sjwolf

Truck sat for 2+ weeks, needed a jump. Drove for a hour and several short trips over the next few weeks. Then the truck sat for about 3 weeks, while I was out of town. Attempted to start, remote locks wouldn't work, unlocked the door (with key) and tried to start .... not a sound. tried to charge the battery with a cables on a small gas generator. As the battery started to charge .... the headlamps and parking lamps started to light ... all switches in the cab are off. Needless to say the battery was draining as fast as I could charge. Never seen this before. Battery has been disconnected now, buying a regular charger ... will attempt to charge it tonight.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like it's time for a new one.. how old is it ?

650NutKase

Deep cycling a battery can also kill it. All vehicles will have a small draw even when off. Trying to start it after is sat multiple times is very hard on a battery. What's the date printed on the sticker of the battery?

sjwolf

Not sure of the age. Dealer claims new battery, and no issues with starting. He's been pretty straight with me. However, it may have been on his lot for awhile. I would normally assume age but what throws me is why the lamps came on when the battery was being jumped. All switches were off ..

650NutKase

if you mean dome lights, they will automatically come on if the door is open, if you have it set to that. Easy solution, go to any auto parts store and have it tested. That will conclude the guess work.

sjwolf

Not the dome light ... the actual headlights and parking lamps.

Deathtofishy

I know how you feel, I'm in the middle of dealing with an issue with my truck that is similar. but mines after adding an alarm and stereo.

1st, Get the battery tested at an auto store for free. They will let you know if it holds a charge, and has enough cranking amps.

2nd, when you know the battery is good, check to see if the toggle switch on your headlights is bad. Its super easy to remove, pull off the side panel of your dash that is between the door and dash. You will have easy access to the back of it for removal. (check online for access pics if this isn't clear)

Lastly, Got a multimeter? if so, do a Parasitic draw test while pulling fuses. Go to youtube and watch Eric the car guys how to video about it. Even if you can't fix the problem, if you can pinpoint it, it can save you a lot of money at the mechanic since they won't have to diagnose what circuit might be having the draw.

good luck

650NutKase

Have you at least had the battery checked out yet?

sjwolf

On first failure battery and charging system tested good, battery a little low on charge. Comment was just to drive it for a little while to top off. Second failure (dead) battery pulled and put on charger ... 12 hours later charged ... voltage drop over 3 days the same as new battery in other 2001 F150... Parasitic draw approx .25 amps ... battery reinstalled and will check voltage over the next few weeks and recheck for parasitic draw ... will have battery retested this weekend.

redfishtd

Lead acid battery's do not recover well after deep discharge , no amount of charging will restore them . Heat of summer destroys batteries .
Stored battery's are frequently kept in cooler .
New battery's are lucky to last 4 years . Cool weather reduces battery ability but doesn't hurt it unless it freezes them . So after summer the battery is failing and first cool spell shows up by failure to crank .
Keep car cool and avoid a total drain of battery with stereo or lights left on .