My 99 Expedition is drawing the battery down over night. I charged the battery and it holds fine. I put an amp meter in line with the neg side and it shows a constant draw of .25A with the key out, nothing on and the lights out. Pulled the 15A fuse at location 14 in the owners manual for the Rear wipers, battery saver relay, interior lamp relay & acc. delay relay and the constant draw dropped to .16A. Replaced the fuse and the current went back up. Pulled 5A fuse in location 15 for the stop lamp switch, & the GEM module and the draw dropped to .03A. Replaced fuse and the current went back up. I am not sure what is normal draw but .25 seems high. Right before this started the interior lights came on for no apparent reason while going down the road. They went out after a couple of minutes. Relay issue? If so which one and where? Other thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

I would really suspect a fault in the GEM Circuit. When these Exp's units start having diverse electrical problems such as lights on/off,windows not working, windshield wipers on/off or intermittent, e.t.c; check on the GEM.
The GEM has connections into and out of the relay fuse box and could hold relays closed after key off condition.
For general preventative maintenance I had even taken to servicing my relays (cleaning & burnishing) contacts once or twice a year.
I have found moisture or corrosion in the multi-pin plug on the GEM can cause problems similar to your own. Mine was causing problems because of water leakage from under the windshield. My dealer and his tech let me know that similar vehicles had this problem, and that I should check out this module, and where it was located.

 

Thanks, I'll check it this weekend. The access to the GEM is via the dash and it is next to the radio, it that correct?

 

Yes it is located in the worst spot for service or access.
It may be best to remove the HVAC controls and radio to get a good grip. Watch out because there are several plastic tabs from the dash assembly that also center the GEM into the dash position.
:santa:

 

My windsield leaks at the A-piler would, should I clean the GEM also?