Dead battery...2 times...

[marlinpruett]

My 2007 has always been low on a battery at rest. 14.3volts when running, 12.3 after shut off. If I wait 2-3 days battery is dead I have checked for stray amp draws but cannot find any. No apparent amps when engine is off.
New battery recently installed same problem.

 

[stamp11127]

Marlin charge the battery to 100% soc with one of the battery cables off. Wait @8-12hrs then read the battery voltage with a dmm. If it still drops to 12.3 then there is a short internally. If not you have a parasitic draw.

 

[lbv150]

My 2007 has always been low on a battery at rest. 14.3volts when running, 12.3 after shut off. If I wait 2-3 days battery is dead I have checked for stray amp draws but cannot find any. No apparent amps when engine is off.
New battery recently installed same problem.

A fully charged battery is 12.6-12.7 volts.

 

[Don Hall]

........ I have to disconnect the battery when it is not used because the battery will drain with just the normal draw over a period of two weeks......

Jerry, the battery will still discharge when disconnected. Just not as fast. Humble advice would be to connect a maintainer/tender to the batt instead of a disconnect.

About $24:

 

[rjdelp7]

Jerry, the battery will still discharge when disconnected. Just not as fast. Humble advice would be to connect a maintainer/tender to the batt instead of a disconnect.

About $24:

I swear battery tender cooked two of my motorcycle batteries, my tractor battery and was red blinking once, while maintaining a vehicle in storage. One was getting to 139 degrees and Battery Tender replaced it, for $9. The 'new' one weighed about half as much and charges the battery to over 13.3V. I don't think 12V batteries like to be charged that high. I tested my auto battery after the green light went on. It read over 13 volts, hours after charging. I also own a craftsman 2A charger/maintainer, it goes in to maintain mode, around 12.8V. I contacted battery tender, who again offered to replace it. I personally warn everyone, to avoid battery tender.

 

[Don Hall]

......... I personally warn everyone to avoid battery tender.

Have been using battery tenders for over 30 years on my Corvettes that are driven infrequently. No over charging, no problems at all. A continually charged battery connected to an AUTOMATIC CHARGER will last longer than a battery that is allowed to discharge.

As an off-shore commercial fisherman, I value the necessity of a functioning battery.
There is no road-service off-shore. A fully charged battery is an absolute necessity,
and AUTOMATIC TENDERS have provided me with confidence that my propulsion diesel engines will restart every time after being shut down, and drifting all night.

Automatic tender means the tender senses the battery's condition, and prevents over
charging. Not all tenders are automatic....make sure your tender is AUTOMATIC.

 

[chuck s]

First suspect is something is plugged one of the "cigarette" outlets which Ford criminally leaves hot all the time. Simple items like a GPS or radar detector will kill my battery over a long weekend. Plus there are built-in loads for stuff like keyless lock. I had to disconnect the battery on my '07 at the airport to be sure I'd have enough battery to start it on return. The '17 is better and sat for 2 weeks.

Voltage notes: Charge the battery for 24 hours and it should measure 12.7vDC 12-24 hours after taken off the charger. If not it's weak. And when it gets weak often enough (see last paragraph) the battery gets dead quickly from uber-deep discharge damage.

Do a detailed search for a parasitic electrical draw. Plenty of Youtube videos on this. Requires a ammeter set low. It's all about amp hours. Something as simple as the 150ma radio memory and remote door locks will siphon 25 amp hours out of the battery in a week. Have a couple of them?

-- Chuck

 

[ChuckDFW]

My 2007 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?

 

[chuck s]

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

 

[lbv150]

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?

Sounds normal. My '16, I installed a marine 6 amp charger under the hood.

 

[richs fishes]

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]

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.

 

[ChuckDFW]

Accidently created another post. Cannot delete. Grrrrr....

 

[Il31]

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.

 

[rjdelp7]

Stuck fuel pump relay. Pull all and check

 

[chuck s]

I forget about simple things like relays. Their switched contacts are connected to the battery by design.

-- Chuck

 

[lbv150]

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]

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]

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.

 

[poorboy08]

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.