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Hi all, I'm new to the site as well as new to our recently purchased 2002 E350 7.3L Super Duty 4WD Turbo Diesel with Ambulance package. Heck, I didn't know what any of those words really meant until a few weeks ago. I've been a VW Vanagon guy my whole life and am comfortable with engine and trans swaps but this diesel is all new territory for me. I purchased the van from the hospital I work at and then came across this forum while doing some research on how to get it road worthy and its been a great resource!
One of the main reasons the van was sold was because it kept eating up batteries. According to the maintenance records it was taken to a shop for diagnosis. It didn't throw any codes but they said "there was an open circuit somewhere". I've read that the alternators are the usual culprits so while I waited for my new battery to arrive I pulled the cables off the rear house bank and removed each alternator and performed a diode check. Unfortunately both passed. (That would have been too easy!) I think the next step will be to install the new battery tomorrow and go thru the fuse box under the hood and see if there is a parasitic draw I can track down.
If I don't find anything obvious from the fuse check where should I look next? Is there a test I can perform on the PCM/IDM? Are there any "Usual Suspects" I should know about with these vehicle?
Oh, and who makes the best/preferred Repair Manual for these vans?
Thanks!
Last edited by Ambolorian; Nov 11, 2021 at 01:39 AM.
That 's a good looking Van! It will be a great camper project! As far as the parasitic drain, they can be a real bugger to track down! Hope you find it easily, I would most likely take the alternators and have them tested regardless
Nice get! All you can do with a parasitic drain is chase it down. Photograph your fuse boes) and pull all the fuses then put them back in one by one until you find something. I don't know how vans are set up but if it has a split in the power line or two fuse boxes, you can cut your chase a little shorter by splitting them and seeing which one is the culprit.
Welcome to the forum! My truck had a habit of needing new batteries every year until I replaced my battery cables. The Costco battery warranty really saved my bacon on that. I did chase down and fix all other electrical gremlins first so you may have a long road of troubleshooting ahead of you. If you find that you do indeed need new batter cables, I highly recommend these: https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/pro...ry-cable-kits/
They also have a charging system upgrade kit that is semi-custom and not listed on the website.
Very nice looking rig. If there is indeed a parasitic load or loads an inline ammeter or DC clamp on will be your friend here. Which batteries are not staying charged, house or chassis? Or all? Have you charged the batteries with a plug in charger for a starting point? It's possible the alternators are just not keeping up, especially if the trips were short. People don't realize that it takes quite a bit to restore what was used to start the engine and lots of short trips will mean short battery life. If you are doing a conversion I suggest a shunt based battery monitor, that way you can see the exact charge going into and out of the battery down to 1/10th amp. I put the Victron Smart Shunt on my RV and monitor it with Bluetooith. You could temporarily use it on the chassis battery bank and the house battery bank till you solve your problem then permanently connect it to the house bank. Once connected to the house bank there is a jumper for the chassis battery but it only monitors voltage on the chassis battery bank. Make sure you set the shunt up when all batteries are healthy and fully charged from a plug in charger
Yes, welcome to the forum. Since you’re just getting started I would suggest purchasing a ‘dongle’ for the OBD II port and adding the FORScan app onto your smart phone or laptop. Info for this can also be found in the Tech Folder. This will become a handy tool for you. I think Sous can also provide you with a download of the Ford repair/service manual.
The guys here on this forum are like no other.
Be patient and careful about blindly throwing parts at a problem.
Ambo, make sure you replace both batteries. One bad one will kill the other quickly. This has happened before. The 7.3 econoline van has one battery mounted under the hood. The other battery is mounted on the frame rail under the side cargo door passenger side. 4..13 mm nuts hold the battery box to the frame rail. I use a jack to support the weight and to safely lower it.
"Good luck! The guys around here are really good at helping solve issues. And also good at spending other people’s money!"
Hahaha! Yes!
Thanks all for the warm welcome!
I was distracted today with adding the flu and chimney to our Dwarf wood stove in the Airstream but tomorrow is Gremlin Diagnostic Day!
I'll be sure to take a pic of the fuse box before I tear into it. And that Forscan app/dongle seems like a great assessment tool! I'll keep an eye out for hotter than normal accessories and methodically try to work thru each system.
T-wood- The driver's seat has a large manual toggle switch mounted to it that isolates the rear bank of batteries which is what I think saved them from whatever is going on in the "front" of the ambulance. When the engine battery was dead I could throw that switch and start the truck with the rear bank.. of which I think there are three in that diamond plated box on the driver's side in the picture.
bigb56- That's a good point about short trips around town. Graeagle is no metropolis and a lot of the "calls" were around town. I'll look into the Victron Smart Shunt to keep an eye on charging.
Is there a download of the Repair Manual somewhere on the forum I didn't see yet? I was going to pick up a Haynes or such unless there is another author everyone prefers?
Keep in mind there are 2 batteries to start and run the van. One under the hood, the second on the passenger frame rail. Replace in pairs otherwise the weak one will bring down the good one.
The house battery setup might be particular to the shop that did the ambulance conversion. Maybe they have info. Any door jamb stickers to get the name of the shop?
Or hey, go to whoever maintained the van for the hospital, maybe they have documentation. Possibly even the purchasing dept that bought it new. Might get lucky and find someone willing to dig thru old files.
I never like seeing a thread where the OP doesn't post what the answer was so I'll do my best to follow up...
After spending the day with my trusty multi-meter and checking the battery banks, dual alternators and the charging system I've found the drain and its is simpler than I hoped.
I was getting a substantial draw and after isolating the "front" of the ambulance from any parasitic drains I moved onto the wiring nightmare in the business end of the rig and located a very faint humming noise behind an access panel when the engine was off. I knew there was an inverter in the back but didn't think it was constantly hot. Whomever replaced it never included an On/Off switch so it ran constantly and would drain the batteries. I won't be using it for my purposes so I unplugged it and all is right in the world.
Thanks all for your input. It really helped me get acquainted with these motors and this setup. Now that its running I'm going to dive into some mods to try and squeeze some more power out of this pig. But I'll start a new thread for that..
Last edited by Ambolorian; Nov 15, 2021 at 12:46 PM.
There is always a learning curve when acquiring a new to you vehicle. I am glad you are resourceful enough to sort things out yourself instead of paying someone $150 an hour to figure it out for you.
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es) and pull all the fuses then put them back in one by one until you find something. I don't know how vans are set up but if it has a split in the power line or two fuse boxes, you can cut your chase a little shorter by splitting them and seeing which one is the culprit.
