Battery drain?

After sitting for a few days the battery is down on my 04 Expedition, the battery is new and cks out, alternator is charging good. Everyday driving and no problems. But if it sits for 3 days or so then it has to be jumped or charged up. All original with no addons like stereo or anything like that. Thanks!!!

Take a multimeter. Change it to measure amprage (turn the switch, and change the positive lead to the appropriate spot). While the truck is off, attach a jumper wire to the positive battery terminal and the positive cable. Take off the cable, making sure to keep the wire attached to terminal and cable. Once the positive cable is disconnected from terminal, touch one lead to the terminal and the other lead to the positive cable. Disconnect the jumper wire. What is the measured amprage?

Hope that made sense. The reason you have to have the jumper wire is to keep current going through the positive cable, to keep the various electrical systems from resetting when the cable is disconnect. This will give you a more accurate representation of how much juice you are using.

Thanks for the help, will try to ck that later today!

i would advise to use the same method but only on the negative. look up parasitic draw test.

I've seen both ways. Technically speaking, it should be the same going in or out. I guess the negative terminal is safer since, if when you are taking the terminal off, the tool you are using touches the frame, it won't arch.

Either way, it shouldn't be more than 50 mA draw. Don't forget to pull out the hood light bulb.

Here's the actual procedure listed in the manual:

NOTE: No production vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) continuous draw.

Check for current drains on the battery in excess of 50 milliamps (0.050 amp) with all the electrical accessories off and the vehicle at rest. Current drains can be tested with the following procedure:

WARNING: Do not attempt this test on a lead-acid battery that has recently been recharged. Explosive gases can cause personal injury.

CAUTION: To prevent damage to the meter, do not crank the engine or operate accessories that draw more than 10A.

NOTE: Many modules draw 10 mA (0.010 amp) or more continuously.

NOTE: Use an in-line ammeter between the battery positive or negative post and its respective cable.

NOTE: Typically, a drain of approximately one amp can be attributed to an engine compartment lamp, glove compartment lamp, or luggage compartment lamp staying on continually. Other component failures or wiring shorts may be located by selectively pulling fuses to pinpoint the location of the current drain. When the current drain is found, the meter reading will fall to an acceptable level. If the drain is still not located after checking all the fuses, it may be due to the generator.

NOTE: To accurately test the drain on a battery, an in-line digital ammeter must be used. Use of a test lamp or voltmeter is not an accurate method due to the number of electronic modules.

1. Make sure the junction box/fuse panels are accessible without turning on interior and underhood lights.

2. Drive the vehicle at least five minutes and over 48 km/h (30 mph) to turn on and exercise vehicle systems.

3. Allow the vehicle to sit with the key off for at least 40 minutes to allow modules to time out/power down.

4. Connect a fused jumper wire between the negative battery cable and the negative battery post to prevent modules from resetting and to catch capacitive drains.

5. Disconnect the negative battery cable from the post without breaking the connection of the jumper wire.

6. NOTE: It is very important that continuity is not broken between the battery and the negative battery cable when connecting the meter. If this happens, the entire procedure must be repeated.

Connect the tester between negative battery cable and the post. The meter must be capable of reading milliamps and should have a 10 amp capability.

7. NOTE: If the meter settings need to be switched or the test leads need to be moved to another jack, the jumper wire must be reinstalled to avoid breaking continuity.

Remove the jumper wire.

NOTE: Amperage draw will vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on the equipment package. Compare to a comparable vehicle for reference.

NOTE: No production vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) draw.

8. If the draw is found to be excessive, pull fuses from the battery/central junction box one at a time and note the current drop. Do not reinstall the fuses until you are finished testing.

9. Check the wiring schematic in the wiring diagram for any circuits that run from the battery without passing through the battery/central junction box. Disconnect these circuits if the draw is still excessive.

i usually use this and connect the dvom to each side then disconnect by loosening the screw.

Thanks for the help,, will try this to ck it out,, got busy, but back on it now!

i'd replace the battery...that happened to me and everyone said the battery, alt and everything else was find...come to find out...after going off on Sears...the battery was dead...no probs since but i would like to upgrade the alt eventually

Thanks bh, battery was first thing changed. Elvato, after removing the int. puddle light, tire pressure module fuse, #21 I believe the draw dropped to within the specs you listed. So now my question is which one of those do I suspect, have checked at night and no visible lights are on. So I was wondering if anything is not shutting off, or is there something about the tire pressure monitor module to blame. Thanks in advance again!!!!!!!!!

How many amps are you drawing?

Also, did you wait the amount of time suggested?

Yes, did wait suggested amount of time. To make sure I did it all correctly I printed page and took it outside with me. The drop was from .251 to .021.

Hmm, so fuse 21 is:
Instrument cluster (B+), Interior
(courtesy) lamps, Puddle lamps
(outside mirrors), Tire Pressure
Monitoring System (TPMS)
module

Fuse 1 also is part of the TPMS. Did the ampreage drop when you took that one out? Also, I'm assuming the dimmer for the instrument is all the way down (to shut off the lights)?

Same electrical drain problem

i am havin the exact same problem with my expedition. could you please let me know what solution that you came to and how. have done all the testing and checking. my amp draw is between 0.39 and 0.90a. please comment or suggest

thx
me

Having same exact problem here with my 04. All stock with nothing added. Any solution found with this problem? Thanks! I did see a current thread rrelating to this but it was on a 2000 and figured they were probably different enough that I didn't need to be in that one.

Nothing Conclusive

I did spend and entire day checking all grounds and tracing all wires under the truck. i didn't find anything of consequence. i changed the battery and it seems to have solved the problem. apparently a weak battery coupled with the electronics in the truck can cause a drain like this. if you can get access to another battery for a couple of days and try it out. can't say for sure this is the magic solution but its worth a try. also check the connections on the alternator to make sure they are tight. i did read in popular mechanics the other day that a bad diode in the alternator could cause intermittent battery drain so you might want to chase that too.

sorry not more conclusive but might help.

cheers

I have a 2006 Expedition, that has for sometime failed to start due to battery being dead. Today we discovered the parasitic draw that is causing the problem. We found that every 15-20 seconds the amperage draw without key in ignition jumped to over 11 amps then went back to 0.63. After pulling fuses to determine elimination the rear wiper washer was the culprit. The motor or relay must be shot and the rear wiper motor was constantly trying to reset it's self to the starting position.

Yea, I think there is a thread on here with a fix for that issue.