Battery draining while it sits?

luttersj

luttersj

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If I leave my car sitting for about 2 days it won't start. Dead battery. Is there a "common" item to check? I've already had the battery and the charging system checked and they were both OK. Just looking for a little direction. Not good when winter is coming up fast...
 
Get her started and check for a relay. I had this problem and it seemed in my case to be a bad relay under the hood. It should tick a few times, thats the only way I know of to find out if its bad.
 
Have you done any electronic upgrades like headlight bulbs ar anything even.

Im almost positive that they should all be under the hood but I had a bitch finding out info on them. The manual is wrong about some of the stuff.

What year and is t a V8?
 
It's an '04 V8.

The only thing I added is a trailer light harness. And that is my main suspect right now. I've had trouble with it and Draw Tite knows about it, they just can't figure out what to do. If I turn off the car and leave the trailer lights plugged in, the trailer lights will turn on after about 30 minutes of sitting. All I have to do is hit a button on the key fob and they go out. So, based on my recent experiences, I'm guessing the trailer wiring harness is what the problem is. Just today, after I had to jump start it with my battery charger, I pulled the inline fuse out of the harness. I'll put a good trickle charge into the battery tonight and see how long that lasts. Part of the problem is that I don't have enough of a history with this car to know how it acts. I've only had it for a few months, half of which, the trailer harness has been installed.

I was just curious if there were any common problems. It looks like there's not. I'm about 95% sure the problem is with the trailer harness, now. thanks
 
The best way to tell is to unplug the battery completely, and check it with a VOM the next day. When its unplugged there should be little or no voltage drop. If there is a large difference from one day to the next the battery itself is bad and should be replaced.
 
I think the trailer is messing with a relay causing it not to close or it allready ruined it.


I got new bulbs once of off cheese bay and they sent me ones that were way to high of wattage. Of course I didn't catch on cause they weren't the ones I ordered and thought it was all good just by looks. After a few days all hell was breaking lose and my rear lights wouldn't go out till the battery drained over night. I had to replace a relay and get a heavy duty harness for the high beams I put those bulbs in and that stopped it all but as I said the damage was done and I still needed a new relay.

Maybe you need some sort of heavy duty harness for that trailer.
 
i had a relay replaced in the cabin. my car wouldn't turn on from time to time and that was the culprit. 100 bucks well spent. whenever i hear a battery drainage problem i immediately think alternator
 
luttersj said:
It's an '04 V8.

The only thing I added is a trailer light harness. And that is my main suspect right now. I've had trouble with it and Draw Tite knows about it, they just can't figure out what to do. If I turn off the car and leave the trailer lights plugged in, the trailer lights will turn on after about 30 minutes of sitting. All I have to do is hit a button on the key fob and they go out. So, based on my recent experiences, I'm guessing the trailer wiring harness is what the problem is. Just today, after I had to jump start it with my battery charger, I pulled the inline fuse out of the harness. I'll put a good trickle charge into the battery tonight and see how long that lasts. Part of the problem is that I don't have enough of a history with this car to know how it acts. I've only had it for a few months, half of which, the trailer harness has been installed.

I was just curious if there were any common problems. It looks like there's not. I'm about 95% sure the problem is with the trailer harness, now. thanks
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Well, there is a member on LLSOC.com that had this exact same problem and the dealer could NEVER fix it. Lincoln ended up buying the vehicle back because they couldn't locate the source of the battery drain. Now, I'm not saying this is happening to you but you could be running down a problem that you'll never find. I'd suggest elminating any "extra" items like the trailer harness to see if that is causing the battery drain. If you remove it and it still happens then you might want to take it to the dealer and see what they can find. Good luck and let us know what you find out.
 
I had this problem on my 04 LSE. After repeated checks where everything checked out good including the battery, the Dealer tried a new battery as a last resort. Problem solved.:)
 
I also had a random starting problem. The battery checked good even when the car wouldn't start. I cleaned cables, replaced starter, checked connections, etc. Eventually I replaced my "good" battery and it hasn't let me down since.
 
interesting stuff on the "good" battery. The relay also. I'll keep that in mind.

