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Ignition Cylinder Draining Battery?


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EJFlesher
New User

Nov 8, 2013, 3:33 PM

Post #1 of 3 (1882 views)
Ignition Cylinder Draining Battery? Sign In

2000 Ford Contour
2.0 SE
120k miles approx

About a year ago my ignition lock cylinder started to jam. It got bad enough that we left the key in the ignition until a friend advised to use a little WD 40 to allow me to get the key out. It worked. I did this about 2 or 3 months back. A couple of weeks after the battery started to die. I am wondering if the cylinder may not be completely disengaging the electrical system now. The problem is quite prevalent but there are some nights the battery doesn't die so this leads me to wonder if the lock cylinder.

I have been taking the positive leads off the battery at night to prevent the battery from being slowly drained over night, which works and that has me thinking that I am getting a slow drain from somewhere in the car.

I am looking at replacing the cylinder but I don't know if that would potentially fix the problem or if the short would be somewhere else in the column.

Thanks sincerely,

Erik


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Nov 8, 2013, 3:38 PM

Post #2 of 3 (1873 views)
Re: Ignition Cylinder Draining Battery? Sign In

You really should never put any liquid in a lock cylinder. It will attract dust and dirt and cause even worse problems later.

There is a procedure for finding a battery draw like that.

You will need a digital ammeter and a jumper wire with clips on the ends to do this.
First rig any door switches so you can have a door open without triggering the interior lights and unplug the hood light. Remove one battery cable and attach the meter in series between the battery cable and battery post. Take the jumper wire and also attach it the same way. Leave the jumper wire on for at least 10 minutes to expire all the automatic timers. Now remove the jumper wire and read the meter. Anything over 50ma is too much draw. The way you locate this is to start removing fuses one at a time until the meter drops to normal level. This will be the circuit with something staying on. Determine what components are part of that circuit and check them individually until the problem is isolated.



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EJFlesher
New User

Nov 8, 2013, 4:31 PM

Post #3 of 3 (1863 views)
Re: Ignition Cylinder Draining Battery? Sign In

Thank you for the timely reply. I will give your recommendation a try as soon as time permits. Again thank you.






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