Hello! I have a 2003 Ranger that us pulling current 24/7, which drains the battery in several days. This drain started happening right around the same time that the key fob stopped working to lock/unlock. Not sure if that's related, but interesting.

I did some testing and removing fuse 26 stops the drain. Fuse 26 is for "Battery Saver Relay, Auxiliary Relay Box, Restraint Central Module (RCM), Generic Electroic Module (GEM), Instrument Cluster". Any suggestions as to where to look next?

 

Welcome to the forum

There is always a power draw on any vehicle after 1986 to hold computer memory and then electronic radios also need full time power for pre-sets and clock memory
Also keyless entry(fobs) needs power 24/7 so it can "listen" for the unlock or lock signals from the fobs

So first test your battery, batteries can become self draining at any time but usually after 4 or 5 years, end of life for most car batteries
Unhook one battery cable
Test the voltage
12.3v to 12.8v is expected, write it down, under 12.3v is a drained or bad battery
Wait overnight or at least 4 hours and retest voltage
If its lower then battery is self draining, get a new battery

Even new batteries can become self draining, so always test this FIRST, a battery can sit for years, unhooked, and never lose a volt
Otherwise you can chase your tail looking for a power drain that doesn't exist, lol

If voltage is the same then you can explore possible circuits that are being left on

Fuse 26 will be deactivated after 20-30min by the GEM module
When you turn the key off and close both doors the GEM will start it's timer and 20-30min later it will open the Battery saver relay, cutting power to those circuits until a door is opened or it gets a signal from "fob"(RAP or CSM)
GEM module also "goes to sleep" at that time

So open the hood and have the key off and doors closed, hook up your amp meter and wait 30min, you should see the amp drop after 30min if GEM is working as it should

Normal amp draw after 30min should be 0.04 to 0.07amps, 40-70mA
If your RAP/CSM keyless entry is not working then could be as low as 0.03amp, 30mA

No there shouldn't be any reason "fobs" not working would cause a higher battery drain