dge1993

Hey guys needing some help on a parasitic draw issue in my '06, regular cab, 4.2l V-6. Some background on the truck, It seems to kill a battery almost every year when it turns cold. I never have issues with it when it is warm out, but when drop to 30 degrees and lower it starts to act up. Normally I replace the battery and I am good the rest of the year.

The service records I keep show that I replaced the battery on Nov. 2011, Then again Jan. 2014, Yet again on Dec. 2015, and then this week it weakly cranked and then stopped. I put my battery jumper on it and it instantly fired up, but ever since then it seems real weak in the morning and if it sits for longer than 24 hours it won't crank at all, only giving me a clicking sound from the starter.

So far I have tried the following:
Test alternator: My meter shows it putting out 14.1 volts
Test battery voltage in the morning: Shows 12.1 volts
Test battery AFTER sitting 24 hrs.: Shows 11.3-11.8 volts

With it killing so many batteries I figured that maybe I was having a parasitic draw issue, so I hooked my multi-meter in series from the positive cable to the positive terminal. Initial reading is 116.4 mA. I then started to pull fuses (as many other threads suggest) with fuse #4 (DVD battery Power, Power fold mirrors) resulting in a 10 mA drop. I then pulled fuse #5 (Climate Control and Keep alive for the PCM) which caused the amperage to go UP to 150.6 mA and an audible ticking was heard coming from the rear driver side of the cab (possibly normal?) the ticking would stop when I reinserted the fuse.

The rest of the fuses both inside and in the engine compartment resulted in no changes.

I moved on to disconnecting the remote start system and any accessories I had added, with no change to the amp draw.

So what else could I have missed? Any ideas on further testing? I have been buying "Interstate" batteries, but find it hard to believe that I have bought three bad ones in a row, only getting a year of use from each. Thoughts?

BadFish523

What is the CCA rating on your battery?

dge1993

540 cold cranking amps.

BadFish523

That's way too low. Recommended is 850 I think. I'd bet it's more of that than a parasite.

dge1993

Ford said 540 is what was needed, but since I'm stuck buying a new one I'll shoot for 850 cca.

powerranger262

Do you have any aftermarket accessories installed?
I have to agree with above. Doesn't seem like enough amps to crank over.

BadFish523

Shoot sorry I Just noticed you have the 4.2 I was speaking about a 5.4 I can't honestly tell you what is recommend for a 4.2 sorry

Breslau 17

This really doesn't sound like a parasitic drain problem. with your drain being below 120mA, you shouldn't be killing a battery that quickly. My dome lights draw almost 5 times that much and I have left them on for 12-24 hours before without the battery dying. From the sounds of things, my first guess would be not enough CCA. The reasoning there would be that you only experience the problem in the winter because it is just barely enough to start in the summer. Second guess would be try getting a different type of battery, could be a bad brand for your particular battery class (you would be surprised how much quality variance there is from class to class in the auto battery world within even the best brands).

powerranger262

Oops, I missed that as well.

dge1993

I have disconnected all of the aftermarket accessories I have added with no change in the amperage draw.

"This really doesn't sound like a parasitic drain problem. with your drain being below 120mA..."

I swear that I read somewhere that anything over 50 mA was considered excessive. Maybe I am mistaken and it is just not enough CCA's. Man that would be a big kick in the pants for the past few years...