2003 ignition switch fuse unseated and wrong amperage

[jbird]

have two experiences, two days in a row culminating in a trunk fuse box review. I noticed
1- the fuse box isn't secured down
2- fuse #22 (ignition switch) was popped up, a 40A where the diagram says should be a 20A

I can secure the fuse box, the wires in appear secure.
What causes a fuse to pop up or be unseated?
I plan to go back to a 20A in this slot, I haven't found the right search to tell me if the current fuse it bad but I reseated and my car situation did not improve.
Background:
Experience 1: started car, a trac light, then ABS, then battery lights came on. I turned around (id been a block) and turned off car. Turned ignition back on and horn started honking, turned switch off. What preceded this was warming up car w trunk lid open and seat heaters on. I never do this bc I try to take it easy on the electronics.

Experience two: I put a borrowed odb2 scanner on it (works poorly) and about two minutes into the warm up, the engine died. Tried starting it again and it turned over then clicking. The rest of afternoon just clicking. And I can heart some clicks under hood after I turn key off.

Last four slots on right should be 20,30,30,40 and the fuses used are 40, 20,20,30. Am I somehow reading this diagram incorrectly? Did someone use the wrong fuses? I'm confused.
Since the fuse box is "loose" inside the trunk I wonder if it's a replacement from a different year model.

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[biddle]

I put a borrowed odb2 scanner on it (works poorly)

If you are going to work on your own car or at least know what is wrong prior to going to a mechanic, you need a good OBDII scanner that reads all the codes including ABS Codes. It can be used on other future cars, so not sure why anyone would not have one.

I use a BlueDriver.

https://amzn.to/4eVSnEb

 

[Brax]

Need more information, is this a recent purchase, or have you had awhile. Fuses don’t pop out unless not installed properly. Looks like someone put in wrong places and they look fine. It sounds like from your description the battery is dead or cables are loose or corroded.

 

[jbird]

Got it in May 2024. Aside from the other probs I have had (new tranny and A/C steering rack-dealer paid- and struts oh and degas tank) it's been good.
Are you saying the fuses are not bad?
The values not being correct seems a fire risk.
I reseated #22.
By this point battery could be dead and I need to check voltage but ran out of daylight and it was getting cold which is a limiting factor in the PNW.
I reseated the battery cables.
There is no corrosion whatsoever, it's the cleanest area I've ever seen.
Why the fuse box is untethered is curious.
If you have specific questions I can provide specific answers... thanks!

More details, the battery seems to be unable to be charged, it's a remanu the dealer stuck in to sell it and I suspect it cannot handle the temperatures on this side of the mountain.

 

[Brax]

Got it in May 2024. Aside from the other probs I have had (new tranny and A/C steering rack-dealer paid- and struts oh and degas tank) it's been good.
Are you saying the fuses are not bad?
The values not being correct seems a fire risk.
I reseated #22.
By this point battery could be dead and I need to check voltage but ran out of daylight and it was getting cold which is a limiting factor in the PNW.
I reseated the battery cables.
There is no corrosion whatsoever, it's the cleanest area I've ever seen.
Why the fuse box is untethered is curious.
If you have specific questions I can provide specific answers... thanks!

No you need to switch the 4 fuses in the wrong places to the correct placement so the proper amp rating is in the proper position for all 4 (I would also check every fuse position for the proper rating) the fuses don’t appear to be blown by the pictures was my take , If I was to hazard a guess I would say when work was done on the car the fuse

 

[jbird]

Through the rabbit hole...
Local O'reillys charged the battery, I reinstalled it and drove a mile, then got the trac, abs and battery lights, 1/2 mile back toward home I got dim lights and on arrival had no lights and an added light... the wrench... yikes.
My guess is alternator is bad. Is it worth it to buy a "high output" alternator?
I think I'm having the shop do it, I'm guessing 400 bucks total.
Also, never received an error code, but would expect one for the alternator so my guess is the borrowed Obd2 scanner and app aren't getting it.

 

[Brax]

Through the rabbit hole...
Local O'reillys charged the battery, I reinstalled it and drove a mile, then got the trac, abs and battery lights, 1/2 mile back toward home I got dim lights and on arrival had no lights and an added light... the wrench... yikes.
My guess is alternator is bad. Is it worth it to buy a "high output" alternator?
I think I'm having the shop do it, I'm guessing 400 bucks total.
Also, never received an error code, but would expect one for the alternator so my guess is the borrowed Obd2 scanner and app aren't getting it.

