Dead Battery! Need electrical advice...

[da_jokker]

Yeah if you're letting your Broncos sit for that long without starting it, you might want to look into a battery disconnect... Or at a minimum, put a disconnect on The wire that runs all your accessories.

Reports have also said that the Bronco won't start if the battery drops down to 11v (or was it 10v).... So you don't have to drain it dead to be a problem.... You just have to drain it decently.

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[IDyeti]

After you go through everything with a volt meter and you are still stumped get your dealership to troubleshot your upfitter switches. I had a bad power distribution block and my garage door was going up and down in the middle of the night (truck was off, garage door wired through upfitter).

 

[Merc4x4]

I've read this about the RSE slider steps and leaving the Bronco for a week or two.
If I get them I'd probably put a disconnect switch somewhere.

 

[poconochris]

They make trickle charges for cars that sit. My FIL used to winter in Miami and hook it up for all winter.

 

[jaeggernaut]

Thanks everyone. I have a good noco charger. I guess I never thought letting the bronco sit for 30 days would kill the battery (and it was DEAD).

If anyone does happen to check their bronco for how many amps it pulls when completely off, post it here so I can compare.

Just repeating it here: mine pulls 100mA

I’m going check the battery after letting it sit for at least 36 hours. And if it looks ok, I’ll chalk up the whole thing as ‘normal’. Ie. I left the bronco sitting for too long.

 

[swooshdave]

Thanks everyone. I have a good noco charger. I guess I never thought letting the bronco sit for 30 days would kill the battery (and it was DEAD).

If anyone does happen to check their bronco for how many amps it pulls when completely off, post it here so I can compare.

Just repeating it here: mine pulls 100mA

I’m going check the battery after letting it sit for at least 36 hours. And if it looks ok, I’ll chalk up the whole thing as ‘normal’. Ie. I left the bronco sitting for too long.

I’ll check as soon as I can.

 

[jaeggernaut]

made a video of my findings. thanks for the help, everyone!

 

[JohnnyBronco]

Sounds more like a faulty battery with an internal short to ground. You could have purchased a replacement from other than the dealer if it was not going to be warrantied anyway. Canadian Tire has group 48 starting at 166 CAD . Even the non Optimus maxes out at under $300 CAD and if they are like autonparrs stores here in the states then install would be free.

 

[jaeggernaut]

Called Canadian tire and they said the direct replacement was $305. That’s the only reason I bought it at the dealer. But I definitely should of dropped it in myself. Live and learn.

regardless, if it was a short, I guess I’ll put some enough.

 

[rtaylor]

Thanks everyone. I have a good noco charger. I guess I never thought letting the bronco sit for 30 days would kill the battery (and it was DEAD).

If anyone does happen to check their bronco for how many amps it pulls when completely off, post it here so I can compare.

Just repeating it here: mine pulls 100mA

I’m going check the battery after letting it sit for at least 36 hours. And if it looks ok, I’ll chalk up the whole thing as ‘normal’. Ie. I left the bronco sitting for too long.

Yeah, the older RSE steps have a big problem with battery drain. It will drain the battery in a week or so. I can't remember how many mA's I measured, but it was too high. They have fixed the problem, so contact RSE support to ask about a controller swap.

 

[BlueOvalBandit]

Yeah, the older RSE steps have a big problem with battery drain. It will drain the battery in a week or so. I can't remember how many mA's I measured, but it was too high. They have fixed the problem, so contact RSE support to ask about a controller swap.

Expanding on this, the LED light for the under dash switch also draws like a 150mA.

 

[rtaylor]

Expanding on this, the LED light for the under dash switch also draws like a 150mA.

RSE also eliminated the LED on their updated steps. However, I don't think it was the main problem since LEDs are typically only 10-30mA.

 

[jaeggernaut]

I’ve never noticed if my switch it illuminated. I’ll check. And thx for the heads up @rtaylor

 

[rtaylor]

I’ve never noticed if my switch it illuminated. I’ll check. And thx for the heads up @rtaylor

I installed the new controllers a few days ago. The original controllers were over 130mA. With the new controllers, it dropped to 33mA. Still high, but much better. The new controllers are black (original white). The controller behavior is also slightly different and doesn't seem to cycle the steps when reattaching power.

 

[buzzcutt2]

Yeah, the older RSE steps have a big problem with battery drain. It will drain the battery in a week or so. I can't remember how many mA's I measured, but it was too high. They have fixed the problem, so contact RSE support to ask about a controller swap.

I reached out to them...now apparently I just have to prove that it is the steps causing the drain. It is the only aftermarket (electrical) item I have installed.

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