Dead battery
01-02-2016, 04:44 PM
#1
If I leave my truck sit for a week or two I'll go to start it and it won't start. Tested battery and alternator. Co-workers says my 04 radio can be on even when the truck isn't running. And the radios are faulty. I took the fuse out so it can't run now to see if that's what's drawing all the power. Does this happen a lot?? And if it isn't that what else could I look at?
Last edited by Budweiser55731; 01-02-2016 at 04:47 PM.
01-02-2016, 07:43 PM
#2
Senior Member
Haven't heard any issues with OEM radios causing problems when turned off but I did have an issue with an aftermarket radio in my mustang that did the same thing. I would turn the radio off before I would park and go in to work and come out to a dead battery. All troubleshooting led me to the radio, finally pulled the fuse and verified the radio as the issue, new radio, no more issues.
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Budweiser55731 (01-02-2016)
01-02-2016, 09:59 PM
#3
Budweiser, do you know how to use a multi-meter? If so it's very easy to locate the source that's drawing your battery down, if there is one.
Set it to DC amps, and move the test lead from parallel to series.
Disconnect the positive cable from the battery.
Make sure all doors are closed, accessories off, cell phone chargers unplugged, etc.
Hold the red test lead on the positive batter terminal, and the black on the battery cable. Make sure the battery cable is NOT touching the terminal.
Under normal conditions you'll see fractions of an amp. This is your PCM and radio KAM or keep alive memory. I would say anything more than .75 amp is a problem. If you see more than .75 amp, start removing fuses from the fuse panel one at a time. Once you've removed a fuse, check the meter to see if the amperage has gone down. When you find the fuse that drops the amperage down to less than .75, you've found the circuit that is drawing current. This will make it easier to diagnose the problem. If it's the radio fuse, you may very well need to replace your radio.
This is called checking for a parasitic draw. It's very easy to do, just time consuming, and it helps if you have a buddy watching the meter for you.
If you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Set it to DC amps, and move the test lead from parallel to series.
Disconnect the positive cable from the battery.
Make sure all doors are closed, accessories off, cell phone chargers unplugged, etc.
Hold the red test lead on the positive batter terminal, and the black on the battery cable. Make sure the battery cable is NOT touching the terminal.
Under normal conditions you'll see fractions of an amp. This is your PCM and radio KAM or keep alive memory. I would say anything more than .75 amp is a problem. If you see more than .75 amp, start removing fuses from the fuse panel one at a time. Once you've removed a fuse, check the meter to see if the amperage has gone down. When you find the fuse that drops the amperage down to less than .75, you've found the circuit that is drawing current. This will make it easier to diagnose the problem. If it's the radio fuse, you may very well need to replace your radio.
This is called checking for a parasitic draw. It's very easy to do, just time consuming, and it helps if you have a buddy watching the meter for you.
If you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.
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dadcarter (01-10-2016)
01-03-2016, 07:59 PM
#5
Senior Member
Same thing happens to mine. Got home Thursday after 8 days away and the truck is dead.
Through trial and error if I leave my GPS unit plugged in it drains the battery. Even when the unit is off. This past summer unplugged the GPS unit and after 7 days away the truck started without a problem.
This past vacation I forgot to unplug the GPS.
Through trial and error if I leave my GPS unit plugged in it drains the battery. Even when the unit is off. This past summer unplugged the GPS unit and after 7 days away the truck started without a problem.
This past vacation I forgot to unplug the GPS.
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01-09-2016, 01:09 AM
#8
Senior Member
Also note, remote starts (and alarms) draw power during monitoring if you have that. 2-way typically draws even more.
I would follow what MuddyFord wrote... In addition to that, you can also get testers that go into the fuse slot and tell you the draw. I would always start where MuddyFord wrote though and measure the draw of the entire system to see if it's reasonable or not. If it's really low draw then maybe your battery isn't actually that great (even though you've load tested it). Especially in cold weather, your cranking amps drop significantly which would add to it (assuming you're somewhere cold).
I would follow what MuddyFord wrote... In addition to that, you can also get testers that go into the fuse slot and tell you the draw. I would always start where MuddyFord wrote though and measure the draw of the entire system to see if it's reasonable or not. If it's really low draw then maybe your battery isn't actually that great (even though you've load tested it). Especially in cold weather, your cranking amps drop significantly which would add to it (assuming you're somewhere cold).
01-09-2016, 08:31 AM
#10
Mark
iTrader: (1)
Budweiser, do you know how to use a multi-meter? If so it's very easy to locate the source that's drawing your battery down, if there is one.
Set it to DC amps, and move the test lead from parallel to series.
Disconnect the positive cable from the battery.
Make sure all doors are closed, accessories off, cell phone chargers unplugged, etc.
Hold the red test lead on the positive batter terminal, and the black on the battery cable. Make sure the battery cable is NOT touching the terminal.
Under normal conditions you'll see fractions of an amp. This is your PCM and radio KAM or keep alive memory. I would say anything more than .75 amp is a problem. If you see more than .75 amp, start removing fuses from the fuse panel one at a time. Once you've removed a fuse, check the meter to see if the amperage has gone down. When you find the fuse that drops the amperage down to less than .75, you've found the circuit that is drawing current. This will make it easier to diagnose the problem. If it's the radio fuse, you may very well need to replace your radio.
This is called checking for a parasitic draw. It's very easy to do, just time consuming, and it helps if you have a buddy watching the meter for you.
If you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Set it to DC amps, and move the test lead from parallel to series.
Disconnect the positive cable from the battery.
Make sure all doors are closed, accessories off, cell phone chargers unplugged, etc.
Hold the red test lead on the positive batter terminal, and the black on the battery cable. Make sure the battery cable is NOT touching the terminal.
Under normal conditions you'll see fractions of an amp. This is your PCM and radio KAM or keep alive memory. I would say anything more than .75 amp is a problem. If you see more than .75 amp, start removing fuses from the fuse panel one at a time. Once you've removed a fuse, check the meter to see if the amperage has gone down. When you find the fuse that drops the amperage down to less than .75, you've found the circuit that is drawing current. This will make it easier to diagnose the problem. If it's the radio fuse, you may very well need to replace your radio.
This is called checking for a parasitic draw. It's very easy to do, just time consuming, and it helps if you have a buddy watching the meter for you.
If you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.