6.0 Battery Drain Issue

carlsonj · May 22, 2020

I have a 2006 F350, with the 6.0 diesel that, I bought used in 2009. It is mainly a farm truck, so it still only has about 78,000 miles on it. The last few years I have had a problem with having to replace a battery every 9-12 months. I replaced the alternator about three years ago, but the problem persisted. The truck starts fine for the first 6-8 months, then it will need to be jump started if it has sat unused 7-10 days. Over time, it degrades such that it has to be jump started after sitting for a day. I've taken it in to the dealer and they can't find anything wrong other than the dead battery. The last time this happened, I did a parasitic drain test where I look for voltage drops across the fuses, but didn't find anything.

So, here is my question. When I bought the truck, it had an aftermarket computer model (Edge Products 10401 Mileage Max.) Is it possible that this 12 year old module is degrading and is the cause of the battery problems? I'm taking the truck in to an independent diesel shop that my farrier recommended and I am considering having him just yank the module out. Since I only put 4,000 to 4,500 miles a year on the truck, the extra MPH seems like a poor tradeoff for having to keep replacing batteries.

Thanks.

ZMANN · May 22, 2020

you are replacing a "battery " every so often since these are not isolated it is best to replace with matched pairs
so there is not a weaker battery draining down the stronger

you may just be fighting battery issues
as far as the edge that is not a real popular or common unit but I doubt it is causing issues
your independent shop should get you sorted

TooManyToys · May 23, 2020

With the low amount of miles I'm guessing it doesn't see much running time. If true, the batteries probably just don't get a full charge which takes hours (we never accomplish that), and allows some molecules to oxidize (sulfate). Actually, with every start some molecules never recover, which is why many companies rate batteries for starting life. The cascade of both events is just killing them, and aftermarket batteries are hampered by being built with recycled lead, not the most active or robust.

If you are running the stock alternator sizes, for the first two minutes of every cold start the batteries are not getting much of any charge. People could tell you the most effective situation would be to install a $400 set of virgin lead batteries and $400 worth of alternator upgrades, but even with that short or minimal running time still will not fully recharge the batteries as they should be.

For a farm truck, I'd start off with a new pair of batteries, and set up a trickle charger for them during times when the truck is going to sit for one, two days or more. That should only run you about $50 on top of new batteries and would be the best bang for the buck.

ChrisSki · May 24, 2020

I agree With too many toys. When I parked outside, I didn’t touch the truck for six months and kept it on a solar charged trickle charger, the solargizer by pulse tech, and the truck started very strong. Now tha tI’m parking inside, I keep the truck hooked to a battery tender junior so they don’t die.

When I did a parasitic draw test, I let the truck enter rest mode where the milliamps really dropped. It’s more disconnect the batteries and hook a ammeter so its in line with one battery. It enters an rest mode after about 30 minutes. You just pull fuses, one at a time to see what the load is. I did mine on a car. Truck would be the same thing, just need to isolate it so you can measure amps being drawn.

Not sure how you do a parasitic draw over the fuses. That may tell you what is operating, but not how many amps its drawing.

carlsonj · Jun 8, 2020

Getting back to this a bit late, but thank you all for the input.

6.0 Battery Drain Issue

Our Vendors

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities