Electrical problem

[kmcdonough]

I started my truck this morning after not using it at all yesterday. It also rained last night pretty heavy. I noticed this morning the clock was off substantially. I drove about 1 mile turned off the truck and tried to lock the truck. The electric locks and key fob didn't work. Had to lock it manually. When I got back in the truck the radio was dead. The interior lights didn't come on either. Once the truck is started the interior lights work, as well as the electric door locks. I tried to find trouble codes by turning the key to run 3x, but NG. The odometer doesn't display either when the drivers door is opened. I checked the fuses and they seem to be all ok. The MIL light is not on. I pulled the battery terminal off for about 20 minutes but no changes. I don't have immediate access to a scanner to look for trouble codes. Has anyone had a similiar experience or maybe can lead me in a direction to troubleshoot this? Thanks in advance.

Kevin McD.



Right after I posted this I went back out to the to look some more and now everything is working. Is this just a DC gremlin or will this happen again?

 

[CBrahs]

not sure if it will work on DC products but when we have problems with cadillacs or hummers that are simular we disconnect the battery and touch the positive and negative cables together ( MAKE SURE ALL CONNECTIONS ARE REMOVED FROM BATTERY FIRST THOUGH)!!. This discharges any capacitor buildup. Might want to try that. MAKE SURE ALL CONNECTIONS ARE REMOVED FROM BATTERY!!!!!!!!

 

[jelag]

Kevin



My son had this problem with his car... . we found 2 things wrong... . 1 was a battery that would drop below 9. 6 v when the engine cranked... . and 2 a few bad grounds... I see your driving an 03 and its my guess you have your OE battery... . check when it cranks to see if the voltage drops below 9. 6 v. what should happen is the grid heater should shut down during cranking..... if you see less than the 9. 6 than the battery is dying... and any moisture on bad grounds can do the same thing.....



Look at the one were the ground battery cable goes... and there is one on the drivers side of the hood... . that has about 6 or 8 cables going to it... check that as well...



Good luck...

 

[kmcdonough]

Thanks for the replies. While I had the 1st battery disconnected I cleaned the terminals. They had a ton of crud on them. So maybe cleaning them made a better connection and allowed for a full 12V. I'll check the battery status. Any ideas on how to keep the buildup on the terminal to a minimum? My 2nd battery doesn't have that problem.

Thanks,

Kevin McD.

 

[jelag]

There is a cloth washer... . called No-Co's, that I get from a wholesaler... . don't remember whom... Sears also uses them in their auto centers... the washer's are coated with a chemical that will neturalize the gas that passes the post... . I buy a can with something like 100 in them... and every time we change the batteries in something we change the no-co's out... .



What happens is that the battery gases when it charges... . and if the seal around the top of the battery isn't good... the gases will cause the crud you see building up...



A web search says that Baxter auto parts carry them... .



Hope this helps...

 

[Pawpaw]

The felt washers are one option and they do work. A better solution is some non-oxidizing grease made for coating battery terminals. Any auto parts store (or Wal-Mart) should have it.



For the best results, take the cables off the battery then cover the posts and clamps liberally. Put the cables back on and glob some more on after you tighten everything up.



Works very well on any electrical connection, including grounds.



If you know anyone in the telecommunications industry, ask them if they can get you a can of "no-ox". Same stuff, but thicker.





Bob

 

[kmcdonough]

This appears to be an intermittent problem. It happed numerous times while driving my truck today. The telltale sign is the clock radio going dead. I spoke with someone who works on Ford vehicles and he said it sounds like the equivalent of Ford's lighting control module, which controls various items on the Ford. Does the CTD have a control module similar to this? If so, is there a way to test to see if its good?

Kevin McD.