I have a 2004 V10 Excursion with 150,00 miles. Around 100,00 it had all kinds of electrical issues - reparied under extended warranty. Got a new battery then. That was 2 years ago. Also had a new battery installed. About 18 months ago had a new alternator installed. Before vacation 2 months ago had the baattery checked and was told it was "weak" and needed replaced.

We parked the truck for vacation for 7 days and when we got off the boat the battery was dead. Had it jumped and no problems.

1 month ago the same thing happened. Went out to start the truck and all I got was clicks. So I replaced the battery and noticed the positive terminal was corroded.

2 weeks ago it happened again. Just a bunch of clicking when tried to start. So I broke down and replaced the battery cable. This is actually a harness that cost me $90 from the dealer.

Then yesterday went to start and nothing. No lights, no clicks, nada. Jumped and no problem. Drove it all day yesterday and no problems. This morning started without a problem.

We drive it every day, and except for the vacation the truck is driven every day. There had never been a warning light on. I can not guarantee, but I don't think any lights left on or doors open when the battery died.

So here are my list of questions:

1 - Can a drain make the battery go bad faster? We got 4 years and 100K out of the first one. The second one was also motorcraft so I asume I should have gotten similar results.

2 - How do I check voltages? Please be specific. I am new at this but willing to try anything. I have a multimeter. But when you tell me to check the voltage somewhere tell me where to put red and black terminals.

Please help. This is my wifes truck and she wants me to get rid of it and get her something new. I really don't want to do this. Hoping to get a few more years out of her - until kids go off to college and we can get something smaller.

Greg

 

To check voltage, switch your multimeter to Volts. With the engine off (not been running), put the red with the red on the battery, black with the black. It should be 12-12.5V.

Start your engine. Now do the same thing again and it should be up to 13.5V or so. If not, your alternator is bad and you should have a battery light on the dash. Have someone rev it up to 2K RPM, your voltage should stay about the same give and take a couple of tenths Volts. Reving it up checks the voltage regulator.

To check if there is a phantom drain, switch the multimeter to amps or current, disconnect the negative terminal on your battery. Put the red wire from the multimeter to the negative post on the battery. Then, connect the black wire to the negative wire you removed off the battery to create a closed circuit. Then you can read the current that is being drawn. You may want to disconnect the hood light. I don't recall what the acceptable amps is. Can someone help?

 

Do all of the above and check your ignition switch for not being all the way off. I had a similar problem with my Mark VIII and it was that the switch was off enough to kill the engine and accessories and remove rhe key. If I made certain the switch was in the correct "off" position I had no problem. If I was in a hurry or careless the switch would still allow something to draw current.
Another item to check is the under hood lamp, like a refrigerator, you never really know if the light goes off when the door is shut. Remove the bulb and see if it makes a difference.
I buy all of my batteries at Sams Club or Wally World as the warrantee is 3 years free replacement.

 

Um....CORRECTION. You need to put the meter between the disconnected POSITIVE cable and battery terminal.

While I don't know the exact reading, from what I understand it should be around .010 amps. It may be as high as .035 once the interior lights go out but that should go down to about .01 amps after about a half an hour. So would say that anything below .02 is acceptable.

If it is too high then you need to start pulling fuses until the amps drop. You'll find the culprit based on the fuse you pull.



However, based on the symptoms I would check and double check all the connections on the battery/starter cables.

 

You can use either the negative or positive terminals to test for draw and the max is .050 amps or 50mA. Some of the modules like the anti-theft draw .010 amps continuously.

 

Yes, that's what I thought. I prefer to use the negative due to the possibility that with the positive being loose, it could hit something and create a short while testing.

 

You guys are the best. Unfortunately I am at work and will not be able to so this until tomight or tomorrow. I will perform these steps and get back to you.

Greg

 

OK - here is the update:

I was home from work for 30 minutes before I had to leave again - and rushed through dinner in order to get to the Excursion.

I have (had - keep reading below) an old radioshack analog multimeter. My choices of options as I remember were:

DC V - a setting for 15, 100, 1000

AC v - three settings I can't remember

and a setting for 150mA DC

1 - checked the terminals on the battery with the multimeter set at 15V DC- got 13 Volts

2 - fired up the engine and got a little over 14V

3 - had my daughter who is 16 and just got her license sit in the drivers seat and told her to run it to 2000 rpm's. She got in the drivers seat an floored it - after 0.5 seconds I ran from under the hood and told her to stop

4 - asked her if she knew what rpm's were and she said "no". After explaining what rpm's were had her put it 2000 rpm's. There was no change in the multimeter vs idle. Sat a little over 14V.

So good so far

5 - After turning off the truck, disconnected the negative battery terminal and set the multimeter to 1000V DC

6 - placed the mutilmeter in series. The needle moved just a little.

7 - switched to the 150 mA DC setting, put it in series with the negative side and the needle jumped off the scale and then went to 0.

8 - broke multimeter - would not even register the V between the terminals now

So what next?

Here are my plans - get a digital multimeter and then ask you guys how to set it when I check for a drain.

 

Do you have a fuse with the multimeter?

 

Don't know. It is in the trash and I am at work.

Plans for tomorrow are to stop at Autozone and get a portable battery jumper - and send it with my wife to Tennesse this weekend in case the truck dies, and get a better digital multimeter.

 

You have to insert the + probe in the "10A" or amps plug of the meter, or it will blow it's fuse. Here's a some good info Diagnosing A Car Battery That Runs Down

 

Go get the meter out of the trash, you probably just blew a fuse in it. The fuse is usually close to the batterys but some units require that you take it apart to find the fuse. Go get a better tester but there's nothing wrong with having a backup.

 

Followed your advice. Went to Walmart and got a digital multimeter for 25.99. Also go the old one out of the trash.

So here are the results for today:

1 - car off - 12.98V across battery terminals

2 - car running - 14.30V across battery terminals

3 - car off, lights off - had .13mA reading for the drain

So this all seems normal and truck is runnning perfect.

So what next?

Also at Walmart - $59 for a battery jumper pack to send with my wife to Tennessee this weekend - just in case.

 

you got .130mA or .013mA.
There's a big difference.

 

Check again at the battery terminals with the car off for a few hours. 12.98 V seems like you had just shut the engine off and tested it. A new battery is about 12.5 V.

Make sure you charge the battery jumper pack overnight before sending it off with your wife or you'll never hear the end of it...even 20 yrs. later.