I always find it odd when I see all these videos where the whole repair goes smoothly. That never happens to me. There's always that bolt or that connector or something... Nice to see that you include the real struggles of working on a car.

Hi Kenny, former GM dealer tech here. I know the car in the video is a Ford but when I was a tech at a Cadillac dealer, GM informed us that OnStar would wake up in a low power state every ten minutes to report location. On top of that, the HVAC system would attempt to update the outside temperature for up to three hours to be as accurate as possible upon re-entering the vehicle. Since then I always wait three hours to look at the meter before evaluating a parasitic draw. Keep up the good work!

I have been a mechanic for 38 years in the industry. What he is showing is a typical day in any mechanic's life. No nurses to hand you tools or wipe your forehead. It is just you and the next puzzle and/or headache to solve. Next.😅

You should put the make and model of the car you are working on because many people search for ways to fix their cars on KZfaq and since you work on a lot of cars you will get a lot more views that way.

Decades ago, McNamara (Secretary of Defense), implemented a program in the Air Force, where we filled out computer forms for military aircraft repairs. It included "how malfunctioned," how long to repair, etc. To my surprise, over time, equipment and systems were actually redesigned to not fail, and to take less time to repair. McNamara had been one of the "Whiz Kids" at Ford. Evidently, automakers don't worry about that kind of stuff any more.

Part of the charm of watching WWK is Kenny learning different filming techniques on the fly. Or forgetting to record something, etc. It's just so relatable and genuine. Thanks for your channel Kenny. Never change.

Kenny. I started watching Goodwrench videos at a Chevy dealer in the late 70’s. It sparked my interest as a young man in school. I later attended Wyoming Technical Institute & graduated an advanced mechanic coarse. I have worked on vehicles that would stump me for days. I cant tell you how many answers came to me in my sleep! I guess My body was sleeping but my brain was not. You remind me of those GM Gooswrench videos that I spent hours and hours creating my appetite to mechanic. You my friend, could be creating that same hunger in some young people to become,”True Craftsmen” in advanced mechanics! Thank you for teaching your skill, as well as your professional craftsmanship! 😊😊❤

Next time you have to replace an alternator like this, loosen the mount bolts several turns, then tap on the bolt heads with a small ball peen or punch. That drives those bushings back into the mounting ears and the alternator will lift right out.

100 miles in 6 months, sounds like this customer would do well to buy a small Battery Tender trickle charger that stays permanently connected to the battery, and just requires them to plug it into a 120v AC outlet whenever the car isn't in use (which is 99% of the time). Great video, Kenny. Thank you for sharing it with us!

I drove and worked on a lot of FWD cars but watching this reminds me how much I hate to work on anything that's on the front of the engine. The only thing I hate worse is paying to have it done, but I'm getting old enough that I think I've crossed that line where I'll just pay somebody now to get it done. 👍🙂

Absolutely loving the longer videos. Thank you Kenny

If you put some Dielectric grease on those electrical connections they come apart a lot easier

Back in the 90's a friend had a Cadillac with a parasitic Draw. Like oyou he isolated the circuit but could never locate the actual item causing the draw. His solution was to find the wire that the fuse fed from the fuse block. He installed a relay powered only by the ignition switch and had it rigged so power only went through the line when the switch was on. It was his personal vehicle so whatever functions were temporarily lost due to the fuse not having power were no problem.

Just a note, recent issues with a different vehicle it was adamant in the owners manual to Lock the doors with the keyless if not driving over extended time...otherwise systems stay active.

It's things like this alternator swap that requires so much extra work and solving puzzles to get a part out and back in that makes me not miss the job at all after retiring 2 years ago.

This case reminds me of when I decided to get a theft alarm for my 2007 Explorer. Although it was a dealer offer, it was installed by a third party. The result was that with the alarm, my battery died after 3 days of being parked. The car was still under warranty, and so after the original dealer couldn't find the fault, I was sent to a Ford dealer near my home. Long story short, the Ford dealer advised removing the alarm. And that's what I had done ... until recently I noticed something dangling from under my dash. An alarm module. For years and years the battery would only last a week "without the alarm" and I was resigned to that being due to all of the computers in the thing. After replacing my last sulfated battery, I added a trickle charger, and kept it plugged in year-round when in my driveway. Now after I snip out the alarm module, maybe I can have some peace.

