Battery Dying

[Josh Shoemaker]

I have a 2000 250 4WD. I am looking for the common causes that would kill the batteries in the truck. It just started happening. Once the battery is charged it will crank with no problem. But if the truck sits for a couple of days the battery is dead and will not crank the truck. It will turn over but not crank. Other than putting a DC ampmeter on the battery and start pulling fuses I was looking for some imput as where to start. Thanks.

[ToMang07]

I would pull the batteries and individually load test them, then pull/check the alternator. Could have a parasitic draw, as well. Check all your connections and keep an eye out for corrosion. Fuses all good?

[Meat12]

Are your batteries still good? If you had them for a few years they could be shot. Also if you ran them down too low they could be shot as well. If you know the batteries are good, check the engine bay thoroughly and see if you can find a wire that is rubbed thru and shorting your power out.

Is the truck running ok? Could be an underlying problem like the charging system or something.. Just throwing stuff out there. I am sure other will give you some ideas as well. Good luck and let us know what you find.

[Josh Shoemaker]

Batteries replaced in 07 along with the Alternator. Before this started happening I had no problem, truck would always crank and run. The truck runs great no problems there. This happen after i replaced my electric brake controller. I noticed that the batteries were dead. Pulled them out charged them and replaced, truck fired right up. Then i removed the brake controller thinking that it was the cause. But the batteries are still dying if I let the truck sit for a week.

[Zaairman]

Your batteries are 4 years old... Average battery lifespan of a normal car is what, 5 years? These trucks are hell on batteries. Get them load tested and go from there.

[Josh Shoemaker]

If the truck was having trouble cranking or starter was dragging and then the battery died I would say yea it is battery issue. This truck would crank up on the start and run.

I will just start pulling fuses and go from there.

[ToMang07]

Originally Posted by Josh Shoemaker

If the truck was having trouble cranking or starter was dragging and then the battery died I would say yea it is battery issue. This truck would crank up on the start and run.

I will just start pulling fuses and go from there.

If you aren't going to listen to suggestions, don't ask for help.

I had a battery go bad on me this spring. Worked fine all winter, down to -25*F. Never had an issue starting. They it just crapped out, 1 cell bad, and the truck would crank all day and not start. If it doesn't have enough juice, you can crank till the cows come home but it won't start. If you want to diagnose a no-start condition, but aren't willing to check the basics... good luck.

[Josh Shoemaker]

Originally Posted by ToMang07

If you aren't going to listen to suggestions, don't ask for help.

I had a battery go bad on me this spring. Worked fine all winter, down to -25*F. Never had an issue starting. They it just crapped out, 1 cell bad, and the truck would crank all day and not start. If it doesn't have enough juice, you can crank till the cows come home but it won't start. If you want to diagnose a no-start condition, but aren't willing to check the basics... good luck.

Not being an a** here but is seems that nobody is reading my post or maybe I am not explaining it clearly. but the battery does fine if I drive the truck everday. It is only when it sits for a week that the batteries are dead as I mention in the first post. I have checked and found that when the truck is off I am pulling 3.9 amps from somewhere. I pulled all the fuses and I am still pulling 3.9 amps. Must be a relay sticking somewhere.

[01PowestrokeDSL]

That 3.9 amp draw is about right. I would have the batteries checked. I had the same problem with my truck before I changed mine. As long as I would drive the truck every 3-4 days it would be fine. Any more than that then it wouldn't crank. You can pull the alternator too just to have it checked. It wouldn't hurt.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

[Josh Shoemaker]

Originally Posted by 01PowestrokeDSL

That 3.9 amp draw is about right. I would have the batteries checked. I had the same problem with my truck before I changed mine. As long as I would drive the truck every 3-4 days it would be fine. Any more than that then it wouldn't crank. You can pull the alternator too just to have it checked. It wouldn't hurt.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

OK I going to pull the batteries and the alternater. I don't think it is the alternater when running I have 14.24 volts across the battery. I will let yall know what the result is.