Fuse/relay panel problem

[somepeoplecallmemaurice]

I have a no start, no spark issue and had recently replaced the ckp and had driven the truck for around a week but not for very long or very far... After driving it more extensively one day and it staying parked for several hours, it stalled out and died on me while driving and shut down completely while driving ultimately leading to me having to tow it home. I can no longer check to see what warning lights come on but...

The best I can remember on the most recent time I checked, with the key in the on position I had the standard orange color check engine light on along with the more serious check gauge in a red light, and I have to assume it was referring to oil gauge which was flatlined at zero. Same combo of lights appeared when it stalled and died on me while driving — the last night it was operable before now. And as a bit of a side note, when I was recently shopping around for starters on Amazon, I noticed that one of the compatible ones was presented with a bundle deal with the 2nd item being a starter solenoid, and the 3rd item was an oil pressure switch — something I generally wouldn't have expected to be bundled in with the starter and solenoid. Seemed a bit out of place to me but maybe that's giving away my lack of knowledge... is that far less surprising to you all?

Anyway, back to the pressing topic at hand... I've also recently purchased an obd2 scanner hoping maybe it could help me zero in on my no start no spark issue. And the only codes I got out of it before I ran into connection problems were for seatbelt pretensioner and seatbelt pretensioner clips and altho the app for the scanner said those were somewhat common for this year (or perhaps age of?) Ranger, I hope it's not because a recent attempt with a slim jim digging around in the door has snagged on a wire to a side impact sensor that theoretically could be on that same circuit? Seems like a secondary problem if it is a problem tho and can't recall seeing a light related to airbags or anything else, and can't check any of those lights atm because....

I've periodically had to plug in a charger to boost my battery back up to cranking level ever since it's been sitting without the chance for alternator to do its part, but even before then once every couple months when turning truck off and getting out I'd hear a sporadic fast clicking coming from fusebox under hood, but hadn't gotten around to chasing it down as it wasn't a constant issue. Now however during this repair endeavor I've noticed something drawing down battery current even without key on and by measuring Amp draw between disconnected negative battery cable and the – battery post, I identified 2 circuits in the I/P panel: 26 (battery saver relay, aux. relay box, restraint central module, generic electroic module, instrument cluster) and 29 (radio). Of course those were just the problem ones with the key off...

Once I had the key to on position I again noticed my battery voltage dropping from 12.3ish to 6.7ish and decided to check it with one of the 2 main positive cables disconnected one at a time (one ran to the high current fuse and relay box under the hood and the other to the starter) and found with starter cable disconnected it was fine — altho after disconnecting starter I still had an issue so I tried removing the only fuses/relays labeled for the starter and discovered removing the 50a fuse allowed me to retain battery voltage reading. However, when I tried subbing the 50a fuse for the I/P panel I still had the same problem. With the #11 50a removed tho and battery voltage not dropping I thought maybe now I could still run scanner but realized I needed my instrument cluster on so I tried reinserting #26 on I/P panel and altho I didn't seem to be losing current with it still, I can only assume that the missing 50a that ran ignition switch as well as starter relay may be necessary also for my instrument cluster? ... As I'm not seeing any check engine lights and can't get scanner to connect.

Do I actually need to consider replacing that whole fuse/relay panel under hood just because of that one bad spot or could I move those wires to an unused spot and try plugging the 50a into it instead, or is there something else I need to check somewhere down/up the line from that point on fuse panel where its corresponding wire is coming from or going to? Thanks in advance!

 

[franklin2]

You have to wait at least 20-30 minutes before you do a battery drain test on a truck with a battery saver system. The key off and the door shut.

 

[somepeoplecallmemaurice]

You have to wait at least 20-30 minutes before you do a battery drain test on a truck with a battery saver system. The key off and the door shut.

Thanks for the reply! And now that it's sat overnight uninterrupted, and assuming I'll still show no drain on the system with the radio fuse pulled, if I still have a voltage drop with that 50a fuse installed for starter relay, ignition switch (and considering the starter is still disconnected), would you assume that my problem is more likely with the ignition switch than with the wiring and buss bar (for lack of a better term) in the fuse panel/relay box?

 

[Uncle Gump]

This is something you shouldn't make assumptions about.

I recently had some drain issues with my truck. And I believe I have it narrowed down to my aftermarket remote start.

I think you should connect everything back up. Fully charge the battery and start by checking fpr draw on the battery. I think if you have keyless entry you should have approximately 50-60 mA draw. If it's over that... start pulling fuses. An EVTM is going to be extremely useful so you can see exactly what's being powered by individual fuses.

Your post is also a bit confusing to me. It died while driving... then won't start? This is really not a symptom that would lead me to start checking for draw on the battery.

So maybe you can recap briefly what the problem is or how this entire thing got started.

 

[Gavinbaine]

I just had a so start no spark issue. It ended up being my crank position sensor. Replaced it and fired right up.

 

[franklin2]

Thanks for the reply! And now that it's sat overnight uninterrupted, and assuming I'll still show no drain on the system with the radio fuse pulled, if I still have a voltage drop with that 50a fuse installed for starter relay, ignition switch (and considering the starter is still disconnected), would you assume that my problem is more likely with the ignition switch than with the wiring and buss bar (for lack of a better term) in the fuse panel/relay box?

Reading your post, I am worried how you are doing your drain testing? If you pull the negative battery cable off and put the voltmeter between these two connections, you will always get voltage. When doing this drain test with a meter, you need to set the meter up for amp reading mode, this usually requires moving the leads around. Or you can simply use a old fashion testlight in series with the disconnected neg battery cable. If the testlight glows bright, you have a drain.

 

[ericbphoto]

I agree. Connect everything back and get a good full charge on the battery and start this mess fresh. At one point, you mention battery voltage pulling down to less than 7 volts. That indicates either a major current draw on the battery or a bad battery. How old is the battery? If the original problem was the truck stopped while driving, and you hear relays clicking, you have either a bad battery, bad alternator or some really dirty/loose connections in the system, either on the + side or the ground side.

And that 50 amp fuse you pulled is probably the one that supplies power to the interior fuse panel. So, yes. It needs to be installed in order for instrument panel and OBD2 port to function.

 

[somepeoplecallmemaurice]

So trying to answer all points addressed... when I originally checked for a drain on battery I was indeed reading and checking for amps on test with negative cable disconnected. That was the drain I found with no key inserted or at least not in the on position. After those circuits had been identified (I had confirmed they were on the I/P panel because when its 50a fuse was pulled I had no draw on battery) and 2 fuses pulled, my battery reading was stable until I had key in and to on position. At this point I was comparing the voltage drop (volts only no check on amps) with battery fully connected and observed it go from 12.3 to around 6.7 until I pulled the 50a fuse for starter relay, ignition switch. I did try inserting the 50a for the I/P panel since I knew 100% it was good, but same result happened with voltage drop.

My whole reason for motivation in chasing down and correcting the draw on my battery is so it would remain stable and I could get a full scan done with the OBD2. Before this point, I had a crank but no start issue and had verified I had no spark, and was suspecting damaged wiring or something along those lines on the ckp circuit because I had only driven the truck (in short capacity each day) for a week since replacing the crank sensor. And I had only replaced the crank sensor after having replaced my water pump, t-stat, and timing cover gasket due to a leak in TC gasket, and having temporarily misplaced my ckp upon completion of all that. So that's the full story of how I ended up with a crank, no spark issue — and where it's led me since.

I will say since my initial post and the chance to stew on it a little longer, I feel it was premature to rush to the assumption that my current issue was most likely on the starter side of that 50a starter relay, ignition switch circuit, and after additional thought and despite how careless it seems to make any assumptions about the matter... it would seem safer to assume that I'm likelier to have an issue somewhere on the ignition switch side of things than I am to have an issue specifically with the "blades" that fuse connects to in the panel, or with the specific wire that feeds that spot. IF I were to make any assumptions though I do appreciate and can agree with y'all's recommendation that that wouldn't be a wise thing to do at this point. Again, thanks so much for the replies and suggestions so far and hopefully this complete info helps lead to more!

 

[somepeoplecallmemaurice]

Just thought it might be worth sharing that the only reason I'd originally replaced the crank sensor is because I'd somehow temporarily misplaced it after doing an extensive (extensive to me anyway) repair. It had been pulled in the course of replacing my water pump, t-stat, and timing cover gasket all due to a leak in my timing cover gasket. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving anything out in case at some point that info becomes relevant. That being said... thanks again for the help, carry on and have a happy Easter!

 

[franklin2]

Not sure about the 12v to 6.7v test. If you were reading across the battery cables or a cable feeding the fuse box, if you had a draw that pulled the battery down from 12v to 6.7 v, you would have something smoking somewhere. The only other scenario that would pull the battery voltage down that bad would be a bad battery or a bad corroded connection from your testing point to the battery or a ground cable problem.