In a seedy part of philadelphia, no less. I was picking up a washer and dryer, when I pulled up I went to put the window down and it didn't work. I then noticed that my gauges were all flat. I said to my buddy I cannot turn off the truck my batteries were dead. He said ok, we went to get it, I came back out to position the truck to pick it up. As soon as I put it in drive, it died. I was lucky enough to get a jump from someone after we loaded the stuff up where it sat, but then a mile downt he road it went in and out, sputtered a bit, and bam, dead. I coasted down the hill and went to turn into an empty parking lot. No power steering in that truck made it a serious difficulty to turn in, but I managed.

I hit up mr gps, as it was getting late, and sunday, for a walmart. There was one, .32 miles away, luckily. So we started walking. 5 miles later... we got to walmart. Picked up a battery and a little cart to haul it back on, and walked back. Installed in a few minutes and we were good.

My question is, why did this happen? I got new batteries a few months ago.

It happened a few weeks ago, but because my kid left hte dome light on over the weekend. Charged up and no problems, but I tested my alternator just in case. It read 13.8v at 2krpm. That was fine I thought. The truck ran fine the whole way back with the new battery, so I'm thinking one of the batteries isn't charging. However it seems like both because it was flat *** dead, both batteries had no life to them. Any thoughts on it? Before I spend $200 on an alternator I don't need, my batteries are still under warranty, I'd rather replace them if that's the cause. Suggestions?

 

Sounds like a short or bad connection. Also, your dome light should turn off in 30 or 45 minutes (Can't remember which) 30?

 

Did you replace both batteries or just one?

 

Just replaced the one. Those things are pricy, and if they aren'tt he cause, I hate to go replacing things that are unnecessary. Dome light turns of 30 seconds after you close the doors.

 

I'm thinking you may have an alternator issue !,,take it off and tested at Autozone or others!

 

Well, i'm 99% sure it's the alternator now. I replaced one battery last night, on hte way into work the truck died again. Here's what I'm looking at to replace with, I'd appriciate any input.

New Reman Alternator 2003 ? 2005 Ford Excursion:eBay Motors (item 190310184486 end time Jun-24-09 10:12:54 PDT)

I can't find any high amp output alternators for the 6.0, they're all for the 7.3. Any know if that would work? Or have links to one that is 6.0 high output? Some of the 200a alternators for the 7.3 are saying 200a at 1200rpm. When I had my alternator tested they said rev to 2krpm, and I was like this truck is rarely, if ever, at 2krpm. If I'm not making power until that range, no wonder my battery is dead.

 

I think what EXv10 was saying is that your interior light should turn themselves off after 30 minutes, mine will turn off when I leave all the doors open after 30 minutes, unless some closes or opens another door in that time period.

I also invested in a battery shut off switch for when were at shows or just working on the EX. The only down side is I have to reset all the radio stations and clock. The upside is it clears the computer and we all know to shutdown our computers every once and awhile to get rid of junk that builds up.

I agree with m350, pull the alternator and have it checked at Auto Zone or your local parts center before going through the expense of replacing it.

 

If you only replaced one battery and the other one is bad it will draw the good battery down. Have both batteries tested because it is not unusual to get a brand new bad battery. Make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight also. As an owner of a Cadillac, with a great power draw, I know how important a clean and tight battery connection must be. Check to see if the alternator has a rebuild kit, if it does, it doesn't take much effort to rebuild one and that will save some bucks.

 

The dome lights will turn off automatically after 30minutes, yes. However the reading lights will not, or at least mine didn't, and that was what was on for the original problem.

Luckily, though, I don't lose my presets when I disconnect the battery, I guess that's a newer model feature. Really handy, because I can never remember what station it's supposed to be on for my XM radio to work, and it doesn't find it by seeking.

