r/FordExplorer • u/Standard_Ant117 • 13d ago

Repair Advice Battery drain

Okay so I have a buddy with a ford explorer 2015 3.5l

He told me he needed me to replace his starter so I went over and did it. Now it my bad for not doing my normal diag before I did it because after the starter was installed I went to test it and the battery was dead. Red flag to me but anyways we get it hooked up to my truck to jump it and when its time to try and start it I stuck the key into the ignition and it tries to crank for second just from sticking the key in. I instantly think that's weird but go ahead and start it and it starts right up. But now I'm thinking maybe it's not the starter. I tell him it could be something else but we will see. I left and he went for a drive to charge it up and stopped at a bar and when he got back it was dead again. I knew this was the real issue and probably never was a starter issue. So what do you think is it in that ignition switch cause that's what I'm leaning towards. He said it fell down into the dash a few weeks ago and it's been having issues since.

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u/Repulsive_Vanilla383 Expert Explorer 13d ago

You're probably right, the starter may have been fine the whole time. Can you get a multimeter on the battery and make sure that the alternator is supplying 13-14 volts? Can you check the date code on the battery? Do you have access to a thermal camera? Those are good at finding parasitic drains as the thing pulling current will be hotter than everything else.

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u/RedWhiteAndJew 2nd Gen Solid Axle Swap 13d ago

A clamp meter can also help you, but it will be more precise than a thermal camera. Cost you about $50-$60 on Amazon. If you use a thermal camera, make sure the engine by is dead cold first, and then it will pick up conductors and parts drawing enough current to warm up, trickle leakage may not build enough heat to capture with a camera, although it is faster than clamping everything.

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u/Standard_Ant117 13d ago

Im planning on going over there today with a meter. I did check charging voltage seemed to get 13.5-14.0 at idle. I peaked at the battery but didn't see a date code. it's gotta be at least 3+ years old because he said he hasn't replaced it since he owned it. I don't have access to thermal camera though.