I pulled the inline fuse on the trailer harness yesterday, got a jump start so i could get home then left it on the trickle charger all night. In about 45 minutes I'll find out if it was able to hold a charge for 9 hours while having the harness out of the equation.
 
UPDATE: When last we spoke, I had pulled the fuse on the trailer harness. That seemed to do the trick. Then about 4 weeks later, without warning, it's completely drained again. This time I took it into the dealership to use their fancy equipment and methods to find the problem. Plus, I had 4 other things to get done. Anyway, they ended up pulling out this factory alarm enhancement thing. Basically it took the factory alarm and added shock sensors and maybe a couple other things. I didn't even know it was there and frankly didn't care. So they yanked it and the constant draw was gone! FF to today. I dropped it off for an oil change and my external temp was off (by 30^F). While it was there, as luck would have it, it wouldn't start. Completly dead. 4 weeks after it was last in the shop so right on schedule! This time they chareged the battery, it failed the test, they replaced the battery and called it "fixed". I hesitate to declare it solved just yet. if the car can make it until March 15th without dying for no reason, then I'll call it fixed.

So the story continues

or does it??
 
Well, I guess the mystery drain is still there. Like I posted before there was a member on LLSOC that had the same problem and the dealer could never fix it. IIRC, Ford bought the car back and he is driving something else. I'm not saying this is that situation but it is eerily similar.
 
yeah, in my opinion, the problem is still there. of course the dealership thinks the problem is solved!

I went through my records last night. I've had the car at the dealership in Aug, Nov, Dec and now Jan for battery issues. there was also one off-the-record stop where they simply tested my battery and sent me on my way. I don't know, I'm no expert in the field of pattern recognition, but I'm picking up a trend... we'll see if the battery can last the next 4 weeks.
 
You may want to check your trunk light. On my lincoln ls... it would stay on eventhough the trunk was fully shut! Close your trunk & open the rear seat down & peer in. If the light is on... there's your culprit. I simply took out the light bulb. :D Ghetto!!!!
 
it seems to me that battery would slowly drain if that was the case. I'd notice the car turning over more and more slowly until finally it just wouldn't go anymore. That's not what happens to me. For example, I droped it off at the dealership this week for an oil change and to replace my external temp sensor. Everything was working fine as far as the battery is concerned. The car was only there for a total of about 4 hours before I go the call that it was ready. in that 4 hour window the battery went completly dead! Someone write this down as the first time in history that an intermittant problem occured AT the dealership!!
 
My car has this same problem and the dealership has replaced the battery and the alternator and the problem is still there. I have to bring it back to them next week. I'll see what they replace this time.
 
well, here I am 2 months after getting the new battery at the dealership. So far so good! No problems at all.

I'm still confused how the old battery would test just fine then suddenly not work at all. But I guess I'll just drop it so long as this new battery continues to work.
 
Battery is a very common problem. Just lots of electronics to feed. Be aware that in the trunk next to the battery is a couple of relays and they have been known to cause problems too! No trace of water or rust by the battery? The trunk and/or tail lights can sometimes let water in.
What brand battery did they replace it with? There has been some question if anything but a Motorcraft battery should be used?
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the trunk is nice and dry/clean so I don't think water or dirt could be the cause. The previous battery was not a Motorcraft battery. To be honest, I haven't looked to see what this new one is. My local Lincoln dealership gave me the new battery, though, so I assume it's a Motorcraft.
 
luttersj said:
the trunk is nice and dry/clean so I don't think water or dirt could be the cause. The previous battery was not a Motorcraft battery. To be honest, I haven't looked to see what this new one is. My local Lincoln dealership gave me the new battery, though, so I assume it's a Motorcraft.
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It must be a ventless battery.
 
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