Howdy,

I have read through the battery discharge posts after doing a search, but I still need some clarification. Recently I have been having a string of starting problems, and I thought I solved them with changing to 5W-40 oil. The truck only gets used every other weekend in the winter. So on the second weekend went out to start and it turned over nice, but no kick. It seemed there was no fuel being injected. So I have someone try to start and I checked the batts, and the voltage drop was less than 10.5 on one and under 10.2 on the other. So I pulled the batts and had them test at Advanced Auto and my diesel mechanic. Both said the batts are good.

So they went back in and I started to go through the process of determining if I have a fault somewhere that is causing the batteries to discharge. When the truck is running the voltage across the batts is over 14V.

Next I disconnected the passenger side battery (both + and -) and the - on the driver side, and put the multimeter between (on the 10A setting). The reading was around 1.58. So I switched it over to 200mA and changed, the plugs on the multimeter, and got zero. Not sure why - need basic multimeter class I guess. Then I pulled out a test light and the light came on strong then faded to off in about 2-3 seconds. It was light out, but I could barely see it burning. So I had to pull out the fuse, then check the Amps, but it back in, then go to the next one. I went through about 1/2 the bank of fuses (all the small ones, and a few of the larger including PCM) and had to stop. I did pull the #22 and the Amp draw went down to about .5. When I tough from the battery - to ground on the alternator there is a spark.

How else can I run the test?

On another note, I was able to get the truck going today - same starting issues as before the oil change, and I had it idling on a slight decline after driving for 15minutes and it cut off. When I went to start it back up it spun fast but seemed like no fuel injection again. I cracked the fuel valve on the back of the filter let it run for a little while, then keyed over a few times, heard the pump running and waited until I thought the filter was full, but no start - seemed like no fuel. I fiddled around for a while, found a chewed through wire (coming out of the fuse bank in the engine compartment (black (or dark blue) with orange, plugging into the same cable connector area as the trailer brake. So I twisted the wires and the truck started. So I thought that fixed my problem, but when I got home and went to permanently fix it, I pulled them apart and the truck started. Geeesh - no break. But the truck ran fine for the rest of the day.

AAAArrrggg.

Sorry for the rambling post but this is driving me nuts.

Thanks,

 

I think your batteries are OK... 10.5 is enough voltage.. You could also do a hydrometer test.. Napa sells a good little hydrometer for around $20 to check the acid.. each cell.. If one cell is weak, time to change batteries..
Have you change out the CPS per the Ford recall yet?? That could cause your starting problems..

 

I drive my truck infrequently... once a month or so. I learned that if it sits for a week, no problem. Two weeks, no start.Like you I put my multimeter inline with the + on one battery, then disconnected the other. It read 180ma. Checking voltage daily, the battery would drop almost 1/10th volt per day.I have an Edge Evolution II installed. Disconnecting it reduced the phantom draw by 90ma, and this figure has since been confirmed by Edge tech support who told me "Yes, it does have that much of a draw. We recommend that if the truck is going to sit for longer then two days without being started then you will need to unplug the Evolution from under the dash."Pulling all the fuses (as you did) I found three small draws of 5 ma or less, for memory maintenance of the radio and other electronics. The other big draw was through the fuse labeled "instrument cluster" but I wasn't able to get any definitive answers on exactly what that draw (70ma) could be. I'd heard the GEM module can be the problem but other posts indicate my truck doesn't have one.So now I disconnect the Edge from the OBDII port when the truck is gonna be parked for a week or more. Obviously that doubles the time it'll take to run the batteries too low to start. But it's still bad keeping the batteries in a less-than-full-charge for extended periods.So earlier this month I put a 65 watt solar panel on the garage roof (no power to the garage or I'd have put on a Battery Tender), picked up a low-cost controller to keep from overcharging, and I've been checking the battery voltage each morning and evening since. Even tho it's been raining a lot here, the battery hasn't gone below 12.6V and is usually closer to 12.9V.An easier/cheaper/better solution would be to just drive the truck a few times every week. I just need to make this one last a LONG time and have other vehicles I can wear out commuting to work.Phil

 

Sorry for the long drawn-out paragraph. I see that problem still exists here at FTE (at least still for me) and the "edit" buttons still won't work (well, the button works, I just can't save the edited portion". Phil

 

I don't know if it will help you but when my batteries where draining I traced it back to my engine compartment light. I unplugged the light and haven't had a problem since.