So my truck won't start, battery goes dead after being parked for a day.

The dealership did an AVR check and said evertything was "fine".

I told the service manager to do a continuity check on the electrical system and she had no idea what I was talking about.

Anyone else have this problem? I'm guessing there's a short circuit somewhere that is draining my battery, but this seems like a mysterious concept to the service technicians.

So I'm still making payments on a 2010 Ford Ranger that dies if parked overnight. Even if they sort this out, I'm never buying another Ford! What good is a truck that is unreliable after 4 years? I'm just lucky it died AFTER my 1000km road trip back from B.C.

 

So you would never buy another Ford because you have a short somewhere in your truck? Seems like a very minor problem to consider something unreliable.

Anyways, you're right, truck is ruined. Sell it and go buy something else

 

Truck is ruined? What good is a truck that won't start? Considering I told their service rep that an AVR check was done on it two weeks ago, got the same results and it was dead again 12 hours later. No matter how "minor" the problem is, Ford won't take the time diagnose what the actual "minor" problem is. I'd say a problem that renders my truck undriveable is not minor. A dead brake light or rattling interior, would be more of a "minor" problem.

 

Funny you mentioned that. My best friend bought a new F150 in 2010. He had 15 warranty claims in 13 months. Your suggestion worked quite well for him and I will likely do the same.

 

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem or if I'm the only lucky one.
My truck was great, right up until it stopped working:)

 

Sounds like a parasitic draw, something drawing power when ignition is off, you can try and find it if you have a voltmeter and a lot of patience, it can be a beach to find. Google or Youtube parasitic draw test and it will explain how to go about it. I would not always trust those tests on the charging system though, I was having the same issue you were having and everything checked out good, I did the parasitic draw test, and the amps it was drawing was within specs, so replaced battery and all is good.

 

How's the battery ?
Not sure what an AVR test is but did you do a load test on the battery and the alternator ?

 

I replaced the battery 2 weeks ago. Went dead after being parked for two days. I'm thinking parasitic draw is the only logical solution.

 

2010 Ranger will have the Battery Saver relay, reads like that is not working or whatever is draining battery is not on that control circuit.
Common things are under hood light, brake light, cargo light, these all have power whether key is on or off and are not on Battery Saver usually.

Newer vehicles always have current being drawn from the battery, how do you think keyless entry works?
Gotta have the receiver powered 24/7 or it wouldn't work, also any alarm system doesn't do much good if its off when vehicle is parked, lol.
Radios have clocks and preset stations, these need power to keep accurate and set.

Computer also draws a bit to keep its memory of sensor settings.

But these could all be working fine and it would take months and months to drain a good battery.

First thing to check is the battery, "new" doesn't mean "it's good" any more, that was the good old days.
"New" now means "never tested", lol, so WE are now the Quality Control Dept for most companies.

To test the battery, the next time the vehicle will sit for awhile, disconnect the battery.
Hook it back up when ready to use vehicle again, yes you will have to reset clock, and see if it starts OK, if so the battery is good.

 

Great reply Ron! I had a bad glove box light on a vehicle once that caused a dead battery problem you described,took me a while to find that.

 

Yes, glove box light is another good example, but it's like a refrigerator light, how do you get inside the glove box to make sure it is off when closed????
LOL.

 

Good point.LOL! I would pull the bulb for a night and see if it starts right up in the morning.

 

Darn, I guess I wasted a few years training a mouse to put on a small pair of sunglasses when ever a light bulb was on.

By the way, the fridge light does go off when the door is closed, sunglasses were off when I opened the door

 

I've been disconnecting the battery for it when parked long term. The battery is fine.
Ford couldn't figure out what the problem was. They just shrugged their shoulders and said we dunno. Cam Clark Ford in Airdrie, Alberta has let me down with every visit. Whether it's not checking/neglecting a clogged air filter during regular service, or leaving me waiting 30 minutes after they called me to ask to make an appointment for a test drive... I've had it. I got a pretty decent trade in value at a Mitsubishi dealer so I'm trading it in for a car that has 10 years warranty or 160,000km.
I don't mind making payments on vehicles, and I don't mind repairing vehicles. But having to do both is a scary thing. A 4 year old vehicle developing phantom, intermittent electrical problems that even the dealership can't fix??? Completely unacceptable, period. "Ford Tough" may have been true in the 1970's but now it's just a slogan on a plastic vehicle. I'm getting rid of it before something major goes to hell in a hand basket.
I understand mechanical things break, nothing lasts forever. But Ford can't even figure out the problem, and THAT is the REAL problem.

Never again Ford, never again!

 

did the dash lights illuminate before the battery was completely drained

there is a wiring harness that runs from the battery , then underneath the battery against the driver side inner fender well ,
could be one of the power wires has had the insulation rubbed off and is grounding out against the fender well metal
( had this happen on my old 07 fx4 ) they had to replace that part of the harness