2000 expedition battery drain

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websurfer

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I have been reading up on here trying to figure out why my ford keeps draining the battery.

Brand new battery installed last week alternator tested in the truck and seems to be putting out the correct volts I was not able to get the diode checked in the alternator though.. If the truck sits for more then a day i need a jump start.

I did a parasitic test and the truck is pulling 0.27amps when off.
I was able to get this to drop to 0.08 by pulling fuse #14 under the dash
I'm not sure if this is normal draw as the #14 fuse points to a few things
Rear Wipers, Running Board Lamps,
Battery Saver Relay, Interior Lamp Relay,
Accessory Delay Relay (Power Windows,
Moonroof, Flip Windows)

Everything in the truck is running fine i see most people say it could be the GEM. But i have none of the symptoms that would point to this.

Is it possable that a bad dioed in my alternator could cause this? If so how do i test this with out having to pull it out?

Thank you,
 
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stamp11127

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When you performed the parasitic test was the hood open/closed?
On my 99, fuse 14 protects the following:
Glove box lamp
Engine Compartment Lamp
Main Light Switch
Front Door Courtesy Lamps
GEM (pin 15)
Aux A/C

First I'd pull the glove box and engine compartment lamps and check the draw again with the fuse in place.

Diodes are used to convert the a/c produced in the alternator to dc. A bad alternator can drain the battery. I would check this next after the lamps.
 
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websurfer

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Stamp ty very much for the reply. My wife did say she smelt a burning smell coming from over by the glove box before this all started to happen. I did look inside but did not see anything out of the norm the light would come on.. I just got done pulling the alternator to go have it tested as the problem got worse and now the truck will die after jumping starting it and letting it sit for 5 min running the power gauge will slowly drop and the truck will die.. If it passes the test i will try what you have suggested and post my results..

The hood was closed enough to make the hood lamp shut off.

Thanks again for the reply
 
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stamp11127

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I hope that your problem turns out to be the alternator, although you may have more than one going on.

When you have it tested, ask what the amp output is.
 

ydopen

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When I had a battery drain issue, my dash and parking lights wouldnt work? I also swapped batterys and had a fit, kicked, stomped and almost cought it on fire on purpose untill I talked to my mechanic buddy, I pulled all the parking light bulbs out, put some die-electric grease in the socket and pluged them back in and its been fine ever since= weird
 
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websurfer

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Update i was able to track down the issue to a bad alternator.. But just after 4 weeks i waled out today and now the truck will not start.. I hear alot of clicking noise coming from the relay 2 under the dash which is the battery relay..

I checked the battery and still has a nice charge of 12.75 does this point to a bad GEM?
 

stamp11127

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Have the battery load tested with the toaster type of load tester first. I've had false readings with the electronic razzal dazzal versions. You can have a battery with the correct voltage but still be low on the cca. The toasters put a real load on them.
The GEM has multiple circuits with individual hot feeds, you could do the parasitic test again while pulling each fuse for it. If it doesn't have a "big" drop compared to the others, then it is somewhere else.
 
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websurfer

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Ok so the GEM did not change a thing same issues. This time i was able to at least get a better understanding of what is going on.

So here is the break down one more time..
First thing i forgot to mention is that the day before this started the front breaks were replaced on the truck not sure if this could cause my issue but thought i might mention it.

Ok so here we go.. After letting the truck sit with the battery unplugged for a few days i pluged it back in and jumped in the truck this time i noticed when i first open the door the dome lights and door lights worked with no issues. When put the key in the ignition i get the door chime.. If i turn the key backwards everything works radio dome lights door lights all internal lights..

Now as soon as i turn the key forward not even starting the truck the dome lights will stop working and door lights.. When i try to start the truck i get one loud click noise from behind the radio and then all hell breaks loose .. the battery saver relay starts to click like crazy the dome lights flash in sync with the sound if i pull the key out and let it sit for a few min the clicking will stop but as soon as i open my door the clicking will go crazy again.. And the only way to get it out of this crazy loop is to pull the battery cable and let it sit for 30min. Then I can do all the same steps again with the same results every time..

Could this be caused by a bad starter?

No matter what the headlights will not turn on with the key in any position

I have tried to put the truck in neutral and reverse and still won’t change the outcome..

I took the battery and had it tested even though its only 1 month old and of course it passed with flying colors.

Not sure what my next steps should be. Do i start pulling fuses?
 
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GAINMOB

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what about your alt...if its bad it will drain ur battery
 

01yellerCobra

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I had a battery that tested good, but I knew was bad. No matter what I did they wouldn't replace it. I questioned the intelligence of the lady "helping" me and bought a battery somewhere else. It sounds like the battery has a bad cell in it.
 
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