97 Ford F150 electrical issue. Batteries only last about a year. I've replaced starter and alternator with new not reman parts a few years back.last 4 yrs my battery's dead &needs 2b replaced.

10

Asked by ToddSouth Jul 07, 2014 at 11:45 AM about the 1998 Ford F-150 STD 4WD Extended Cab SB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

97 Ford F150 4wd V8 4.? Small v8
All factory

7 Answers

215

does the truck have an amp gauge? If not I would check to make sure not overcharging, Autozone will ck this free. Otherwise I guess it could be a constant draw that is discharging the battery but not completely killing it. Is the truck used every day?

10

Yes amp gauge stays about 3/4 marker. Truck is generally a daily driver but sometimes might sit for a day. After it sits for 3-4days jumping is required but this is when battery has been in use for almost a year. I have not had a battery last over a yr in the past 5. When battery is new I have no problem only after 7-10months of use.

1 people found this helpful.
215

yeah you have a draw( something is pulling power from the battery even when the truck is turned off). If you have an ohm meter you can isolate it but if not your basically guessing.

215

If you have an ohm meter, disconnect the negative battery cable, ah it's complicated google it. But yes u will be removing fuses until you find the one causing the draw, now radios, pcm's etc have a minimal draw but it's almost nothing, your looking for something in the 25+ milliamp range I would think. When you locate the circuit hopefully there won't be much on there to test, do you have any lights that could stay on, glove box, under hood light, accessory's like aftermarket amps? These are the most likely culprit.

10

All factory. No aftermarket parts or lights. Radio and power windows stay on for a cpl minutes after key has been removed but is on timer and shuts off within a cpl minutes. All lights go off. I even unplug phone charger when I get out. Thanks for the advice.

Same problem. Any solution yet? New battery, replaced alternator twice. Have to manually charge battery every night. Jump start it at least once a day. Battery dies about 10 minutes of driving.

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