Kenny you are a determined man. I enjoy watching your perspectives on repairs. I am not a professional , but have rebuilt a few engines and even a few automatic transmissions. You are definitely a born technician.

Module staying active because hood is open, keeping the module active, as there is a hood switch to tell immobiliser when the hood is opened, so the alarm will trigger.

Appreciate the way you talk through the problem as you troubleshoot. It builds strong reasoning skills in others, especially when things don’t turn out the way we expect.

Nice video. Learnt about amp checking. It's not just the volts to be concerned about.

BMW X-series takes at least 19 minutes to fully "fall asleep" . They are also notorious to drain the battery overnight. One of the possible culprits is the one of the door handles antennas for "keyless entry". Thank you for detailed diagnostic 👍

6:02 in addition to moving the motor forward, I put a jack with a block of wood under the front of the oil pan and raise the front of the motor up, gives you more room to work.

I once had a Honda towed s into my shop. It had died on customer they had originally towed it to their house. They replaced the battery. Ran for 15 min and died. They replaced alternator and charge battery. Ran 15 min and die6. I found no switched power feed to alternator. Someone in past had removed flex pipe and welded solid pipe. It caused rear O2 wires to break and short out blowing fuse which was shared between alt and O2 sensor. I always know a part is bad before changing it. Have had many brand new parts DOA

You are very patient, through and explain what you do and tools you use. Great job.

That sort of stuff is so frustrating. You are incredibly patient and methodical! Great work.

This is probably the BEST automotive electrical diagnosis / repair video I've ever watched! Thank you! Suggestion: Put a link to this video in the description to the alternator replacement video for this vehicle and you'll be astounded by the number of views this video receives. I had to really search (took about 10 minutes) to find this companion (and extremely helpful) video sequel to the battery drain / alternator replacement original video.

Good video. The last one I replaced was actually on top of the engine and took a total of 30 minutes. It was also 20 years ago.

I don’t know about you folks but I grew up working on rear wheel drive autos and transverse mounted engines have been an absolute bane on my existence. I miss my LT1 95 Buick Roadsters.

when I am uncliping an electrical connector, I spray it with WD-40, so the dirt in the clip, can slide out of the way...In Phoenix , AZ plastic breaks very easy!

You really had to work hard on this one for your money. Like you, I can't sleep till I solve issues. I think you did a great job. I've been an electronics tech for over 40 years and solved many, many issues others could not. But from time to time we all learn something new. Something we never expected and can't resolve. Some things just are the way they are with product design these days. It may not make sense to us but some Engineer that designed components saw no issue. (You and both know they were wrong, but they will never admit it). Well done. I respect your dedication.

I have a 2011 fiesta. I had a drain on my battery. A friend told me he had heard that the blue tooth was causing problems on some fords. I disconnected the blue tooth and its been fine since then.

Excellent work brother! I immediately thought "let it sit" and allow all systems to power down. It's all in the programming of these system computers and modules. Some are slower than others. Subscribed!

I never used a line disconnect tool. I was always able to get those locked together fittings to pop apart just by pressing on the correct release ring. Maybe I just go lucky, Regardless, the tool you used looks way easier than how I would need to struggle with some line locks. So, I found a nice kit to purchase, and just placeded an order foe one, Many thanks for sharing so much common sense information.

You'll see this more. Letting the car set, tripping door latches you'll need to open, and using the voltage drop method on the back of the fuses so as not to wake a module up when yanking fuses works best for me. If you use Alldata, there's a tech article with the voltage to amp draw calculations in it. Thanks for sharing!

My buddy has a 2005 Mercedes C240 that runs the battery down in 1-2 days from sitting, I'm going to test it the way you did to see if we can pinpoint the problem, thanks for the information and keep up the great work. Thanks Kenny

I’m amazed, “not” at the design of newer vehicles where you have to take half of the vehicle apart and risk breaking other parts in the process. 🥴

I am impressed by your dedication to filming with one hand and working on the car with your other. :-) Great job. Start to finish.

On the parasitic draw troubleshooting ... would have thought you'd have started with your trick to disconnect the battery terminals, placed the cables together to drain the capacitors and see if that "reset" they system ???

I predict the problem is still there. Probably the alternator was damaged by a classic reverse jumper connection during the jump start. After replacing the damaged alternator, I would have applied the KISS principle by pulling each fuse first, one by one, before all the mechanical disassembly that Kenny started out with. I do appreciate his non-sterilized showing of all the trepidations mechanics go through every day. Stuff like electrical and mechanical connections get gummed up in the under-hood environment. Someone below mentioned this also.

