Dead battery...2 times...

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richs fishes

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My 2017 Expedition EL Eddie Bauer has a high parasitic drain. I checked the current of every fuse in the fuse box and found 3 offenders:

1. Driver's power seat
2. Radio/CD player
3. Instrument panel

I had the door switches and hood latch all closed and waited 1/2 hour before measuring currents.

As far as I can tell, the CD changer is empty. The cigarette lighter outlets are empty.

We have other vehicles so we don't use this vehicle every day. I could just pull the fuses for the power seat and radio since they are non-essential. However, the instrument panel is essential.

It seems to me that some sensor is telling the vehicle that it is occupied and it needs to stay alive. The door switches and hatchback switches must be OK since there is no "door ajar" warning and the dome light extinguishes.

I am stumped. Any ideas?


I had a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer with a bad parasitic draw. I narrowed it down to the instrument panel circuit as well. Never did get it figured out before I got rid of vehicle; but strange that the instrument panel is a potential problem again!
 

ChuckDFW

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How many amps (milliamps) are you seeing?

All my Ford SUVs have been battery eaters. On two I went as far as fitting a Priority Start system so I could be assured of starting the truck on Monday morning.

I'm curious if your driver's seat, etc., is set to retract when you turn off the ignition and back to settings when you reinsert the key.

I'm assuming this truck lets you keep your key in your pocket?

-- Chuck

I must apologize to everyone. I see I typo'd the year model. My SUV is 2007, not 2017. Uugh, sorry for the confusion.

Yes, the driver's seat returns to memorized position when key is inserted. However, current draw was high with no key inserted.

No, the car does not have keyless ignition. I have to insert a key.
 
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Il31

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I must apologize to everyone. I see I typo'd the year model. My SUV is 2007, not 2017. Uugh, sorry for the confusion.

Yes, the driver's seat returns to memorized position when key is inserted. However, current draw was high with no key inserted.

No, the car does not have keyless ignition. I have to insert a key.
Did you figure your 07 expy out? I'm going through it now on my 07. 2 new batteries, new Alt, new starter. Has a bad draw but I pulled everything.... no fuse, relay or anything in either panel stops it. Also, it won't hardly crank. (Very slow) and it used to at least start with a boost or charger (on start mode) until I put a new battery in it. I got 4 starts out of the new battery and now it's sitting in the driveway with a huge draw that I can't find.
 

lbv150

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Sounds like some of you are just shooting in the dark and others just swapping out parts that are not the problem. You need to disconnect the positive battery lead and insert an amp meter and post the results. Anything less doesn't tell anything.
 

ChuckDFW

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Sounds like some of you are just shooting in the dark and others just swapping out parts that are not the problem. You need to disconnect the positive battery lead and insert an amp meter and post the results. Anything less doesn't tell anything.

I did that. Like I said, there were 3 parasitic loads, the driver's power seat, the radio, and the instrument panel.

FYI, no, I still haven't figured it out but I haven't had time to get back to it. Maybe this weekend. We have other vehicles so it is not a high priority for me.
 

mrbadwrench

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With a little rewiring you could power the seat from a circuit that is only live when the key is on. If you do the same with the radio and it's the same as my '08 you will need to reset the clock every time you start it. I didn't even lose my radio presets, but yours may be different.

The instrument panel will cause problems with gas mileage if you change it to only powered with the key on. With the key on, does the shift indicator light up for all positions except Park? If it does, check the brake shift interlock.
 
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poorboy08

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So I know it's been a while since I posted this, but I'm also realizing I never updated with the solution.

Ready for this...nothing, stealership found absolutely nothing. They hooked her up to there fancy-shmancy corn-puter and did a load/battery stress test. Basically everything showed good. Nothing was over drawing and or there was no parasitic draw. I will say the wife had a charger plugged into the 12v outlet in the center console. I obviously removed everything that was plugged in before FULLY charging (CTEK AGM charger) and taking it to the dealership. Anyway, I appreciate all of the replies, great community here.
 
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