Might be a defective voltage regulator (not opening on engine shutdown)
Assuming you have a digital odometer, the dimming is most likely caused by one or more cracked solder joints on the circuit board that provides the power and information to the odometer display module. This is a very common problem on 2002 Explorers and a great many Ford F-Series pickups and SUVs (model years 1999 - 2003). The problem will continue to worsen with time as the cracks continue to deteriorate, progressing from a dim odometer display to an intermittent display. Many times the display numerals will disappear altogether and (hopefully) return sometime later. Eventually the display will vanish and remain dark until the problem is repaired. Although your Ford dealer's standard remedy for this problem is to replace the entire instrument cluster (at a cost of around $600), you can actually easily repair the problem yourself for free. A Google search for "Ford Intermittent Odometer" will provide several excellent sources of information about the problem. You can also obtain a repair manual written specifically for this problem at http://www.odometer-repair.com .
Ruin the battery.
It is the relay that energizes the clutch on the air conditioning compressor. Yes it does fail and remain closed after ignition is turned off, causing the battery to drain.
The life of the battery. You never have to change it.
Maybe you'd like to explain what you mean. I can't believe you actually want your headlights to remain on all the time - you'd flatten the battery.
in any vehicle the odometer itself will always remain constant. What you need to aquire is either one of two things. There are after market dials that you retro fit to the dial so that the odometer is also now pointing to miles per hour. The other way is to know what the kilometers per hour are in mph. For example, 50 kph is roughly 30 mph, 96 kph is 60mph.
No, Terminal voltage of a battery can't be zero. For example, if my mobile's battery is at low charge. It is showing only one point of charge on screen, but there will be no fluctuation on its screen, all the other features like audio, video, display will remain same unless it will become fully out of charge. Charge could be zero but the voltage can't be zero. Well, actually the terminal voltage of a battery can be zero, but only when the battery is totally dead and unable to take a charge (if it was a rechargeable type battery). At this point it must be disposed of. One exception is wet cell batteries (like lead acid), if the liquid electrolyte is removed the terminal voltage goes to zero but the battery is still good and can be restored to normal operation by refilling it with electrolyte. In fact wet cell batteries are often sold fully charged but with no electrolyte and their terminal voltage is thus zero on the store shelf until the salesman fills them with electrolyte.
It is usually caused by a bad alternator.
All lead acid batteries are always charged with the caps on. What this prevents is the acid accidentally boiling up an out of the cell and doing damage to surrounding equipment. When a car battery in a vehicle is charging when the engine is turning over, the caps remain on. This procedure should be no difference when the battery is on a plug in battery charger, the caps remain on. There are vent holes in the caps which allow any built up pressures to release.
The episode of the Spies. See Numbers ch.13-14.
Yes, kidney stones can remain in your kidney for many years. Until the body tells the stone to move or get out of the kidney, it can remain in place for many, many years causing no problems at all.
sounds like a bad light switch.