So, I replaced the positive cable on my 1997 Ford Ranger XLT with 2.3L engine. After I was done I tested it and it started right up and everything seemed fine. However, I don't drive it a lot and it sat maybe a week before using it again. When I got in it today it wouldn't crank over, didn't even make a noise when turning the key. I checked the battery voltage and it only had a little over 2 volts on it. I removed the battery terminals and checked again and the battery voltage was a little over 3 volts. Double checked again with terminals connected and disconnected and got the same thing. I bought a decent positive battery cable from autozone that had a wire that went to the solenoid too. I'm pretty sure I connected it all the same as it was originally. The battery is only a few months old and I've got it on a trickle charger now. Any ideas of what/where to look first to figure out where the battery drain is coming from?

I changed the positive battery cable because every once in a while I'd just get a thud out of the solenoid and in was beginning to happen a bit more and more type thing. Figured the battery cab was old (probably the original one) so I'd start there.

 

Most likely a bad battery "out of the box"

But regardless, that battery is ruined now, take it back for pro-rated exchange

But let's go back to why you got a new battery "a few months ago"?
Was the battery more than 5 year old?

Did you test the charging system before replacing the battery?


Car/truck batteries are not like most batteries
They are made with thin plates that allow high amps to be released for a SHORT TIME to start an engine, once engine is started they are not used again until the next time you need to start the engine
The vehicles alternator supplies ALL the voltage for the vehicle while engine is running, ALL THE VOLTAGE
The battery is ONLY used for starting the engine, high amps, SHORT TIME use

Car batteries have 12.8volt when new
12.3volts at "end of life", approx. 5 to 6 years

When engine is running the alternator provides MINIMUM of 13.5volts, so voltage runs TO the "12volt" battery to keep it charged up for next startup, quick discharge and quick recharge is what car batteries are made for

Car batteries are not made to power anything long term, the thin plates WILL short out if there is a long term drain, a short in one of the 6 internal cells will cause battery to self-drain, a car battery at 2 or 3 volts will have at least one shorted cell, which is why you need to take it back
And it could have had one when new, or a slightly warped plate so shorted soon after a few discharge recharge cycles

After you recharge this battery let it sit for at least 4 hours, and test its voltage, 12.3 to 12.8 is acceptable, nothing below that
Then wait another hour and test it again, if its lower that previous test its SELF-DRAINING so a bad battery

Test charging system
Start engine
Battery should now read 13.5v to 14.8v, alternator is working
Let engine run for 5 to 10 min and leave it running
Test battery voltage again, should be 13.5-13.9volts, under 14volts, voltage regulator is working
If alternator runs above 14volts after 10+ minutes that can ruin a new battery, if outside temps are low, below freezing, then slightly above 14v is OK

 

The replaced battery was 4 years old and just stopped holding a charge. It was a walmart everstart battery that came with the truck when I bought it. The charging system was fine then. The present battery has been fine, up to now anyways. Once the battery charges over night I see what is it holds it's charge tomorrow - if not I'll run it over to autozone and see about a replacement. But, if the battery is good it means I've got a drain somewhere I'm going to have to track down.

I did replace the little shift lever indicator bracket and when I did that I also hooked the door ding'er back up - it's located next to the key/ignition switch on the steering column - forgot about that until just now - and I did that a couple weeks or so ago. But, the ding'er was going on and off - didn't stay on that I'm aware of, but it's something that has been done fairly recently.

 

Well the GEM(body computer) goes to "sleep" after 45min or so after key off doors closed, when that happens it also turn off the battery saver relay which cuts power to interior lights, in case glove box or dome light was left on
GEM controls the chimes so they would go off when it goes to "sleep"

Only drain would be Keyless entry receiver(if so equipped), and on all vehicles Radio clock/preset and computer KAM(keep alive memory)
If you have all 3 that would be about a 0.07amp draw so battery would last for months and months close to a year
No keyless entry and its only 0.04 amp draw so lasts even longer

No easy way to test for a draw with key off doors closed, because GEM is "awake" so there would be a draw until it goes to sleep
You can try unplugging fuse 26 in cab fuse box, that should power off most of the GEM and Battery saver lights
See what amp draw is then at battery with key off doors closed

 

The battery wasn't completely recharged this morning, was up to just over 12 volts. I connected the battery up to do a quick check on the current draw and it was showing about .22 amps. I didn't open the doors or anything before doing the current check, not sure if connected the battery up woke the system up or not? With the truck running the battery has about 14.5 volts across it, so I'm going to give it a drive, etc to see if I can get the battery up to charge, and to another quick current draw test, let it set for a while for the system to shut off and check again.

