I have a 1998 Ford Taurus 3.0L DOHC w/80000 miles that has been having trouble with the battery going down intermitttently. If I charge the Battery, the car starts and runs fine. I have replaced the alternator and the battery but I still seem to be having the problem. In order to try and trouble shoot, I inserted an amp meter in line with the battery cable when the key is off and it is reading .4 amps. I traced this .4 amp drain to fuse number 1 in the engine compartment which feeds the fuse box under the dash. At that point I found that if I remove the GEM, PAT, PATS; fuse #23 under the dash that the drain drops off to .2 amps which is more like what I saw on my other 1999Taurus wagon. When I plug in fuse 23 I can hear it pull in the battery saver relay and maybe one other relay somewhere up in the dash. If I remove the battery saver relay the current drain drops to about .3 amps. I guess my question is what would cause the GEM to activate the Power Saver relay? Is this Normal? I think .4 amps seems a little to high. Where is the GEM located? Is the GEM something that a owner can replace or should I take it to a dealer or auto electric repair shop? Please advise. :?:
Apr 16, 2007 at 10:01 AM
