Put a new battery in the Ranger about 4 months ago after the old one lost a cell and wouldn't charge up any more. I haven't been driving it much because it needs a new clutch put in it but I move it around every month or 2 and its starts really good. Went to move it a week and a half ago and the battery was deader than a door nail. Pulled the battery out and put it on the battery minder charger for a couple days until it switched into the float mode. Did a load test on it and it checked out good. Put it back in the truck and it was dead in under 2 days. Charged it again, load tested again, and it checked out good again. This time when hooking it back up I payed more attention and notice it sparked more than usual. My brother has a amperage tester to clip around the wires to check for a draw. It was showing 3 to 4 amps and I think normal should be around 50 milliamps. The alternator is charging within spec and the diodes check ed out good. About the only thing left that I can think of is the voltage regulator is bad and never breaks the circuit when shut off. Decided to pull the alternator and look inside. The brushes are wore out and ate into the slip rings so rather than trying to just replace the VR I will now just buy a new alternator. Now to decide on where to get a new one.
