Why is my truck battery keeps dying?
I checked everything in my truck 92 ford f150, It didn't have this problem until 3 days ago, also three days ago i let my one of roommates have some change out of my truck, and i didn't know if the dome light came on overnight, but i bought a new battery for it (everything is new in the truck) monday night, now tuesday night it won't start, it will not crank over, never had this problem with it, it only has 173k on it too.
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it does sound like there's drainage or leak of power somewhere, you should get meter to check volts and amperage, could be a short in any wire from headlight to taillights to the starter or fuse in fusebox, a new battery should not drain cause of interior light, but even the old battery would take boost and left running, should recharge,
If old battery was 5 years old or so, that is one issue to cause poor battery power,
but new battery, then check starter connection wires, and solenoid connection, and ground to engine or frame, old frayed or green or white corroded wires could cause power not to get through, so that is not battery, but bad wires,
check rear signal lights on,
check fuel pump turns off,
check small wires from battery to relays and starter or positive post,
check alternator wiring post,
check starter wires for corrosion
http://readingrat.net/wiring-diagrams-1992-ford-f150/
https://sparkys-answers.com/2012/06/1992-ford-f150-no-charge-condition.html
https://www.f150forum.com/f93/fusebox-diagram-1992-f-150-a-332714/
Check the voltage of your battery before you do anything else. It should be 12.6 volts or very close to that. If it's down around 12.2 volts it may just be that it needs to be charged. If low, charge the battery. Let the battery sit over night and check the voltage again the next morning. It should be 12.6 volts. If not the battery may be old. You said you bought a new battery, so I'll assume it should be 12.6 volts at rest (engine not running, no electronics turned on).
Next, start the truck. Measure the voltage at the battery with the engine running. It should be close to 14.4 volts at first but should settle down around 13.8 volts after a little bit. If it does then the alternator is working properly.
Next, turn on ALL the electrics possible. Check the voltage. Under no circumstances should the battery voltage drop below 13.6 volts. If it DOES drop below, say below 13.2 volts (or lower) then something is not charging the battery properly. Since the alternator seemed to be doing its job I'm willing to bet you just have a loose or worn fan belt. People don't realize how important a good belt is. A loose belt can let the alternator slip, which in turn it won't be able to carry the whole load. The alternator will slip and the battery won't charge. Come the morning the truck won't start, and you're wondering why.
This time of year is often when I start seeing people having issues with batteries that won't charge. It's extremely often that it's just the fan belt stretching with the colder weather. An old belt will stretch and not recover. A new belt won't stretch as much and when it does it tends to recover better.
Most cars now have automatic belt tensioners. Those get old too. After many miles they start to lose their spring tension and can let the belt slip. Many cars have adjustments where you can manually tighten the belt. Be careful, an overly tightened belt can damage the bearings in the alternator and any other accessory that is on that belt. Too loose and it slips.
Proper maintenance includes new belts at regular intervals along with new hoses. Even vacuum hoses may need to be changed at least once in a vehicle's lifespan. All the little things.
OK, lets assume the belt, alternator and battery are good. You might have a parasitic draw somewhere on the system. Could be a light in a glove box, could be a vanity mirror hidden behind a sun visor, could be a trunk light (trucks don't have trunk lights). Somewhere in the system something is on when it shouldn't be. A 1992 Ford truck isn't going to have much in the way of sophisticated electronics. But I've seen things like electronic door locks that can cause a parasitic drain. My neighbor had a car that had to be started every day. Otherwise, in two days the car would not start. It was the door locks. We removed the fuse and the problem went away. There are some good YouTube video's on how to find a parasitic drain on your battery. Worth your searching time.
173 k is insane.
Cause your worthless
Charge the battery and see if it goes dead again.
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