Should the battery gauge read this low with 12.53 Volts? Obviously not taking their reading at the battery like I was.

 

Looks good to me. Might try using a new battery to see if there's a change in your data points.

 

Two week old Duralast (Johnson Controls) battery and very clean connectors.

There is a 190 mA drain on the battery with everything off. Computer?

edit: Just remembered the door was open. (dome light)

 

I agree, everything looks ok.

The no load battery state of charge (SOC) is slightly above 90% (12.5 volts) & yours is reading 12.53.
A No Load reading of 12.6 volts or higher, indicates the battery is at a full SOC.

The Loaded voltage is reading 14.12, so the alternator is doing it's thing under load.

The quiescent battery load, with the doors & hood closed, all lights & electronics off, things like the battery saver, ect & all of the computers have timed out, should be in the 30-60ma range, if you don't have other online after market electronics with memory.

Yup that pesky dome light tried to toss you a parasitic curve didn't it!!!! lol

 

And if you leave the hood up, there's a light under there, too.

 

Thought I had the interior light on. It wasn't. Seems this 200mA drain is in the #26 fuse circuit. A search shows many people have this same drain/problem.

After letting everything rest an hour I pulled every relay while watching the ammeter and never found the problem. This 2000 Ranger has no power accessories. I'll check Battery Saver Relay.

 

OK, good trouble shooting on isolating it to the #26 fused circuit.

So what was the quiscent current reading after the one hour time out period????

It won't be zero ma drain, but should be around 30-60 ma, depending on the items with memory, like the various onboard computers, radio, clock, ect that you have.

The 10 amp #26 fuse has a number of relays on it's circuit & the GEM, so lots of suspects to look at.

Do you have a glove box lamp, if so, also have a look to see if it's not turning off when the glove box door is closed.

Let us know what you find.

 

I found this warm relay I assume is the Battery Saver Relay.



I removed it. The draw dropped to .05A (normal). After one hour I plugged it back in, heard the click and it jumped back to .2A. (Door latch closed to eliminate interior light)

The relay tested fine. There are no glove box/hood lights. Any harm in leaving the relay out? It does bother me though.

 

OK, good find & feedback.
If it's the battery saver relay, & it's switched points aren't welded, but check open circuit when it's unplugged, it would suggest the GEM has an internal problem. Maybe it's time out circuit is corrupt.

If you could come by another GEM to try, or could have the questionable GEM bench tested, or just replace the questionable GEM, maybe consider those options.

 

So far the only downside of removing this relay is no interior light. Everything else seems to work. Can someone confirm this is in fact the BSR?

It appears it's a standard 12V relay. http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a...E-RELAY/1.html

 

you must have no power windows and you should have a standard, the battery saver, the dome light and the instrument panel lights should not be working

 

You need to ask Why the GEM isn't timing this relay out!!!!

Could be that the GEM timing circuit, or ground driver has a problem. At any rate the GEM should be turning the relay's operating coil OFF, after it's time out period is up, but for some reason it isn't.

Maybe the ground driver is shorted, or maybe the ground lead to the GEM is shorted to ground before it gets there.
So maybe inspect the wiring insulation, or wiggle the relays wiring harness & see if it'll click off. If it does, you likely have a wiring insulation problem somwhere between the relays electrical connector & the GEM.

If the wiring checks out, maybe a salvage yard GEM from a like equipped vehicle, would be worth consideration.

More thoughts for pondering.

 

Pawpaw my trucks been acting a little weird latly. Acts like it might stall but does not. I have been checking the bat voltage Right now it read 10.9. Earlier it read 11.5. With the truck off. With it running sometimes it reads 14.53 and sometimes it reads 12.5 withthe truck running the alt is 2 years old and the bat is about the same. the bat lite is off and the gauge stays in the middle. Should the truck running voltage always be about 14.53

 

GI just let it idle for a little and it was 14.2 while running. I turned it off and it was 13.1. 2 mintes later it was 12.65

 

powersmoked, before this puppy completely lays down on you, run it by your favorite autoarts store & ask for their test guru to do a no cost, in vehicle electrical system checkup, via their portable electrical system tester.

Sounds like your having, battery, maybe shorted or leaky cells, battery cable, maybe loose or corroded connections, or alternator problems, like leaky or shorted diodes or loose or corroded wiring connections, or maybe an out of control parasitic drain problem, or some combination there-of.

The 10.9-11.5 no load battery voltage you first posted, says you have between maybe 5% to less than 20% battery charge.
Yup, one would expect the no load alternator to output to be steady, between 14-15 volts, with the engine running above 2K rpm.

Make sure the battery cells are covered with distilled water & recharge the battery with a battery charger, at about 4-6 amps.
DON'T use the alternator to do it, as both could be over heated & damaged.

The alternator isn't designed to be a battery recharger, just a topper upper, to quickly put back whats taken out after a start, or to carry the electrical load when the engine is running.

The battery is just an electrical storage device & filter, used to store enough ooomph to run the starter motor, fuel pump, fuel injectors & coilpack on a start & to filter on line electrical noise & voltage spikes, so the computer & other electronics aren't fried!!!!

All of our electrical system compoents need to work together so the others aren't strained.

Low operating voltage to the computer, fuel pump, injectors & coil pack, sure won't make our engines run good!!!!