With an unexpected current draw, try using a thermal camera to find the module; voltage drop across fuses can lead to the circuit also..

Just bought me a set of the fuel line disconnect tools. I only realized that the connector existed. I knew I would want one some day. Yesterday it made the difference with struggling to remove the driverside valve cover. I was able to disconnect the fuel line from the fuel rail and move it. Otherwise it would have made that job a whole lot harder. Gotta love the tools that are out there.

I have 2018 Jeep JK with numerous ghost electrical draws. Im in the process of stripping it apart and rewiring it like a '65 Chevy. Wish i had the patience to video it. LoL

Sir! you have earned my subscription…I said, “this guy thinks outside the box”…and then you said, “sometimes you gotta think outside the box”.

Hi. Thanks for video. Very informative. I’ve had similar problems here in Scotland, UK. Problems with VW GOLF MK5, JETTA MK6 and Tiguan MK1. what happened was modules would not go to sleep even though all doors locked with remote key, how ever bonnet open. Had to press bonnet catch down in order to fool car it was closed. Hey presto, modules went to sleep and got same readings roughy you got.

I will keep driving rear wheel drive cars for this reason,I replaced the alternator in my 90 Town car in less then a half hour.

Great educational video Kenny-Thanks.

i am amazed at your patience .....i would have burnt the car and told the customer here's your car.....how can someone with such big hands even work on cars.....good job guy

The struggle is real, it would have been good to have shown how that control connector on the alternator was finally released & removed…keeps folks from breaking it off.

Draw could have been coming from hood ajar or door ajar switches keeping the gem/bm active. Once they time out, the draw leaves. Its like when you leave a map light, dome light, door half open, key off & door not open with radio on, things stay on until it reaches a certain voltage to turn it off for low battery voltage.

Love your work and thank you. My days of working on vehicles ended 30 some years ago when things were darn simpler. Thank again for what to do.

Your patience is amazing! Thanks Kenny

I own a 2008 C6 vette and it has went through batteries on average of every 14 months. I started buying Optima batteries and also keeping the car on a battery “maintainer”. Your video motivates me to find whatever is draining the battery while sitting still. Unfortunately we bought it in 12/2010 and have only driven it just under 5K miles over the last 14 years. It is my wife’s car and she don’t drive much. I am not a fan of corvettes so I don’t enjoy it. Your video makes we want to put a meter on it and start pulling fuses!

you are doing a good job with the photos and demonstrations of the little things mechanics have to do under the hood and you are sharing some valued wrench turning/diagnostics procedures, thank you!

I appreciate your investigation of this issue further in this video. I was really hoping you were going to check the security module specifically. That is where I truly believe the issue is in my car's problem. Thanks for the video!

I watch you struggle trying to do something simple on this car and as I am an old man of 77 I flash back to all the cars I worked on in the early 60's and 70's and how easy they were to fix with everything right up in your face and all kinds of room to turn wrenches and such. Also cheap to fix with all parts needed at your local Auto Parts Store and there were many to chose from. Sears had all the tools needed and also inexpensive to own. We have lost all the simplicity in the name of Progress and we have really shot ourselves in the foot and will suffer from here on out with what we have created and I now realize that The Uni-Bomber was Right all along~!!!!

You have activated the mechanic detection module

I love how this man thinks.

I have a similar problems in 33 old Ram truck, 16yr old Camry and 12 year old Corolla. Decided to disconnect/reconnect the battery terminal as needed; I don't over-tighten the terminal bolt. It is a pain, but I avoid having to replace the alternator (or other components) and spend hours debugging the fault. Used cars....have issues; just like people as we age; just life; roll with it. Simple problem, simple work around; beat paying for new vehicles.

I'd have a can of "Corrosion X" on the shelf. It was developed by the aerospace industry needs (Boeing). Marine techs love it as well. Boats brought up from salt water, spraying the back of the electrical panel, and controls have been saved. It battles rust/corrosion, safe on electronics, works as a lubricant, penetrant, and anti-seize. I'm betting road salts seized up that alternator connection. I'd also shoot a dab of it on those bushings that move to assist in mounting the alternator, to keep 'em moving freely as needed.

