Just came back from dealer regarding battery, need 2nd opinions

[NeptuneRanger]

Hey Everyone,

So here is the scoop. I live in Arizona and as had been mentioned several times on several threads, the desert eats batteries. I am about to take my bi-monthly AZ to CA trip.

For the past few months my auto stop start has not worked based on my short daily commute. Honestly I don’t care about that. But it is a symptom.

What has been happening over the past several days is I get a message as I open the door that the systems are being shut down to save the battery, screen goes black. It has got to be the battery, just common sense.

Good news dealer got me in same day, I waited about an hour, they hooked it up to the machine and said the battery is good. My truck is a 2019, purchased in November 2019 and has 11,000 miles on it. The only reason I brought it in to the dealer is because the warranty is supposed to cover it. I always replace my own batteries so to bring it in for that was rare.

It is the shutting down of the system, black screen that common sense says all is not right.

What would you do in my shoes ? Just buy another battery out of pocket be done with it.

I don’t want get stuck next week. I realize the long drive will charge the battery but it will sit in CA for a few days.

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[24dRanger]

Sorry to hear of the troubles, you certainly shouldn’t need to deal with battery issues this early. That said, there were numerous posts on my other forums (Ram and Genesis) of people having newer vehicles with dead batteries. But dealer got them squared away.

if it was me and I was going to be cautious and spend my own money then I’d buy a portable jump starter. Good to have anyways and can be used with other vehicles. If you do experience the issue you can get yourself to another dealer. Best of luck.

 

[Trigganometry]

Worst that can happen is you need a jump start. So bring some cables with you. Happens again drive to the closest dealer and they can replace it as you will have a log of your service call on record already. Do you have anything using power of aux? Phone chargers or some other device? Unplug everything and see if that’s the culprit. I’ve heard of a crap 12V phone charger plug causing this fault

 

[Augie81]

This winter I often only drove a few miles maybe 3 times a week. When I didn't drive for a few days I got the same message when the weather was cold. It kind of freaked me out at first but never was a problem. Now that the weather has warmed up I have not seen it again despite not driving for days. IMO the truck is doing what it should with the battery management and shutting down peripherals just to make sure the battery has enough juice to start.

As others have stated, maybe get a jump pack if you are concerned.

 

[User79]

I started to get that same message about 1 month before my battery was dead. I agree with 24dRanger, get a jump starter if you don't want to pay for a battery yourself but need the peace of mind.

I used this one while I had to wait for a battery (everybody was backordered last December).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015TKUPIC/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_track_package_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[dtech]

if your commute is too short to bring the battery up to full charge - in other words it's in a chronic state of less than full charge - it's going to gradually shorten the effective life of your battery - and in AZ that exacerbates the situation. I'd also consider buying a trickle charger - they are inexpensive

 

[Leftcoast]

Hey Everyone,

So here is the scoop. I live in Arizona and as had been mentioned several times on several threads, the desert eats batteries. I am about to take my bi-monthly AZ to CA trip.

For the past few months my auto stop start has not worked based on my short daily commute. Honestly I don’t care about that. But it is a symptom.

What has been happening over the past several days is I get a message as I open the door that the systems are being shut down to save the battery, screen goes black. It has got to be the battery, just common sense.

Good news dealer got me in same day, I waited about an hour, they hooked it up to the machine and said the battery is good. My truck is a 2019, purchased in November 2019 and has 11,000 miles on it. The only reason I brought it in to the dealer is because the warranty is supposed to cover it. I always replace my own batteries so to bring it in for that was rare.

It is the shutting down of the system, black screen that common sense says all is not right.

What would you do in my shoes ? Just buy another battery out of pocket be done with it.

I don’t want get stuck next week. I realize the long drive will charge the battery but it will sit in CA for a few days.

This is a common problem on this board. I'm waiting for Ford to step up and make it right. I'm on my second battery also. I refuse to accept the idea of needing a battery tender for a 14 month old vehicle that's not parked for months at a time.. I know of countless other vehicles that don't require 40 mile commutes to keep their batteries charged.

 

[dtech]

This is a common problem on this board. I'm waiting for Ford to step up and make it right. I'm on my second battery also. I refuse to accept the idea of needing a battery tender for a 14 month old vehicle that's not parked for months at a time.. I know of countless other vehicles that don't require 40 mile commutes to keep their batteries charged.

yeah it would be interesting to see what the current draw is when parked - it certainly appears to be high, I've put a 1 amp charger after the ranger sits for several days and it takes 4 to 6 hrs to return it a fully charged state. Too much convenience type of stuff drawing current.

