Battery woes
#1
Battery woes
short version...
Had the battery replaced under warranty and about 1500 miles before it ran out. 6 months later the new Motocraft battery wouldn't charge all the way up and my charger was telling me that it had a dead cell.
Was told by the dealer that since the truck's warranty was out even if the battery was only 6 months old the battery was now attached to the truck's warranty and wasn't covered. So I go ahead and run the battery.
Fast forward a year.
The battery wouldn't last more than a couple days even sitting in the garage without dying.
Now the confusing part. It seems to have enough juice to run head lights, radio, computer, A/C, etc... but not enough to even turn the motor over.
I can jump start it and it'll start right up.
All installed electronics have been disconected with no change. So offroad lights, CB, Sub, etc... are not a factor.
Could this be anything other than a bad battery? Planning on picking up a Optima Yellow Top on Friday but hate to drop that kind of change only to get it installed and the truck still not start. Thoughts?
Had the battery replaced under warranty and about 1500 miles before it ran out. 6 months later the new Motocraft battery wouldn't charge all the way up and my charger was telling me that it had a dead cell.
Was told by the dealer that since the truck's warranty was out even if the battery was only 6 months old the battery was now attached to the truck's warranty and wasn't covered. So I go ahead and run the battery.
Fast forward a year.
The battery wouldn't last more than a couple days even sitting in the garage without dying.
Now the confusing part. It seems to have enough juice to run head lights, radio, computer, A/C, etc... but not enough to even turn the motor over.
I can jump start it and it'll start right up.
All installed electronics have been disconected with no change. So offroad lights, CB, Sub, etc... are not a factor.
Could this be anything other than a bad battery? Planning on picking up a Optima Yellow Top on Friday but hate to drop that kind of change only to get it installed and the truck still not start. Thoughts?
#2
What voltage is your alternator putting on the battery when it's charging? If your getting 13.9-14.1 volts at the battery terminals, I'd say your charging system's fine and the problem is just that bad cell in the battery.
Remember, starting puts a huge current draw on a battery. A weak cell is going to reduce the available current. Headlights take a lot of current too, but not anything like cranking.
- Jack
Remember, starting puts a huge current draw on a battery. A weak cell is going to reduce the available current. Headlights take a lot of current too, but not anything like cranking.
- Jack
#3
Found this. Sounds like a similar problem, figured it might help?
Question: 2001 Ford Mustang mileage: 69,000. My son's car failed to start after school on Friday even though it had run fine that morning. We jump-started it thinking he had left something on. We took battery to get charged and they suggested new battery so we bought one and put it in. The car immediately cranked, but after setting overnight without driving the car for more than a few minutes, it was dead again this morning. Nothing has been left on to run the battery down, and I thought it might be the alternator, but since we didn't run it, yesterday I didn't see how it could have pulled all of the juice out of the battery if it was alternator. I feel like something is running the battery down, but don't know where to begin to look. Any ideas?
Answer: Here is the procedure we use to isolate a battery drain. Remove negative battery cable from the battery. Using a 12-volt test light, hook one end to the negative battery post the other end to the negative battery cable you just disconnected. The test light will glow or “light” if there is a drain. If the “light or glow” is faint, that is probably normal draw for the clock or computer. If the “light or glow” is bright, then there is a large drain. That should be corrected. Now start removing and replacing the fuses one by one until the light goes out; that one will be the circuit with the drain. Remember to hold in the button in the door jam for the interior lights.
Question: 2001 Ford Mustang mileage: 69,000. My son's car failed to start after school on Friday even though it had run fine that morning. We jump-started it thinking he had left something on. We took battery to get charged and they suggested new battery so we bought one and put it in. The car immediately cranked, but after setting overnight without driving the car for more than a few minutes, it was dead again this morning. Nothing has been left on to run the battery down, and I thought it might be the alternator, but since we didn't run it, yesterday I didn't see how it could have pulled all of the juice out of the battery if it was alternator. I feel like something is running the battery down, but don't know where to begin to look. Any ideas?
Answer: Here is the procedure we use to isolate a battery drain. Remove negative battery cable from the battery. Using a 12-volt test light, hook one end to the negative battery post the other end to the negative battery cable you just disconnected. The test light will glow or “light” if there is a drain. If the “light or glow” is faint, that is probably normal draw for the clock or computer. If the “light or glow” is bright, then there is a large drain. That should be corrected. Now start removing and replacing the fuses one by one until the light goes out; that one will be the circuit with the drain. Remember to hold in the button in the door jam for the interior lights.
#4
Excelent find. I never thought about using my test light like that. I don't have one of those nicer meters so I don't know what kind of draw it taking. The truck has 53,000 miles on it and this is Motorcraft battery #4. Last time it went bad the Ford techs spent 2 hours on it trying to find a reason other than the battery and couldn't.
Hope I get a chance to try this out when I get home.
Hope I get a chance to try this out when I get home.
#5
Lots of people post problems but never post the solution so here ya go. lol
Pulled the battery completely out of the vehicle and put it on a trickle charger pushing only at 2.4. Battery still wouldn't take a charge more than it already had (which wasn't enough to turn the motor over).
Went down to ORielys yesterday and picked up an Optima Yellow Top with 870 cranking amps. Slid it in with no charging and hit the key. Started right up without missing a beat. Stuck it on my charger to fill it the rest of the way up. Compensating for discharge while on the shelf and when it charged all they way up it ruled out any problem that my charger could have been blamed for.
Can't wait to take it for a spin after work today. It hasn't been out of the garage in over a week. But think of the gas I saved.
Pulled the battery completely out of the vehicle and put it on a trickle charger pushing only at 2.4. Battery still wouldn't take a charge more than it already had (which wasn't enough to turn the motor over).
Went down to ORielys yesterday and picked up an Optima Yellow Top with 870 cranking amps. Slid it in with no charging and hit the key. Started right up without missing a beat. Stuck it on my charger to fill it the rest of the way up. Compensating for discharge while on the shelf and when it charged all they way up it ruled out any problem that my charger could have been blamed for.
Can't wait to take it for a spin after work today. It hasn't been out of the garage in over a week. But think of the gas I saved.
#6