Just a coupla tips... First, get a clamp-meter that does DC. I got a UNI-T that works great, got it for cheap, like 40bux or so. No need to disconnect wires, especially to the battery (clears OBD flags, etc.). Second, you can measure current via the exposed points at the top of the fuses. Set whatever meter to its lowest mV setting. Won't be accurate, but you could definitely tell 100mA vs nothing. *Then* if you got a current reading, you can pull the fuse and use jumper it with the meter to see how much current.

Regarding video 1 and 2: of all the traumatic films I've seen in my life (apocalypse now Etc.) this one probably affected me just as much, not kidding it stressed me out. I'm almost 60 and became a mechanic working in a shop at age 11 (you could do that back then) ; we used to think the engineers were just stupid, then one day we finally realized the dark truth: auto manufacturers don't want things easily repaired. They want the cost of repair to be so high or sometimes just impossible as an incentive to buy a new car. Is this criminal? To the best of my knowledge no, but I would say detrimental reliance comes into play: they don't tell you up front that if you do have a common problem such as an alternator that it's going to cost you $1,000 to have it installed or with other common problems such as a head gasket going out after five years that it's simply not worth the price of repairing! This concludes my morning rat. I now return you to your regular scheduled headaches. Kenny: You do great work and also make nice repair videos: great camera work, editing and explanations.

I could not do what you do. Much respect. It’s sad mechanic’s have to half way disassemble vehicles to change a part

3:57 It never ceases to amaze me how many tons of force seem to be required to disconnect some electrical connectors. Too bad you can't just "pop" them off, as you say.😂😂. It's the getting so that nearly everything's that way. For example, try opening ketchup packets in restaurants. Oh, how I miss the old ketchup squirt bottles!

As a car “aficionado” and engineer, I appreciate optimizing some facets of vehicle assembly and function. This situation proves piecewise consideration of assembly has been ignored, shoving the true cost of “making the vehicle” onto any latter owners.

Thanks for the lesson kenny

A C-Clamp works wonders on that mount bushing.

Soak with penetrating oil these kinds of things. Hose it down good, walk away for a while, smack it a few times with a hammer and stuff will let go easier. Thanks for sharing the tips and tricks of the trade!

Kenny I really enjoy your content and watch intently. Sometimes you have to work through car problems. You seem to do an excellent job. I’m wish your were my car guy. At least you do your best to solve the issues.

The long timeout could be caused by a noisy data line. The braided ground straps do this. With the corrosion I saw I would check that out.

Watching your videos, i realized i could never do that, I curse far too much while working on cars to record. LoL Thanks 👍

Great videos thank you for walking us through your thought process and showing all the variables of the repair. I would like to add my two cents here with a suggestion # 1 being the car is hardly used to connect a high quality trickle charger # 2 if the key fob has a door locking option , to double click it when storing the vehicle it sometimes puts the modules to sleep faster. I do both of these on my (Ford years Jaguar) which is notorious for battery draw when not driven often and have never had an issue

I've had the same issue with connectors that are hard to release. Sometimes I can take brake cleaner and blast the dirt out of the connector that is reducing the clearance of the release tab. I hate it when the alternators are buried deep like that.

Good video, glad you are a patient man because that would make me pull my hair out. Thanks

penetrating oil on everything, even fuel connectors. nice video.

any accessory that mounts to the motor has bushings these days, i unscrew the bolts about 1/2" and stick a screw driver or a short handled pry bar between the bolt and the ears and lightly smosh the ears back against the engine mount to push the bushings back in, or a long needle locking pliers and a squish it in. sometimes the bushings are so corroded in their ear mounts you have to use a metal corrosive cleaner or super hot used motor oil to get them to loosen up. once you get the part out and before you put it back in i take one of those plastic blue irwin shop clamps and squeeze them back flush into their home, or i use a hammer to smack 'em back in or a c clamp...what ever you have that works on hand. makes reinstallation super easy

I had an old Lincoln Town Car, it was one of those big boats. I don't remember the year but it was a very early model. Had a problem with Sunday's you'd go out and it wouldn't crank battery be dead, and other times would be fine for many weeks. Sometimes it could be dead the very next day. I've been into electrical radio repair in the military it is a hobby when I get out of the military. So I have a bit of good troubleshooting skills but I wasn't really an auto mechanic. I kept trying to figure it out and I noticed one day there was a clicking sound coming down near the floor on the right side in the passenger section of the car. Apparently some really was being energized over there sporadically. I actually only had to go as far as taking out the glove box oh, it was pretty easy to unscrew the hinges and pull the whole thing and out. And I got lucky and found that a wiring harness that was running back behind it actually was laid up and a Channel of sheet metal. At the end of this channel where the wires turn down and took a 90 was a sharp edge to the sheet metal and over the years vibrations had caused it to eat a tiny hole through the installation of one wire in the wiring harness. I simply just had to wrap that section with tape and put a little enslaving piece of cardboard under it and problem solved. I was very lucky, this could have been a real nightmare if I had to search every wire in the car.