I use a elms327 viecar Bluetooth adapter and garage pro on my IPhone it’s a great combination. It’s easy to check the alternator with car of you should have about 12.6 volts at the battery(if it’s under 12 battery is bad) start car and check voltage it should be 13.8-14.2 volts if the voltage doesn’t rise from the off voltage the alternator is bad. The old school easy check is with the car running disconnect the negative battery cable and the car should keep running if it dies the alternator or regular is bad. You can use the scan tool and do all these checks with the scanner.

 

[jbird]

Last night voltage was 7, so oreillys charged it and it's not maintaining. Dim lights and all. I lose various functionality based on falling voltage. I expect battery to do nada this morning since it was below freezing overnight. The BAFX scanner I have works was the software isn't. Thanks for the feedback and input!

 

[Brax]

So

Last night voltage was 7, so oreillys charged it and it's not maintaining. Dim lights and all. I lose various functionality based on falling voltage. I expect battery to do nada this morning since it was below freezing overnight. The BAFX scanner I have works was the software isn't. Thanks for the feedback and input!

It looks like the battery is dead, before doing anything else I would put a new battery in it if it was me

 

[jbird]

Why would it not maintain the charge after it was pronounced "good" and charged? Seems indicative of a failure to keep it charged. Reckon I'll buy a better Computer

 

[Brax]

Why would it not maintain the charge after it was pronounced "good" and charged? Seems indicative of a failure to keep it charged. Reckon I'll buy a better Computer

Being it was 7 volts tells me it has weak or bad cells, I’m surprised they even charged it for you. I always check specific gravity before and after charge. Do what you want but me I’d be starting with a known good battery not one that showed 7V on a 12V battery. A battery is cheap compared to components and shop time costs

 

[doug7740]

Whatever you do DON’T disconnect the negative battery cable with the engine running. That was an old school trick that was performed on vehicles before they were equipped with control modules. The quickest way to destroy a control module is to disconnect the battery with the engine running.

Do you know how old the battery is? Remember, that any battery that goes through multiple charge/discharge cycles will begin to weaken and degrade with time. With this in mind, it's extremely important to remain aware of the average life span of your car battery and take all the necessary precautions to extend its life as much as possible.

A weak car battery can significantly affect its ability to charge properly, as a weakened battery requires more power from the alternator to reach a full charge, potentially causing the alternator to work harder and potentially not fully recharge the battery even while driving; this can lead to a cycle of low charge and inefficient recharging.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[jbird]

Thanks doug7740 and Brax for all of your valuable input. I'm positive about the outcome below:
Whilst running the car the day after the dim light situation I watched the V continue to drop, shout out to my mechanic who talked me thru some basic diagnostic steps.
I turned it off and evaluated a tow (95 bucks) against new battery 250 bucks. I bought a new motor craft 3 year at O'Reilly and the car is running fantastically. I had to mod the battery compartment to remove a bracket to accommodate the slightly bigger battery. Should I be concerned the battery doesn't have a vent?

I corrected all the stepped up fuses back to correct amperage.
I'm monitoring the situation but thus far no warning lights. I still may have the shop run diagnostics on it unless a scanner would be as good.

 

[doug7740]

Since the battery in located in the trunk, just inches from the spare tire, the battery must be vented externally. Though slight, the fumes from a battery that is not externally vented will deteriorate the tire over time. Since the air pressure in the spare tire is 50 pounds, you are literally driving with a bomb in the trunk.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[jbird]

Great point, thank you. Dunno why they sold me a non vented battery, ok something else to figure out. I saw the tubing for the vent, interesting to note the battery sold w car wasn't vented either.

and the warning lights just returned, ABS, TRAC, Battery then the wrench. I'm guessing I'm going to the mechanic tomorrow.

 

[jbird]

I'm a little confused. If the battery doesn't have a vent, does that mean it doesn't need to vent?
Should I only install a battery in the trunk that has a vent or venting no issue if the battery doesn't have a vent?

 

[Brax]

I'm a little confused. If the battery doesn't have a vent, does that mean it doesn't need to vent?
Should I only install a battery in the trunk that has a vent or venting no issue if the battery doesn't have a vent?

Not to be funny why didn’t you just buy the correct battery with the vent hose connection, they are available

 

[Duncan]

I just replaced a10 year old Motorcraft battery. I checked battery prices at all the major chains, then on a whim I called my local Ford dealer. To my surprise the Motorcraft was cheaper than any of the chains. And of course it has the vent.

 

[jbird]

That's great news Duncan. I picked up a motor rafted vented battery from dealership.

 

[jbird]

It's at shop, they reproduced issue w the traction control, abs and battery lights displaying and then it lost its lights and almost died on them during test drive (battery died... new battery).
Starter and alternator tested fine before the test drive.
No idea what's wrong with it. Ideas?