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I have to give a quick shout out to my local O’Reiley’s Auto Parts. I have previously pointed out how inflated local auto parts stores prices are. I do realize that the overhead for these stores must be covered in their prices but there are limits. One of the big deals for these stores are the consumables. Fluids, Filters, Wipers, and Batteries. In each of these areas much has changed in the 40 years I have been a consumer of their products.

Oil comes in plastic bottles instead of cardboard cans and almost all of it is synthetic. Single weight oils are somehow an exotic memory. Filters are now all in metal spin on cans instead of just the paper element that they encompass, and they seem to be a lot smaller. Wipers are no longer sold as just the rubber blade. Now if you request the blade you get the whole armature with them for a significantly higher price. And Batteries, while they look almost unchanged, they all appear to be “maintenance free” As in you can’t check how much fluid is in them. They have somehow become less resilient. I remember not too long ago when you could buy a battery with a 7 year warranty. Now you would be hard pressed to get a 3 year warranty with anything but the most expensive battery.

Now we are finished with the “Back in My Day” speech. Let’s continue with reality.

Betty has had some electrical gremlins. Compared to today’s vehicles she has almost NO electronics at all. While she does have an ECU that controls the engine pretty damn well. When you get behind the firewall, there are very few electronic components and what is there is very basic. Here is the fusebox for the inside.

Here are the electrical components.

Lighting

  • Internal
    • cab lighting
      • door lights – currently LED bulbs, replacing with led modules
      • under dash lights – led bulbs
      • Dome light – LED
      • map lights – probably still regular bulbs
    • dashboard lighting – all replaced with led bulbs, they look awesome.
  • External
    • Headlights
      • High -LED bulb with fan
      • Low – LED bulb with fan
    • Headlight Switch – replaced with a new one
    • Headlight Relays – tested in place, seem fine
    • Turning / Hazard Relay – replaced with one that handles LED lights
    • Front Turn Lights – LEDs
    • Daytime Running Lights – LED and added headlight led rings
    • DRL Module – Need to look into this, it shows the green light on the dash but not sure if it is actually working
    • Brake Lights
      • Left – LED
      • Right – LED
      • High Mount – two leds
    • Rear Turn Lights – LEDs
    • Reversing Lights – LED
    • License plate lights – LEDs but tinted blue, need to be white

Climate Control

  • Control Panel – I have just bought a second replacement. The first one was to replace broken switches. The second one actually melted the fan speed switch connector. So this is very possibly the root of the issue. Something past the switch is using too much power.
  • Fan Motor Resistor – This device goes between the control panel fan speed switch and the fan motor. It is possible this device has gone bad and is using too much power. I have already got a new one.
  • Fan Motor – This is just a big dumb motor with a fan attached to it. The speed is adjusted by how much current flows to it which is governed by the Resistor. It is possible the motor is bad and is pulling too much power in all speeds. I have already ordered and received a new one for this project.
  • air duct door actuators – There are a couple of these one of them closes the door to the fresh air before the blower fan. The other changes the mix between hot and cold air, and the third directs the air between the windshield, the front vents and the floor vents. These are very small motors and any large current draw would destroy them and stop them from working.
  • A/C Clutch actuator – This is a very large electromagnetic coil that is responsible to draw the compressor clutch in to the compressor. If it was engaged the whole time the truck was off I could imagine this would have a significant current draw. I know this is not the case because it is not connected. I left this wire disconnected since the compressor is not connected to the system. It is only installed because I need the pulley to turn for the serpentine belt.

Entertainment

  • Stereo Head Unit – Pioneer and all the connections were soldered with heat shrink and none of the wired are kinked.
  • Speakers – While speakers are electronic devices, they take very little power. If they had extraneous power connected to them there would be an audible buzz or hum. I have not heard anything. If the power was strong enough it would heat the fragile coil wires and the speaker would stop working.
  • Amplifier /Sub – this could use significant amounts of power if it were to have issues. (I will need to check for the fuse in the main power and the switched power. It should only ever use power if the switched power is energized. The switched power comes from the head unit. The ground wire also needs to be checked for a clean and solid connection.

Security

  • Door lock switches – In the event that one of these got stuck on it could draw quite a few amps engaging the mag lock in the actuator – but I have not seen them stuck on and pulling the large fuse took out the lock system overnight when the battery went bad.
  • Door lock relays – would not use the power to drain a battery.
  • Door lock actuators – these could but were disconnectd
  • Security Alarm – This would not and is basically junk anyway.

Comfort

  • Power Windows – These take a lot of power and the passenger side is rather slow. I probably need to clean and lube the mechanism. These could easily drain power if they were trying to move, but they are not powered with the key in the off position.
  • Power Mirrors – they work, they are not that effective since they are rather small and I want to replace them with the larger ones that come on newer trucks.
  • Power Drivers Seat – it goes forwards and backwards and tilts up and down. Not jammed and not stuck at either end so not pulling any extra power
  • Rearview Mirror Compass – disappointed that it doesn’t have a thermometer. I got another mirror from the junk yard, I need to replace this one.
  • Garage Door Opener – I got this from e-bay and hooked it into the light circuit, it takes almost no power at all.

After checking just about every damn thing in the truck I had removed the 30Amp fuse for the “Blower” that actually also handles the power mirrors, the power seats, and the A/C system. I parked the truck after getting the battery recharged by O’Reilly’s on Saturday. I pulled out anything that might be draining the battery. So the truck kinda looks ransacked.

Sunday morning, the truck would not start. I charged the battery and headed back to the parts store. The assistant Manager recognized me, and came out to test the battery. It was Dead. I asked her if I could use my warranty towards purchasing an Optima yellow top. To my surprise she said yes. I ended up paying about 50% of the full price of the Optima and I am very pleased.

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