My '08 Adrenalin V8 kills batteries, no fix yet! UPDATE!

[Paul Maurer 3]

My 2008 Adrenalin with 4.6 V8(80K miles) kills the battery overnight, every night. Battery is a new last week Diehard AGM, which replaced one installed Nov. 2019. Advance Auto told me it wasn't the battery but gave me a new one anyway, it lasted one day. Mechanic has replaced the alternator(new in 2018), no change. Replaced battery terminals, nope. Disabled all door locks, nope. Disconnected aftermarket stereo, nope. Something is draining the battery, it is very frustrating, I luckily have a second car but need my truck! I have started my ST about 20 times with my little lithium power pack, amazing but tiresome. Anyone have any ideas I can suggest? I love my Yellow ST and do not want to replace it.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

I have no advice on the battery, but that is a beautiful truck! Never saw a yellow Gen2, much less an Adrenalin.

 

[Richard McAlister]

Electrical problems are very annoying (I speak from experience!). There are some good videos on you tube, search for "battery parasitic drain". The one below is a good starting place:

 

[Mickey Luis]

I have no advice on the battery, but that is a beautiful truck! Never saw a yellow Gen2, much less an Adrenalin.

Yes, I too love the color!

 

[EddieS'04]

another vid

 

[Bryan g]

My 2008 Adrenalin with 4.6 V8(80K miles)View attachment 1333 kills the battery overnight, every night. Battery is a new last week Diehard AGM, which replaced one installed Nov. 2019. Advance Auto told me it wasn't the battery but gave me a new one anyway, it lasted one day. Mechanic has replaced the alternator(new in 2018), no change. Replaced battery terminals, nope. Disabled all door locks, nope. Disconnected aftermarket stereo, nope. Something is draining the battery, it is very frustrating, I luckily have a second car but need my truck! I have started my ST about 20 times with my little lithium power pack, amazing but tiresome. Anyone have any ideas I can suggest? I love my Yellow ST and do not want to replace it.

 

[Bryan g]

Gotta be rare. Never seen the yellow. Or a repaint.

 

[Paul Maurer 3]

I had it repainted from red, I like yellow, now that was a project! Thanks for the tips on parasitic battery drain. After many days in the shop without success, I had a sneaky feeling it might be the ancient Pioneer AVIC Z1 head unit, which I have used in every Sport Trac of mine(4) since my first 2003 Zinc Yellow ST. It has developed a wonky start up screen and the nav is not working anyway . My mechanic tells me that is probably it, he is replacing a solenoid in the transmission this week and says the truck is now starting. He feels he may not have tested the stereo properly after all. I must say I remain skeptical.....

 

[Todd Z]

do this, at night REMOVE the fuse to the radio and leave it out and see. Simple.... you can do this until you find the issue...
ALSO in the morning before you start the truck FEEL the alternator with your hand, if its warmer or hotter then the rest of the motor you have a bad diode in the alternator. This is one of the easiest things to diagnose.... Check your glove box to see if the light stays on.

 

[EddieS'04]

Todd is right. If the idiot light stays on while running. Bad alternator diode

 

[Todd Z]

Batt light does not have to be on for bad diode either...

 

[Paul Maurer 3]

It's still in the shop! Apparently new stereo was a nightmare, the adapter for the AVIC Z1 had to be replaced to get the steering wheel controls back again. Still no luck on the battery drain, he is testing every fuse for parasitic drain, thinks it may be the factory subwoofer amp?

 

[Todd Z]

You can just unplug the amp and see if there is a drain...… This taking way too long to fix...…..

 

[Paul Maurer 3]

It's better but not fixed. Started yesterday morning, not this morning, little power pack to the rescue again. It's going to an auto electric specialty shop in Miami next week. Fortunately I have another car to drive. I'm no mechanic and have no time so off it goes.....

 

[Paul Maurer 3]

May be in the "For Sale" section soon lol.

 

[Todd Z]

Are you sure its not the starter or a bad battery cable?? Are you 100% sure its a drain ??

 

[Ed Fenwick]

I have done this in the past. When you remove a fuse, notice if there is a spark. That shows a battery drain. Do this for the other fuses to find one that is not supposed to have a drain or maybe a larger spark. Workes for me. I Forgot, key off!
Good luck, God bless Ed

 

[Todd Z]

That sucks...

 

[Paul Maurer 3]

It's fixed! It was the stereo head unit after all. After I got it back, I suspected the 4 month old AGM battery had been discharged and jumped so many times it might be done. Advance Auto Parts tested it and said it needed to be charged in house. They did that and it was ultimately deemed dead and replaced. So glad to have my truck back, tired of driving my other car lol.

 

[Todd Z]

Glad its fixed !! Now drive the dam thing..lol