 

[NeptuneRanger]

if your commute is too short to bring the battery up to full charge - in other words it's in a chronic state of less than full charge - it's going to gradually shorten the effective life of your battery - and in AZ that exacerbates the situation. I'd also consider buying a trickle charger - they are inexpensive

I believe this to be true, and maybe the long drive will recharge it. In AZ, our batteries crap out all the time, I fully expect it, just hoping not to have to jump through a lot of hoops for another warranty battery. My time is worth more than several trips to the dealer. I know some of the more rural members probably make similar calculations for minor warranty issues.

 

[AzScorpion]

I bought a battery maintainer with my FordPass points. I have to have it connected just about every day or the battery will drain. I'm going in for my last free oil change in May and will have them look at it then. This will prevent you from being left with a dead battery unless of course there are dead cells which the dealer has already confirmed your is still good.

https://accessories.ford.com/ford-performance-5-0-smart-battery-charger-maintainer.html#2019/Ranger

 

[NeptuneRanger]

I bought a battery maintainer with my FordPass points. I have to have it connected just about every day or the battery will drain. I'm going in for my last free oil change in May and will have them look at it then. This will prevent you from being left with a dead battery unless of course there are dead cells which the dealer has already confirmed your is still good.

https://accessories.ford.com/ford-performance-5-0-smart-battery-charger-maintainer.html#2019/Ranger

Thanks for the link ! I have known you have been using it for awhile. So does it plug into a normal garage outlet ? Do you have to pop the hood each night to attach it ? I have several very wealthy clients that use these as their countless toys sit in the garage, just never thought I would need one for a Ford Ranger. It may have to come down to this, so thanks again.

 

[NeptuneRanger]

I started to get that same message about 1 month before my battery was dead. I agree with 24dRanger, get a jump starter if you don't want to pay for a battery yourself but need the peace of mind.

I used this one while I had to wait for a battery (everybody was backordered last December).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015TKUPIC/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_track_package_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the link !

 

[AzScorpion]

Thanks for the link ! I have known you have been using it for awhile. So does it plug into a normal garage outlet ? Do you have to pop the hood each night to attach it ? I have several very wealthy clients that use these as their countless toys sit in the garage, just never thought I would need one for a Ford Ranger. It may have to come down to this, so thanks again.

It does come with a pigtail so you can use it as a quick disconnect. It just plugs right into any 110 outlet and I just pop the hood when I get home and hook it up. It's to short to feed it though the grille but I'm sure you could add a leader line to it then zip tie it off.

Here's one on Amazon which is identical to the Ford one but a little cheaper. I'm pretty sure Ford buys them from CTEK and just brands their name on it.

https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-40-206-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9QM0Q8EWDKZGZWNG65AF

 

[jblc]

Here's one on Amazon which is identical to the Ford one but a little cheaper. I'm pretty sure Ford buys them from CTEK and just brands their name on it.

https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-40-206-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9QM0Q8EWDKZGZWNG65AF

Is a sophisticated one needed for AGM, or does any charger work eg this one?

Also, agreed that it's silly that a vehicle needs to be plugged in every few days. No other vehicle that i know of needs that (and none that i've owned have needed that). I'm searching for a way of turning more things off (eg through Forscan), or physically disconnecting things...

 

[AzScorpion]

Is a sophisticated one needed for AGM, or does any charger work eg this one?

Also, agreed that it's silly that a vehicle needs to be plugged in every few days. No other vehicle that i know of needs that (and none that i've owned have needed that). I'm searching for a way of turning more things off (eg through Forscan), or physically disconnecting things...

I think that'll be fine. This is my first vehicle with a AGM battery and I just used my FordPass points so it was free. I don't see anything in the Battery Tender 800 instructions that say you cant use it. The heat out here kills everything! My Tacoma battery only lasted 28 months but the Ranger has a lot more tech and computers.

https://www.batterytender.com/site/...ciency Manual (392-0254-RB) (4-27-2017)-1.pdf

h) Use charger for charging a LEAD-ACID battery only. It is not intended to supply power to a low voltage electrical system other than in a starter-motor application. Do not use battery charger for charging dry-cell batteries that are commonly used with home appliances. These batteries may burst and cause injury to persons and damage to property.

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