Power drain

defyrfytr · June 24, 2006

My truck doesn't get driven every day. It sat for over a year because of a rear problem. .... Blah, Blah. Truck would not start. Jump started ran ok but would not restart. No crank of the engine. Battery was 3yrs old, so I replaced it. Truck fired up like it is supposed to. Truck sat for 3 days, turned switch and the truck would not even turn over. Prior to replacing the battery, I placed a test light between the neg battery term and the removed neg cable. The light did not come on so I assumed I had no power drain. I turned headlights on and the test light lit. I am starting to pull my hair out. Any help would be appreciated.....

ChevyTech007 · June 25, 2006

I would say you have a draw. The test light deal worked on older vehicles but not on later models. You could have a module staying on. You need to test with a multimeter. 40mA's is max. And it should be down around 15mA. If you do not have a meter, take it to a dealer and have them do a draw test. I will not cost much.

defyrfytr · June 26, 2006

I would say you have a draw. The test light deal worked on older vehicles but not on later models. You could have a module staying on. You need to test with a multimeter. 40mA's is max. And it should be down around 15mA. If you do not have a meter, take it to a dealer and have them do a draw test. I will not cost much.

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The truck is a 88. I guess I will have to take it to the dealer. My power door locks stopped suddenly, could this be causing my power drain?

Thanks.....Doug

pm26 · June 26, 2006

I had a parasitic battery drain on my boat (Ford 302 cu in FI V8). A fully charged battery would run down in about 2-3 days. Turns out the alternator had a defective diode in it and the battery was discharging to ground somehow through the alternator. Replacing the alternator solved the problem for good.

I also heard of cases where a defective coolant temperature sensor would cause battery drain on some cars.

defyrfytr · June 26, 2006

I had a parasitic battery drain on my boat (Ford 302 cu in FI V8). A fully charged battery would run down in about 2-3 days. Turns out the alternator had a defective diode in it and the battery was discharging to ground somehow through the alternator. Replacing the alternator solved the problem for good.

I also heard of cases where a defective coolant temperature sensor would cause battery drain on some cars.

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Cool.....I think I will get it diagnosed. I don't wont to throw parts at it.....