it was a good battery but there is something draining my battery. I have no idea what or how it could be being drained.. I have two 10 inch subs and my amp runs to the battery, I use a resettable fuse but I have a toggle switch in between the amp and the battery and I turn it off every time I get out of my truck. Can somebody please help me with this?

 

I'm going to need the first ten or eleven digits of your VIN (don't need the whole thing) so I can accurately identify your configuration.

BTW, my 17 month old lemon spot beagle is named "Spike"!


I'm going to need the first ten

 

If the battery were indeed drained, the engine would not start after repeated attempts. Dead batteries don't come back to life by themselves.

You probably have a typical battery cable/connection issue or some other typical starting problem. You'll have to do some actual troubleshooting besides just taking it to an auto parts store.

 

1FDXE45T76HA*****

I was rooting around last night for any loose connectors under the dash and found a male 6 pin connector hanging behind the fuse box. Its wires dropped out of the main harness with only about 5" of wire to work with, so its mate can't be far. No sign of the female end or any other place to plug it in - baffling. Maybe an option for a trailer brake?

Would pulling the leads on all the batteries (3 in all) and leaving them off for a day or so reset the computers? Like a hard reset on a phone or palm device? Maybe that would get the ICM to run the battery saver relay correctly (for $0)?

Hope Spike is a good dog. Maybe even "Spike the Wonder Dog."

 

Bump this post

 

I had a similar issue for about a year. Finally I found the problem. Windshield was leaking and water was going directly in the main fuse box under the hood. This caused all kind of electrical problems, dead batteries, light working and not working, abs lights going on, etc.
Finally found out the cause and got the repairs done.

 

I saw your post on the parasitic power draw and fuse #19. I'm having the same issue. Did you ever get this solved?

 

Welcome to FTE, clifperry. I've never really solved my power draw problem, although to be fair the RV wiring on my E-450 probably complicates my issue more than the original poster's Excursion. I just leave the rig plugged in, and the RV's inverter keeps the batteries charged. I've got a spare battery built in for emergency starts, plus I put together another car battery with a 1000 watt inverter for portable power in case I need to jumpstart. I dry camp in pretty remote areas, so I need a backup plan.