On a sad note, I thought I bought a autozone battery, but that was for the honda, I bought another walmart everstart for the truck. I'll have to dig up the receipt and see what their return policy is just in case the battery has had it like you suspect.

Thanks for the help, I'll post again after/if I get the battery up to full charge and do the current draw test. After that I'll probably just take the battery to autozone or advance auto and have them run a test on it.

 

So, I went for a good long drive and when I got back to the home area I went to Advanced Auto Parts to have the battery tested - the guy that tested the battery said there's nothing wrong with it. Got home and the running voltage across the battery was 13.86. With the truck off the voltage across the battery was 12.75 - going to let it set for a few hours and check it again.

Before shutting the truck off I tripped both the door latches so the system would think the doors were closed and observed the doom light going on/off to make sure it was shutting off and it did. I then disconnected the negative battery terminal and the current showed 27uA or 0.027mA. Is it just me or does that seem kind of low? That was right after shutting the truck off, not waiting a bit for the GEM to shut off...

I tested by using a meter in DC amps between the negative battery terminal and the negative battery cable - even used two different meters to compare and they were pretty much the same.

After doing the above test I checked the voltage across the battery and it was at 12.67volts. See what it reads in a few hours.

 

Just checked it again. The battery is at 12.52 volts. The current draw from negative battery post to negative battery cable is back up to .22 amps.

I pulled every fuse under the hood and on the drivers side cab fuse box and the only fuse the brought it down was the #25 GEM system / speedometer. If you open the door, the interior light comes on and the current draw hits about 1.8 amps. After closing the door the interior light stays on for a bit, then goes out, and the current draw drops to the 0.2 amps range again. Maybe I have to let it sit for a few more minutes for the GEM to shut off completely? Trying it now...

First time I've had to do this, first Ford Ranger I've had (truck actually) and I'm not real familiar with it yet...
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Checked it a bit ago and the current has dropped to 0.05 amps (50 milliamps) and the voltage across the battery is 12.45 volts.
Is 0.05 amps of draw ok or should I be trying to locate something to drop it a bit more ?

Thanks for the help...

 

0.05a or 50 ma is correct, 30-70ma is spec for Ford Ranger

Leave battery unhooked and test it now after unhooking then test it in a few hours or tomorrow morning, should be EXACTLY the same
If its dropping then its "self draining" has a short in a cell
This is the ONLY way to test for that, no "battery tester" can do this

 

Just unhooked it and checked the voltage. Came in at 12.45 volts. Will check it tomorrow morning.
Found the walmart receipt. Bought it in August of last year, it's supposed to have a 3 year replacement - but, here's to hoping it's still good...
Thanks again for the help.

 

Good stuff

Looks like its dropped quite a bit already, from 12.7v

New battery will be 12.8 volts for a year or so
After 3 years it will show about 12.5v, loses about 0.1v a year
Then at 5/6 years old 12.3v and time to shop for battery sales

So the voltage is fairly stable across a battery's life
You do need to test after battery has been sitting a few hours, just after charging or driving, it will show a "false" higher voltage, i.e. the 12.7v you got earlier

I would expect your "less than a year old" battery to show 12.7v at least, after sitting for awhile

 

Well, this mornings check showed a voltage of 12.42 volts - that's down three volts from last nights check. So, it looks to be 'self draining'. So, I guess it's time to see how wally world handles their battery returns. It's supposed to be three years free exchange. See what happens. I report back my battery exchange experience with wally world for a kind of review for others. It will most likely be this weekend before taking it back though.

Thanks again for all the help...

 

That's not that much of a drop, 0.03v, but it IS a drop, because the battery was severely drained, to under 5volts, I would see if they will exchange it

 

Good luck with walmart exchange! If their "Machine" says it's good they will not do it. I had a battery that was marginal but still showed "Good" and they refused. I went to Autozone and got a better deal on a better battery.

 

Leave the head lights on over night and take battery the out and take it in, lol

 

It was at about 12.2v's this morning (negative cable has been disconnected). Took it to Walmart, they said it tested good and wouldn't exchange it. So, maybe I'll leave the headlights on - lol. Anyways, at least I know the truck doesn't have a parasitic battery drain of some sort now.

 

Yes, its self draining

 

Thanks again RonD. I think I may have a "self drainer" on my hands.
It went from, the night before, 12.75V to 12.69 the next morning.
Thanks for any comments.