Battery draining all of a sudden

Asked by Violet4u Jan 30, 2019 at 08:53 AM about the 2006 Ford F-150 Lariat SuperCrew 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2006 ford F-150 and I really don't use it it
has like 87 thousand miles. It's my extra car and
it's always sits parked. I move it daily from
different parking is. But for about 1 wk. The battery
has been drained and it almost doesn't want to
start. I have to keep the ignition on n turned until it
grabs and starts. But today it doesn't start at all
and had to do jumper cables. What can be causing
this issue? Is it the battery? Alternator?. Not sure
how to fix the problem without spending big $. Any
triage available for vehicles?

1 Answer
21,865

Gary answered 5 years ago

How old is the battery? A 4 or 5 year old battery probably needs to be replaced. A voltage meter is the best way to check the battery and the alternator. Battery should have about 12 to 12.4 volts sitting. Start the engine and the voltage should rise to about 13.5-14 volts which would indicate the alternator is charging. Without a volt meter, check the headlights. Note how bright they are with the engine off. Then start the engine, the lights should be noticeably brighter.

Mark helpful

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