Battery Drain
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New User
Joined: May 2008
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Battery Drain
Recently, when I let my 89 F250 sit for over 5 hours, the battery has drained to the point where it will barely turnover the engine.
I setup my multimeter between the negative battery cable and the battery to measure the current drain. I pulled all of the fuses one at a time and the current reading remained constant at 12 milliamps. So it would seem that whatever is draining the battery is not routed through the fuse block.
Any ideas? What are common causes of battery drain on these pick-ups?
I setup my multimeter between the negative battery cable and the battery to measure the current drain. I pulled all of the fuses one at a time and the current reading remained constant at 12 milliamps. So it would seem that whatever is draining the battery is not routed through the fuse block.
Any ideas? What are common causes of battery drain on these pick-ups?
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 550
Likes: 1
From: Hillsboro, OR
12 Ma sounds more like the radio then anything serious. How good is the battery? Most auto parts houses will do a free elec check. If you were pulling 2-10 amps, then I would be concerned. Sounds like your battery is going out.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,026
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From: Belle Mead NJ
12ma is nothing. I have 14ma with my magcharger plugged in. your battery is finally dieing or your terminals are all crusty and not contacting. I just had the same thing. Clicking like battery is dead but cks good. I had some crust on the pos. Cleaned it all up and its good as golden now.
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 31,930
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
A short in the internal regulator or bridge rectifier in the alternator is common, and this will test OK on most bechtop quick testers at autoparts stores. Disconnect the big harness on the alternator the next time the truck is parked, if the battery holds charge you found your problem.
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New User
Joined: May 2008
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A short in the internal regulator or bridge rectifier in the alternator is common, and this will test OK on most bechtop quick testers at autoparts stores. Disconnect the big harness on the alternator the next time the truck is parked, if the battery holds charge you found your problem.
I did make a mistake in my original post, I am seeing 120 mA, rather than 12mA with the key off. And I've tried a new, freshly charged battery with the same result.
Thread Starter
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New User
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
A short in the internal regulator or bridge rectifier in the alternator is common, and this will test OK on most bechtop quick testers at autoparts stores. Disconnect the big harness on the alternator the next time the truck is parked, if the battery holds charge you found your problem.
Good Call! I disconnected the harness from the alternator, let it sit for 24 hours and it fired right up.
