Ford 3000 battery drained

grebs · May 21, 2015

I have a relatively new battery in my Ford 3000. If it sits for more than a week the battery is dead. Is there an easy way I can test whether or not there's a short or drain somewhere?
After I charge it up for an hour is works fine.
Thanks

Sean in PA · May 21, 2015

Remove the battery and put an ohmmeter on the two battery cables. If it reads anything less than infinite ohms then there is a draw. If it reads infinite when you first try it, reverse the polarity on the leads and see if there's a draw in the other direction, just in case there's a diode somewhere.

If you find a draw then start disconnecting other wires from their various components until the resistance jumps up to infinite and the last thing you disconnected is your culprit.

A true short would read zero ohms, and if you had a true short a fully charged battery wouldn't spin the starter and it would soon start a fire.

grebs · May 21, 2015

Thanks for your reply. Very helpful!
Steve

maxwell99 · May 21, 2015

I had a battery like that once, same symptoms as yours.

At the local auto parts store, the battery would show good.

Finally took the battery to a property's battery store, they did a load test on the
battery, technician observed a very fine line of small bubbles coming up in one of the
cells while the battery was under load.

He said the battery was bad, I replaced it with a new battery, all was good.

souNdguy · May 21, 2015

If you find something on the ohm meter, put battery back in and a test lamp inline with pos cable, pull wires till it stops glowing.. I'd start at the charge system

Hobo,NC · May 21, 2015

WHUT HE SAID TEST THE BATTERY FIRST...

Ecnerwal · May 21, 2015

Low odds that it's your problem unless its a mild case (so far) but good to constantly remember the "Ford thousand series automatic tractor fire starter" where the positive cable runs past the seam on the gas tank, which can rub through the positive cable insulation, and when you get unlucky, can make a plasma torch straight into the fuel tank, and if you are really unlucky, do it while the tractor is parked in the barn.

Check it, and sleeve it.

Hobo,NC · May 22, 2015

(quoted from post at 08:38:14 05/22/15) Low odds that it's your problem unless its a mild case (so far) but good to constantly remember the "Ford thousand series automatic tractor fire starter" where the positive cable runs past the seam on the gas tank, which can rub through the positive cable insulation, and when you get unlucky, can make a plasma torch straight into the fuel tank, and if you are really unlucky, do it while the tractor is parked in the barn.

Check it, and sleeve it.

I hear ya... Mine almost became a statistic ...

http://forums.yesterdaystractors.co...ostorder=asc&highlight=cable&start=15

Ford 3000 battery drained

grebs

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Sean in PA

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grebs

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maxwell99

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souNdguy

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Hobo,NC

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Ecnerwal

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Hobo,NC

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