Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

I'm going on 5 batteries in 3 years... I have no idea what is going on with her. :(

My "bad" battery drain was being caused by my rear-defroster not shutting off with the ignition. My dealer claimed that it wasn't the cause even though I still had a dead battery after replacement (mine was a daily driver). Problem solved by always shutting off the rear defroster manually before shutting the car off (even though the dealer said I had a bad alternator).<Steps off soapbox>

Read this

And this

[SugarDaddy]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

I'm going on 5 batteries in 3 years... I have no idea what is going on with her. The Ford dealership keeps 1-2 batteries in stock for me because I'm the only ones that uses that style battery. I've taken her in to get checked on, but they can't find anything. It's scary because her warranty is expiring in December this year :(

You should have your dealer thoroughly check the alternator output. The diodes in the alternator could be going bad.

We had to have the alternator replaced in our T-Bird in 2010 when it would not provide enough power while driving on the highway to Death Valley, with the headlights and AC on. The first replacement alternator they installed was bad too, with bad diodes. They had never seen that happen. The second replacement alternator is working fine for now (keeping fingers crossed). All alternator replacement work was done under extended warranty, yippee!

[Brad]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

Read this

And this

Yup, handed the TSB to the dealer along with the car when I brought it in, they told me that wasn't the issue. Maybe they ultimately did the update after I brought it back since it continued with the new battery and didn't tell me since I may have wanted a refund on the battery. Not being confident I still shut the rear defrost off before shutting the car off.

[tbird6t4]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

I got 9 years out of the original battery, I charged it up a couple of times and it was flat within a few hours............ I put in a new one and saved myself the aggravation.

I just replaced the original battery in my wife's 2002 Lincoln LS at 84,000 miles. I didn't bother trying to recharge it, yanked it out immediately and motored on!

[Mark501]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

I got about nine years out of mine but it sits in the garage a lot. When it went it flatlined, would not charge at all.

501

[MATBird]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

Hang in there, MATBird. We'll be hoping to hear a good battery post from you next year at this time. How many miles do you have on yours?

Hi Dot:
17,000 miles so far, and all garage time is with a battery tender. I have used these for 30 years on antiques cars, lawn tractor, golf cart etc. and all with great results

[Blue Eagle]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

Thanks folks for a lot of good information. Unfortunately I can't see any answers to my problem. 2005 purchased Nov. 2005. Battery replaced on warranty April 2007. Battery replaced Dec. 2007 by dealer on warranty. Battery replaced Dec 2009 no warranty. Battery replaced Feb. 2011 no warranty. Drove 120 miles on Monday. Got a slow start on Tuesday. Wednesday battery dead. Charged it for an hour at 20 amps. Started good. Voltage at battery while idling is 13.8. No lights or window heater on. I think Ford sells poor batteries but that does not seem to be the concences on this forum.

Any other advice???

[5bird7]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

Have you had the alternator checked to make sure it's charging?

That's a lot of batteries to hae gone thru and then the dealer is not giving you a warranty on a new one?

[4LOWBIRDS+7]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

Thanks folks for a lot of good information. Unfortunately I can't see any answers to my problem. 2005 purchased Nov. 2005. Battery replaced on warranty April 2007. Battery replaced Dec. 2007 by dealer on warranty. Battery replaced Dec 2009 no warranty. Battery replaced Feb. 2011 no warranty. Drove 120 miles on Monday. Got a slow start on Tuesday. Wednesday battery dead. Charged it for an hour at 20 amps. Started good. Voltage at battery while idling is 13.8. No lights or window heater on. I think Ford sells poor batteries but that does not seem to be the concences on this forum.

Any other advice???

I HAVE FOUND THAT LEAVING THE ALARM SYSTEM ON WILL RUN MY BATTERIES DOWN.

[Wyo_Bird]

Re: Oh NO! another dead battery thread!

Still have the original battery in our 2004.
The only time it ran down was when the headlight switch was set to auto.