Great educational video Kenny

I have not finished the video yet, however open doors and hood/trunk will keep the body control module awake. Close the doors, hood and trunk and allow the BCM to go to sleep.

This shows amazing patience and care. Diagnostic skills like this take years of experience but I can't help thinking if the Ford Focus was taken to a main agent - although the labour charges are sky high these days - their diagnostic equipment could probably tell in ten minutes where the battery drain is coming from. Today's cars don't seem designed to help the DIY or home mechanic in any way - it's almost like a conspiracy to discourage amateur tampering and make more money for the main dealers. I think that sucks. I now can't do anything more than check the oil and windscreen washer top up and perhaps tyre pressures (sorry Tire pressures in USA!)

Would it help to remove the positive battery cable from the battery post and short it to the negative cable for a minute to bleed off any juice in the modules/ecu?

WOW I have been down the exact same steps, my hair is very thin now, with no way to recover the lost time. Thanks

Experience has taught me about those slider bolt receivers. Now I loosen the bolt a few threads and give it a shove with a prybar, a whack with a hammer maybe. I even do it to the "new" alternator before installing.

I've got an 2006 Chevy Silverado that has a parasitic draw I've been trying to figure out forever. I have replaced the alternator due to charging failure since I last chased the PD. The battery dies after 3 weeks. You gave me some ideas though.

My son's GF just had to have the alternator replaced in her '09 Kia Sorrento . It's on the pass side under . Have to pull out the fender liner , remove tie rod end , connectors short hard to get to . The shop charged 1100 dollars for the alt and belt , ho about that !

good job even a great manhinic like your slef just goes to show when working with cars you never now whats going to pop up

Kenny forgot to remove the oxidation on the bracket for the alternator which is very important for maintaining a proper ground over time..

Kenny those big hands have you at a disadvantage but you still get the job done.

Wiring problems like that drive a lot of us crazy

I hate it when engineers don't design engines for repair. My son had a 2003 Olds Aurora and to replace the alternator, you had to remove the radiator and part of the front end just to remove it! Was so glad to sell that car!

Geez, seeing that instrument cluster out gives me anxiety! That was a lot of work for nothing. On the other hand, if this is costing the customer, he must have gotten an unreal bill. Also, brother, you are and awesome mechanic! You are doing the kind of work I love right now (electrical troubleshooting), but this is one of the most difficult problems to work out a conclusion to. Like you inferred, sometimes it happens (and you wind up on the losing end of the stick).

Kenny , can't believe the new alt. was actually charging ... Murphy's law and all...

my first suspicion would be a problem developed when the aftermarket radio was installed, could be the radio itself activating for extended period that causes the vehicle module to not be able to sleep. Aftermarket anything often presents complications.

Take the key off ignition. Check that the glovebox light does not stay lit when lid is closed. Test if the "battery save relay" is stuck on too long with dome light. Drained battery propably over stressed and eventually killed the alternator.

I have found with stuck electrical connectors, spray some degreaser on it, its usually the rubber seal causing a vacuum like suction on it.

I have found that on older vehicles that the idler pulley bearing can go bad and drag down the belt resulting in a low charge. This bearing gets pretty hot, enough to leave your finger skin on the bearing.

Nice video thank you.

Great information...

HAD A FORD EXPEDITION THAT DID THE SAME THING, 2 AMPS FOR 30 SECONDS, .5 AMPS FOR 1 HOUR, 30 MILS CONTINUOUS.

Problems? No big surprise here. It's a FORD!!! Btw, great job!

The crazy stuff that technology brings to our field. I had an 06 Exploder with a 4.6 that the alternator died. Replaced it with a reman but kept showing a bad alternator. BCM, ECM, and TCM all showed charging voltage. Swapped it it with another reman, same thing. Digging through the internet, I found a post that the BCM also detects the ground signal from the alternator through the grounding off the engine. Replaced it again with a reman but managed to find one with an OEM Motorcraft housing. All the codes went away.