What Is Pulling Power From Battery

[Jim Brown]

Just responding to question about if diode (rectifier) can be replaced. Not pertaining to OP question....

How to change rectifier in 3G Ford alternator.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1312348-broken-howto-change-the-rectifier-in-a-3g-alternator.html

Source for 3G series rectifiers.

https://store.alternatorparts.com/3g-rectifier.aspx

Cost vs benefits? If I needed higher current and couldn't afford $250 for a 180 or 200 amp alternator to replace my stock unit, maybe it's worth it. To repair an otherwise stock alternator? Not worth it. I would just buy a new or reman 130a alternator, get good quality with a good warranty.

 

[Yupster Dog]

Afternoon gentlemen where is the diode located in the alternator? can it be replaced?

There is a whole section on electrical with a sticky at the top on alternators. If you can't find it there maybe you could start your own thread (which is better than starting off of someone else's thread)

 

[Newtons4thlaw]

Mr. Brown, thanks sorry admin it was just a question jeez Louise. The core price was so crappy on the replacement alt that I just kept it in case it was something simple that I coud rework myself to have one on deck for a rainy day. Thanks for the data I’ll check to see if it’s been covered in electrical. What’s the problem with piggybacking this post if the gentleman doesn’t mind answering the question?

 

[Aspen03]

Mostly so there isnt a pile of intermingled info. It would be far easier to have a separate thread w your specific question/issue for someone else to reference in the future or for you to keep tabs on replies than dig through a thread w another set of answers. That and for all you know the person with the answer to your question may never see yours if they don't happen to read about this battery problem.

I for one hate reading megathreads despite them having a lot of good info most times. I've read through a 117 page thread on a different forum before to find something I knew was in there but had no idea where and they had horrible search/filter capability.

 

[gordizmom]

This went south fast. IMHO "I only leave my house once a week and where I go is about four miles to and from. "
is not enough to compensate for the energy drain of starting it combined with the general leakage of power/voltage that happens with any car. Get a trickle charger and all is good as its very possible there's is nothing wrong with the car.

This is an update on my battery:
Last year I first purchased a Gooloo battery charger which works really well and although I don't need it now I keep it in my truck. It also has ports for charging other things like a cell phone.
I used the charger several times then decided to buy a battery tinder. The brand is Battery Tender. I keep this on my battery all the time because I still only drive four miles a week. I haven't had any issues at all with my truck starting.
Last year I used up my AAA service calls on having a local garage come out to my house to start my truck. I even left my truck at the garage all day long to have them put a diagnostic machine on it. When they brought the truck back to me I was told that there was something pulling the battery but they didn't know just what it was. No one ever asked me how much I drove/drive my truck. They just presumed something was wrong. I wasn't charged for the diagnostic test. I suppose they could have lied and said the alternator was bad or something but they didn't. This is a small, rural town in South Carolina where everyone knows everyone else so maybe they thought if they tried to rip me off I would let everyone know.
I'm just surprised the owner of the garage didn't think to tell me I wasn't driving my truck enough to keep the battery charged up.
It gets very cold here and I know that cold weather can drain a battery so this is another reason I bought the tinder.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

1) The rear wiper can draw excess current with the engine off and still operate normally. It is a problem with the wiper blade parking switch. How do I know? It happened to me and I pulled the rear wiper fuses and no longer have battery problems.

2) The normal parasitic drain is 40 milliampere s or less. Testing this takes skill and technique. ..

3) the parasitic drain can be 1 or 2 Amps for 20 to 40 minutes until the computers in the car shut off. If the rear wiper is drawing current it will be more and will not go away because a computer is waiting for the wiper blade to park. Again skill and technique required to diagnose this.

4) my money is on pulling the rear wiper fuse under the hood and the problem will go away,

AAA mechanics generally don't have the skills to fix this problem. You need a shop that fixes Ford electrical problems. Surprise, they have an hourly rate to fix your mystery,

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