 

sounds like my weekend ... I was installing my new backup camera and was opening and closing doors etc... and trying to entertain my 3 year old in the interim. All the time I fogot to disconnect the battery so my dome lights all stayed on and since the battery was an '04 ACDelco -- I got stuck. Luckily it was in my driveway so I had to run to the nearest AutoBarn by me in wifey's truck and picked up a new Deka Battery - great price too -> $75 swapped out the batt and fired right up ... I got lucky this time

 

I was impressed, for some reason hte 850cca battery from walmart was $75. The walmart near my house the same battery is $96. I had assumed that all walmarts had the same pricing, but apparently not. Still, will be nice to have a 3rd battery that I can keep charged, just in case. Anyways, recommendations on new alternator? Mine is dead, has to be. 13.8v at 2k rpm when it's supposed to be 14.5v, and I'm not sure about that 2krpm figure either.

 

1) When you change batteries on a diesel truck you should change both. One could have a shorted cell and if you replace the wrong one it will just kill the new one.
2) Amps are what charges your battery, volts are just a measure of how much force you put the amps in the battery. You can have 13 volts but if you are only putting 1 amp you will never charge the battery. It is possible to have 1 diode bad in an alternator show good voltage and not fully charge the battery.
3) sometimes soldering the diodes on an alternator replace is more than the home rebuilder wants. I would recommend replacing the alternator vs. rebuilding at home.
4) Full load test the alternator at someplace like autozone is better than just using a voltmeter.

Currently you might have replaced the wrong battery. I would recommend you replace the 2nd battery.

Unfortunate you have to spend the $$ but going down the change 1 battery path can potentially cost you a lot of effort later. (as you see when it won't start)

So what I would do in your place

1) I would replace the old battery
2) I would confirm the voltage of the alternator with both new batteries.
3) I would charge them fully overnight to have a good base line for evaluation.
4) Load test the charging system.

If 1-3 didn't work I would replace the alternator with new or rebuilt, I would not attempt it at home.

Best of luck on what you chose.

 

I remember us and a few others replacing our batteries at the same time earlier this year, so I understand your frustration.

From the time I read that your guages were all flat, that's a dead giveaway that points to the alternator. Same thing happened to me and it was a race home before we had to push...

If it were me, I'd go to autozone, napa, or oreilly and get an alternator from them; sure you'll spend $200, but it's the last time you'll have to do it.

I'd also check for a loose connection and make sure they're extremely tight on both batteries. My alternator light came on 5 mins from home after a drive from San Antonio; I thought it was my alternator dying, but it turned out to be a loose connection on the passenger side battery. Got it tightened up and haven't had a problem since.

 

That was it, this morning the gauges were flat and it was a race to work before I had to walk. It died on the freeway one offramp before my work, so I took the one ahead, and drifted into a parking lot which happen to contain my brother-in-law's deli. I called and had them deliver me a sandwich at work, and to pick me up on the way.

I replaced both batteries a few months ago, like you said, and I was pretty sure it wasn't the batteries. I was in a shifty neighborhood where it died, and I just wanted to get home, so one battery would give me the juice to do just that, I didn't want to worry about fixing it there, I just wanted a bandaid to get out before I got killed. Yes, there were gang signs painted all over the place, gunshot noises, and police sirens pretty much the whole time. It was not in my best interest to worry about much more than the fastest way out of there.

I haven't noticed my alternator light. I have double and tripple checked the battery connections. All connections are solid and tight. The batteries aren't charging. Also if it wasn't the alternator, a jump would do the trick, once it was running I'd be fine. But the fact that I died while driving, not once but 3 times now, points directly to the alternator not putting out power, so I'm running on batteries and have until they die before I stop moving.

I just had a coworker run me and my 3rd battery home, where I put the battery on the charger, and went to get into my other car. However, my other car was dead because I haven't driven it in a while. So I left the battery on charge and had her give me a ride back to work, I'll find another way home. Once I do though, I can get the charged battery, and find a way back to work to put it in my truck and at least get it home, then put my other car on charge.

 

Here we go again........... A good place to start is the wiring in the steering column. Bet you some of the wires have become exposed from constant movement and creating shorts. It's happening more and more in Excursions. Your symptoms sound exactly like mine when my wiring became exposed.