parasitic draw

Hello oldspark

Yes you have been thinking and what you say makes a great deal of sense. Furthermore you say it very well and to the point. I never thought of multiple feeds. And I'll have to look again for master fuses. You're right, that would help greatly. I have decided to let my alternator shop check out the alternator. THis is getting a bit to weird and if I am dealing with two simultaneous problems, so, well, lets just try to take one out of the equation. They run a good shop and might savor a good puzzle too. The 2002 f150 has an internal regulator so I am a bit limited to know what to say about whats going on in there. It just seems unlikely to have a 5 second timer for any immaginable reason.

What really has me wondering is that 5 seconds between initial  and second level readings.It just doesn't fit with my old understanding of a charging system. Being here it kinda has a bermuda triangle feel to it.

And lastly, yes 1 amp is an intolerable load and my battery is very upset about it. Thanks for the insights, this is not your first rodeo by a longshot is it.

I'll let you know what I learn. Happy Trails from one old spark to another.

Oklahoma

LOL & thanks. I no longer question improbabilities, merely eliminate all possibilities. (Yeah, we olde mechs are like scientists and researchers, but WE do not eliminate experimental error or deviations! ) Even if I didn't see how a regulator could cause this problem, I'd still eliminate it. And I've seen enough "improbable" problems to know that my "can do" philosophy of "nothing is impossible" also applies to faults. And then when you have faults that require a freak combination of faults... Decay times or changes can be due to thermal protection cutting in; capacitors or timers impacting circuits; motor speed or temp & flow sensors... I envisage how a regulator or starter motor could be the problem, but IMO there are more likely culprits - like the animal that removes one of its eggs from those exposed conductors once it gets hot... after 5 seconds...

BCM/GEM module? if there is one.