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Ford Taurus Parasitic draw?


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major03
Novice

Jan 4, 2014, 6:51 PM

Post #1 of 6 (4849 views)
Ford Taurus Parasitic draw? Sign In

I have a ford taurus that when it sits for a day or two, goes completely dead. I had the battery and alternator tested and they said they were both good. The starter was replaced less than a year ago. I bought a mulitmeter and tested to see if there was a draw ...but when I pulled all the fuses the only one that caused a draw was the fuse for my flashers? The driver side blinker bulb had been out for a bit, but would that be enough to discharge a battery if there was a short? Any ideas of what it could be or any other tests that i could run? I appreciate any advice! Thanks!


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Jan 4, 2014, 6:53 PM

Post #2 of 6 (4837 views)
Re: Ford Taurus Parasitic draw? Sign In

How did you test this?

Exactly, what was the draw reading?

Was the flasher switch on at the time or not?



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



major03
Novice

Jan 4, 2014, 7:15 PM

Post #3 of 6 (4824 views)
Re: Ford Taurus Parasitic draw? Sign In

I took off the negative cable and put the multimeter between the negative cable and the negative terminal. When I started reading the multimeter the battery was already not fully charged, so it started at 6.5. I pulled the fuses under the hood and it did nothing. I started pulling the fuses under the steering wheel and nothing changed except maybe a bit to 6.3 or 6.4. When I pulled the fuse for my flashers, it went down to 5.6. I know it is not a massive draw...do you think I should try again with the battery fully charged? I watched some video on Youtube on how to test for a short, so hopefully that is the right method.

The flasher has been out for about a month, I knew it was burnt out but I have not changed it yet. The switch was not on at the time. Everything in the car was off, with the exception of the driver side door being open.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Jan 4, 2014, 7:23 PM

Post #4 of 6 (4821 views)
Re: Ford Taurus Parasitic draw? Sign In

6.3 what? What were you measuring? volts, amps, miliamps, milivolts?

How did you open the door without triggering the lights?



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



major03
Novice

Jan 4, 2014, 7:31 PM

Post #5 of 6 (4818 views)
Re: Ford Taurus Parasitic draw? Sign In

It was Amps. The overhead dome light was the only thing that was on with the door open.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Jan 4, 2014, 7:35 PM

Post #6 of 6 (4817 views)
Re: Ford Taurus Parasitic draw? Sign In

You can't measure draw that way. You can have absolutely nothing on at all. The dome light wasn't the only thing on. All the associated timers and modules were active too.

Here is how it is done.

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.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.







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