Battery keeps dying after only a few days, please help!

[alazar14]

Hi all,

I've started to have this problem since right around the pandemic's beginning. In 2020 I left the truck sitting for about 2 weeks without turning it on, and when I went to start the truck, it didn't start. I called the Ford roadside number and gave it the truck a jump, they told me to drive it for a bit to get it going again, so I did. I drove it for about 100 miles (highway) and parked at my family members home for 7 days, again, battery dead. So, I had it jumped again, drove it again for 100 miles, took it to the dealership to check the battery, they came back telling me everything was good. Perplexingly, around this time the "start stop" stopped working, or just defaulted to off and hasn't engaged at all since 2020. As long as I turn on the truck every 2-3 days and drive for 10-15 min it works fine, but if I wait 4 days or more, I get the warning on the dash "turning off to conserve power" and that is basically telling me to drive the sucker or else it won't turn on the next day.

I understand new vehicles drain battery a lot more than old ones, but this seems a bit ridiculous to me. I have a 2002 Camaro that I would leave sitting in Boulder CO for 3 months at a time, come back from CA to CO and it would start right back up, and it was using a cheap Autozone battery.

What could be going on here? I plan to take it to another dealership to get checked out, I hope they don't just tell me again that everything is fine. It can't be fine if you can't leave the truck sitting at least a week without needing a jump start.

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[Rp930]

Change dealers. Probably a bad battery.

 

[alazar14]

sounds like the first dealer just checked your battery charge..after a 100 mile drive, i'm sure it was fine.
they probably should have done some basic maintenance to see if you had a loose terminal or something.
my dealer likes to tell me any battery issues are from the accessories i installed.
do you have anything non stock installed?

Nope, its 100% stock.

 

[Dgc333]

Whether the battery turns out to be good or bad get a battery tender and hook it up if the truck is not going to be used for a few days.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

A few 2019 owners on here have had battery issues - including me. I had a “bad battery” and it was replaced by my dealer on warranty. They have to do more than a simple voltage test. They need to conduct a proper inspection and load test. They’ll likely want to bring it to full charge, measure it, keep it overnight, measure it for drop, and perform the load test to make a proper diagnosis.

You should be on top of the dealer to do this right - if not, find another dealer.

Like Dave above says, a tender is helpful, especially in hot climates.

 

[alazar14]

Whether the battery turns out to be good or bad get a battery tender and hook it up if the truck is not going to be used for a few days.

Does it sound like the alternator could be the problem? I don't mind a bad battery, that's easy to replace. I am going on a trip to AZ soon though (next weekend) and would really like to take care of any issues the truck may have before that. This is why I am taking it to the dealer tomorrow.

 

[Marpater]

Go to Autozone they can do a load test which will give you SOH (State of Health)

 

[Frenchy]

So unfortunately the way forward has to do the testing at the dealership for your battery they have to put it on a load tester. That load tester could take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. That load tester will take the time to verify if the battery is good or not. From what you're telling me it sounds like it is a bad battery. My suggestion is go to another dealer if you can because it sounds like the one doesn't want to use the proper load tester.

 

[RangerMarc]

I had a similar issue I was on call for a week at work and didn't drive my Ranger and after a week of sitting my battery was really weak and wouldn't start the truck without a jump. I know you said you are 100% stock so maybe this isn't your issue but I found that the OBD2 bluetooth adaptor I had plugged in for the Tourque app I was using on my phone would "wake up" when I was carrying my phone and got withing bluetooth range. I kept hearing my truck make the noise it does when you open the drivers side door (not the dinging sound of the door being opened) I think its the fuel pump getting ready for the engine to start? It made this noise without me opening the door, just when I was within range. When I'm on call I disconnect the OBD2 bluetooth adaptor and haven't had any issues since then. Sorry I was so long winded there but maybe this helps someone else.
Thanks,
Marc

 

[VegasRanger]

Does it sound like the alternator could be the problem? I don't mind a bad battery, that's easy to replace. I am going on a trip to AZ soon though (next weekend) and would really like to take care of any issues the truck may have before that. This is why I am taking it to the dealer tomorrow.

Use a voltmeter when the truck is on and see what the voltage is. That should tell you if the alternator is bad. My battery is at 13.7 when truck is on.

My guess is you have a bad battery though.

 

[AzScorpion]

With these newer vehicles you have too have them on a maintainer if you're not driving them a lot. Just going down the street to the store and back doesn't give it enough time to charge up. Mine was replaced in 20 months under warranty. Now I use one of these with the quick disconnect and the extended lead which I routed to come out by the front tow hook. It only takes a minute now to connect it and I have it hooked up all the time. I just got done wiring up my Jeep as that has dual batteries and is known for the aux one to fail because of this.

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[Frenchy]

Use a voltmeter when the truck is on and see what the voltage is. That should tell you if the alternator is bad. My battery is at 13.7 when truck is on.

My guess is you have a bad battery though.

Yeah the alternator is a variable voltage type so the voltage while running can be as low as 13 volts and as high as 14.7 volts.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

With these newer vehicles you have too have them on a maintainer if you're not driving them a lot. Just going down the street to the store and back doesn't give it enough time to charge up. Mine was replaced in 20 months under warranty. Now I use one of these with the quick disconnect and the extended lead which I routed to come out by the front tow hook. It only takes a minute now to connect it and I have it hooked up all the time. I just got done wiring up my Jeep as that has dual batteries and is known for the aux one to fail because of this.

Jeeps have dual batteries?

 

[VegasRanger]

Jeeps have dual batteries?

I would assume he means he installed a second battery.

 

[VegasRanger]

Yeah the alternator is a variable voltage type so the voltage while running can be as low as 13 volts and as high as 14.7 volts.

Yep. Mine has fluctuates between 13.5-14.5

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