My newly acquired 2012 F-250/6.2L XLT may or may not have electrical issue. Dealer had replaced battery before I test drove it because he said there was lot of corrosion on top of battery.

2 days later after driving truck 100 miles back home the battery is dead when trying to start it. Not sure at this point if there was a parasitic drain on the battery or battery was actually old/sulfated (looks new).

When taking battery cable off noticed they did not clean corrosion off of battery clamp around battery terminal.

Called dealer and he said I must have left something on or there is parasitic drain on battery since all of their batteries are new.

Worried it might be a parasitic current I measured the current with everything off by using multi-meter and measuring inline from the positive battery post and battery cable. Initially jumps to a little over 1A when making connection, then drops to 0.8A after a few minutes then 0.5A for 10-15min. Checked after 15-20min and current is only 0.01A which I think would be normal?

After seeing it at 0.01A I am now thinking the battery they put in is actually some old battery that looks new or the corrosion around battery terminal was causing issues.

Not wanting to get stuck somewhere because of a dead battery anyone have comments on what the likely issue is?

 

I have owned half dozen dutys and they all have some sort of draw!! I have had them go dead anywhere from 2 days to a week. No rhyme nor reason. I make sure I unplug every usb port plug in and such when I leave my dutys for more than 2-3 days. Sometimes they are dead when I get back to them and other times they aren't. I will be leaving my personal duty for a week, in the middle of nowhere, while I am on a hunting trip soon. I will be sure to have a jumpstart pack in my truck for when I get back! Just in case!

 

There should be a date stamped on the battery. In the plastic case somewhere depending on manufacturer.
My guess would be the terminal side wasn't cleaned off, resulting in little to no charge into the battery. Clean it all up and charge the battery.

Matt

 

My 07 is the same since I've owned it. Sometimes 2 days sometimes a week. Sometimes just really slow to crank but fires up and sometimes just dead. No idea, never leave anything on or plugged in. Will have to do some serious digging one of these days just never really knew the proper procedure or got around to it. Most of the time it gets driven every day or two so dont have a problem, but I always worry anytime I have to leave it more than that whether it will start when I get back. Only other thought is maybe Im due for an alternator as I have not had to replace it yet.

 

date is molded into battery case. many times is on the upper Side of case.

2012, computer, so only a few circuits are powered with KEY OFF...
since you have a mulit-meter.. you can see the charging system does not start charging for 5 seconds AFTER engine starts...

the body and Engine computer have power all the time.

have the charging system TESTED... and a 100 amp load test on battery... start with the basics... do not guess.
most auto parts stores can do both for FREE.

 

You might have 2 issues

Check your charging voltage. Typical charging voltage is approx 15-16V. If the alternator brushes are almost shot but not completely, the battery might appear to be charging, but intermittently


When the battery is being charged, it'll bubble inside. Any acid fumes or liquid that makes it out to the caps and over to the lead terminals reacts and forms all the crud. Overcharging can also be a symptom.

10mA battery draw is fine.. that's the equivalent to 1 or 2 LED's being lit. That itself won't kill the battery that's in decent shape for days or weeks...

Another thing to check is something dumb like the light under the hood. If the switch is stuck on, you'll never know. I think mine turns off automatically though...

 

Is your alternator alternating properly?