Dead Battery...Twice!

[MountainGoat]

Best of luck! It’s no fun having to fix a new truck.

Thanks, the warranty is nice but hours sitting in the waiting room sucks! They have a loner car but apparently it's never available.

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[gbritt89]

I could be wrong, but if your appointment is more than an in and out type of deal, I believe it's on them to put you in a rental. @P. A. Schilke would know the specifics on that

 

[MountainGoat]

I could be wrong, but if your appointment is more than an in and out type of deal, I believe it's on them to put you in a rental. @P. A. Schilke would know the specifics on that

I was in the waiting room with a lady that had been there all day. She said they told her they have no loaners available.

But I didn't ask a service rep myself.

 

[gbritt89]

I was in the waiting room with a lady that had been there all day. She said they told her they have no loaners available.

But I didn't ask a service rep myself.

Loaner vehicle is totally different from them picking up the phone and arranging to put you in a rental car! Some dealerships are crafty and masters at the games they play. Just have to know what is BS and what's not. If they need your truck overnight at the next appointment they need to put you in something on their dime.

If it is below freezing outside where you are, I personally wouldn't recommend attempting to charge the battery. They can explode if frozen solid. It would be best to pull it, let it thaw in someplace warm and then charge it in a warm garage.

 

[Leftcoast]

Ford replaced my battery a few weeks ago. First they said it was OK. I asked them to explain why it wasn't charging enough to satisfy the auto start/stop. They didn't have an answer and decided to replace the battery. I immediately drove it on the highway for 50 miles to top off the charge. The auto start/stop still wasn't working so I immediately took it back that same day. They checked it out and said it was some evap error code that never reset. The auto start/stop now works. From now on I'm going to use it as my battery canary in a coal mine.

 

[MountainGoat]

I wonder if there is a "tailgate down" light or something. I left the tailgate down all weekend so maybe that could have done it...

 

[MountainGoat]

The auto start/stop still wasn't working so I immediately took it back that same day.

Well kudos to that dealer for taking it in on the spot. Mine gives me the "we can get you in next week" line.

 

[Langwilliams]

The battery in my fusion failed after about 3 years. I hit the remote start...looked out an it wasn't running. I did it again an still wasn't running. I went out an hit the unlock button an the doors wouldn't unlock. As I walked up to it I could hear the sound of relays trying to actuate. The remote start was drawing all the power an the door locks wouldn't work. The fusion had the hidden emergency key thing on the drivers door I had to get something to pry it off, get a 10 m wrench an remove the neg cable to stop the car from trying to start. I just hooked up the jump box an it started an off to autozone I went.

The ranger has so much more electronic stuff than my base fusion had I'm wondering if I should just plan on a new battery every 3 years an save myself the headache

 

[MountainGoat]

The battery in my fusion failed after about 3 years. I hit the remote start...looked out an it wasn't running. I did it again an still wasn't running. I went out an hit the unlock button an the doors wouldn't unlock. As I walked up to it I could hear the sound of relays trying to actuate. The remote start was drawing all the power an the door locks wouldn't work. The fusion had the hidden emergency key thing on the drivers door I had to get something to pry it off, get a 10 m wrench an remove the neg cable to stop the car from trying to start. I just hooked up the jump box an it started an off to autozone I went.

The ranger has so much more electronic stuff than my base fusion had I'm wondering if I should just plan on a new battery every 3 years an save myself the headache

I may pick something like this up, depending on what the dealer says:

solar battery tender

 

[gbritt89]

@MountainGoat you either have horrible luck with batteries or they just didn't calibrate the BMS. If you have any electrical accessories that could be to blame, remove them from the picture for a little.

If your battery isnt frozen rock solid and you can get the truck started I would drive it straight to the dealership and ask them to perform the following on the spot.

Ask them to perform a battery diagnostic test. If it fails, they owe you another battery. If they replace it or tell you it's good to go make sure the BMS is reset. If they don't know how here is the instructions from ford...

"If the vehicle battery is replaced, it is very important to perform the battery monitoring system reset using the
diagnostic scan tool. If the battery monitoring system reset is not carried out, it holds the old battery
parameters and time in service counter in memory. Additionally it tells the system the battery is in an aged
state and may limit the Electrical Energy Management system functions."

 

[MountainGoat]

@MountainGoat you either have horrible luck with batteries or they just didn't calibrate the BMS. If you have any electrical accessories that could be to blame, remove them from the picture for a little.

If your battery isnt frozen rock solid and you can get the truck started I would drive it straight to the dealership and ask them to perform the following on the spot.

Ask them to perform a battery diagnostic test. If it fails, they owe you another battery. If they replace it or tell you it's good to go make sure the BMS is reset. If they don't know how here is the instructions from ford...

"If the vehicle battery is replaced, it is very important to perform the battery monitoring system reset using the
diagnostic scan tool. If the battery monitoring system reset is not carried out, it holds the old battery
parameters and time in service counter in memory. Additionally it tells the system the battery is in an aged
state and may limit the Electrical Energy Management system functions."

I would have gone today but roads aren't clear. I'm in the sticks past where the pavement ends.

 

[gbritt89]

I would have gone today but roads aren't clear. I'm in the sticks past where the pavement ends.

Sounds like a dream! I live 2 miles South Fort Worth TX. I have heard some of the collisions on the nearest highway from my bedroom lately.

 

[MountainGoat]

Sounds like a dream! I live 2 miles South Fort Worth TX. I have heard some of the collisions on the nearest highway from my bedroom lately.

Yeah it's nice wouldnt trade it for anything. Plenty of space and peace. But getting out is no joke especially with ice then snow then more ice lol. Temps are climbing so I can wait.

 

[JKocot]

I used to have battery tenders. They have a solar one now that charges though the cig lighter and sticks to the windshield, pretty cool.

But doesn't the 12volt power outlets turn off after a while? How would this charge the battery if the outlet power is cut after awhile?

 

[mustang marty]

Ford replaced my battery a few weeks ago. First they said it was OK. I asked them to explain why it wasn't charging enough to satisfy the auto start/stop. They didn't have an answer and decided to replace the battery. I immediately drove it on the highway for 50 miles to top off the charge. The auto start/stop still wasn't working so I immediately took it back that same day. They checked it out and said it was some evap error code that never reset. The auto start/stop now works. From now on I'm going to use it as my battery canary in a coal mine.

My auto stop start has not worked for 3 weeks now , too many reasons >? Is it just a cold weather thing ?

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