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SUVs Ford Explorer Ford Explorer Maintenance and Repair
6126 messages, Last post on Oct 08, 2008 at 8:52 AM
You are in the Ford Explorer Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
I need help. I own a 1997 Ford Explorer and it has been sitting idle for the past 3 or 4 months as I have not been able to use it. My battery must have completly lost its charge because I have to constantly jump start it. I will jumpstart it and then an hour later when I try to start it again, it wont start. As soon as I noticed this problem, I noticed another. My daytime running lights were working fine, but as soon as I switched to my night lights, the headlamps would shut off. This is a new problem as they worked before I let the vehicle sit. I was wondering if maybe the lights problem might be connected to my battery problem, because the lights did turn on briefly the othey day when I jumped it. But they shut off after about ten minutes. I checked all my fuses, so that is not the problem. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what my problem might be, and how I might be able to fix it. Thanks
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Replying to: mrkevv07 (Nov 09, 2007 10:47 pm) |
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Replying to: jondomke (Nov 14, 2007 11:36 pm) Do you mean that when you turn your "Night Lights" on, your headlights go off? If you turn the headlights on by themselves, do they work OK? Does anything stay on when you turn of the lights and remove the keys? If you battery is being drained, and you can't easily find what the cause is, you may need to do a "parasitic battery drain test". There should be no more than 25 milliamps of current being drained from the battery when everything is off. That is .025 amp, a tiny amount of current. .050 amp could drain the battery over night. If you need info on how do do this I can post it here. Good Luck E.D. ISF
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Replying to: electricdesign (Nov 15, 2007 3:12 pm)
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Have just under 400 miles on my 2008 Explorer with the V8. When the car is in park and idling it makes a "popping" noise roughly every 18 seconds. It is audible inside the car with all the windows closed and very audible when the hood is open. Is this just some pump or something that wakes up every 18 seconds no matter what or does this sound like an issue with the engine?
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Replying to: jondomke (Nov 16, 2007 12:10 pm) You need to find what is draining your battery by checking "PARASITIC CURRENT DRAW" from your battery. Your car has ELECTRONIC MODULES that draw current when they are first connected. After they "settle down", usually in about 2 to 5 minutes, the parasitic current drain on you battery should be down to about 25 ma (milliamps) (.025 Amp). Do the following test procedure, and if you find your draw is too high, pull fuses one at a time to see if you can isolate the source of the excessive current draw. If your Parasitic Current Draw is still high after pulling all fuses, try disconnecting the Alternator, and other electrical equipment until the source of the excessive current draw is found. PARASITIC CURRENT DRAW TEST: Start with a fully charged Battery. Turn everything in the car OFF, close the door, remove the light bulb from under the hood, glove compartment, trunk, etc, so that nothing you know of is on. Remove the negative cable. Place a 5 amp fuse & a 1 ohm/10watt resistor in series with the negative cable, then wait a few minutes to allow the modules to settle down, then proceed. Connect a Digital Volt/Ohm Meter across the resistor and do a simple voltage drop test. Results = for example, a .022v draw = a 22mA draw. When you have minimal computers/radios/etc a maximum of 25mA is optimal. If you have multiple computers/cell phones/alarms/etc expect a higher number to be normal, though the cell phones/alarms should be OFF for this test. Over 30ma should be investigated and over 50ma should be corrected. Check manufacturers specs to be sure of what it should be for your particular vehicle. For your headlight problem, you will need a wiring diagram to figure that out. About the distilled water, yes, you should always add only distilled water to the battery. This also applies to the radiator, if you premix the antifreeze with water, use only distilled water. I always keep at least 6 gallons of distilled water in my garage. Good Luck, E.D. In Sunny Florida"> |
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Replying to: njexplorerguy (Nov 16, 2007 3:08 pm) Good Luck, E,D. ISF |
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I heard a noise coming from left rear wheel nothing major just some squeaking. I brought it in to have looked at, and was told I needed new emergency brakes pads plus rotor... I just had new brakes with rotors done 7k miles ago. Also the Price they gave was close to 600.... Can anyone clear this up for a non mechanic?
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Replying to: kanji (Nov 26, 2007 5:37 pm) It sounds like it may be a case of faulty workmanship. The rear parking brakes are usually seldom used and really don't usually incure any wear, unless someone drives around with his parking brake applied, or if something is causing them to stick or not release properly. Take it back to the first guy and have him explain why the new brakes that HE put on 7K ago are tore up, and ask him to make it right. |
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Replying to: explorator (Apr 11, 2007 8:24 pm) Thanks Mike
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