Hello everyone, haven’t been on here for a while now but I need help from anyone at this point! As said in the title I have an unknown battery drain in my maverick. I’ve replaced most of the ignition except for the distributor and spark plug cables. Yet I still have a HUGE drain. I also have an aftermarket radio install that I will be taking out and checking on it. If it’s not that, what else could it be? Thoughts?
Replacing parts is no way to troubleshoot. Just wastes time and cost money. Connect a test light with conventional light bulb(none of this modern LED stuff) between negative cable and battery post(first remove cable from batt). With a drain of ¼ amp or more it should light brightly. Next remove various fuses and disconnect electrical items. When light goes out, problem found.
Just a guess that it probably is your aftermarket radio as it may require a current to maintain station settings. Mine does that, so the solution is to disconnect the negative battery cable when the car is not in operation for an extended period (downside is you have to reset radio stations each time you drive the car) or get a Battery Tender. I have a Battery Tender Jr that works just fine.
If it is a large drain. disconnect the battery then the alternator, making sure that you keep the main wire from grounding then reconnect the battery, if the drain goes away then it is a shorted diode in the alternator. This short will drain a battery a fast as leaving the headlights on. Good luck.
I experienced a drain on one of the cars inside the shop and discovered the ALARM on the car was draining a significant amount of power . Just a thought. Cometized (Chip)
