Dead battery

[Robert Elmore]

I've owned Rangers since 1983 and have never been left stranded on the side of the road. A few days ago while parked at Walmart my 2 month old Ranger would not start...got the age old clicking sound of the starter cycling. Called Road Side Assistance number and got a jump start...took my groceries home and then went directly to the Ford Service Center and they supposedly checked things and said all was well...2 days later while truck sitting in driveway same thing happened...I jump started and drove back to the Dealer...turned the truck off while in the Service Lane and the battery hadn't charged enough to restart the engine...they had to jump truck again to get it started...got a call later that evening that I had a bad battery and they replaced it...very disappointing to buy a new truck and have the battery go bad in 2 months. I guess all is well that ends well.

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[u wish u could ride]

Dealer not replacing first time is the problem . Sorry you had to get that no start feel twice ! Dealer not stepping up on side of caution is problem

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I've owned Rangers since 1983 and have never been left stranded on the side of the road. A few days ago while parked at Walmart my 2 month old Ranger would not start...got the age old clicking sound of the starter cycling. Called Road Side Assistance number and got a jump start...took my groceries home and then went directly to the Ford Service Center and they supposedly checked things and said all was well...2 days later while truck sitting in driveway same thing happened...I jump started and drove back to the Dealer...turned the truck off while in the Service Lane and the battery hadn't charged enough to restart the engine...they had to jump truck again to get it started...got a call later that evening that I had a bad battery and they replaced it...very disappointing to buy a new truck and have the battery go bad in 2 months. I guess all is well that ends well.

Hi Bob,

I have had the battery in my Lincoln MKX replaced twice in three years. Shame on the dealer, who could have done a load test while you were in line for service. Both times, we got the print out of that load test that said "replace the battery". I would find another dealer if you are able to do so.

If you have a volt meter, here is a quick check for your charging system to verify it is working

With the vehicle parked, Turn on the heatlights, Click on Brights. Let stay on for a few minutes. Now take a voltage reading across the battery. Is it above 12V? If below 12V, take it to the dealer for a load test on the battery. Go to the next phase...start the vehicle and while holding it at about 1500 rpm (need a second person?) Take another voltage reading while at 1500rpm/ Above 13.5V? If so, charging system is operating just fine.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Toytec]

I compare battery life to human life. It can be great one day, and terrible the next. And life span can be whenever you number comes up.

 

[Robert Elmore]

Hi Bob,

I have had the battery in my Lincoln MKX replaced twice in three years. Shame on the dealer, who could have done a load test while you were in line for service. Both times, we got the print out of that load test that said "replace the battery". I would find another dealer if you are able to do so.

If you have a volt meter, here is a quick check for your charging system to verify it is working

With the vehicle parked, Turn on the heatlights, Click on Brights. Let stay on for a few minutes. Now take a voltage reading across the battery. Is it above 12V? If below 12V, take it to the dealer for a load test on the battery. Go to the next phase...start the vehicle and while holding it at about 1500 rpm (need a second person?) Take another voltage reading while at 1500rpm/ Above 13.5V? If so, charging system is operating just fine.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Thanks, for the information Phil. Service should have been able to put a "load type" battery tester and called a "bad battery" result on my first trip. I insisted on a new battery or a plausible reason for the battery going dead so quickly...either not charging or some heavy drain on the battery. I didn't think to look for a print out of the load test results...that's good to know.

Thanks again,

Bob

 

[Msfitoy]

Never leave home without this...small price for great insurance...always in my truck...

 

[GrayGen]

Never leave home without this...small price for great insurance...always in my truck...

I have the Harbor Freight version of this. I was a little skeptical at first but I've used it probably 3 times in the last year and loaned it out and it works every time. Very convenient very handy very small. I'd recommend one. A little pricey but worth it. I think I paid around $60. On sale.

 

[Mobius97]

I have the same NOCO stored under the rear seat.

Glad they swapped out your battery! Should have done so in the first place.

I have noticed that the Ranger has quite a bit of parasitic drain after not driving for 7+ days. Which is typical for me as I drive ~1k miles per month spread across vehicles. So I am very familiar with doing the "Battery Tender Shuffle" between my cars on a monthly basis. When testing the Rangers battery after sitting for a week, it gets down to about 12.2v (50% drained). Charging system seems to be working and the CCA's are fine when measuring too. It has never failed to start on me...yet. knock on wood!

 

[dmeyer302]

Go to the next phase...start the vehicle and while holding it at about 1500 rpm (need a second person?) Take another voltage reading while at 1500rpm

Started to say you could do this by yourself using the cigarette lighter as a test point, but I'm not sure if that's still true with all the voltage regulators they have on it related to the ASS system. Notice how your lights don't brighten or dim as the engine kicks on and off.

 

[Robert Elmore]

Never leave home without this...small price for great insurance...always in my truck...

I have one of those devices, not that brand but didn't have it in my truck for the first incidence but used it the second morning to get started before going back to the dealer. You can bet I will carry if from now on. I have a 2017 Edge that has set for a few weeks at the time with no battery issues. I've been driving the Ranger more since I got it a couple months ago but make a point of driving the Edge enough to feel good about getting a good refresh charge on it. I'm driving the Edge to Florida later this month and will be gone for a few weeks. I'm a little concerned if the battery will be able to start the truck when I get back. I do know there is a sleep mode when the battery gets to a certain discharge level. I saw that happen with this latest battery trouble. I never had trouble like this with my older 2002 Ranger but I'm sure there is more drain on the battery of the newer truck. I would have thought there would be a heavy duty battery in the Ranger because of drain with the truck shutoff, plus the start/stop feature would require that also. I don't use the start/stop function, I turn it off immediately after the engine starts.

 

[t4thfavor]

I have one of those devices, not that brand but didn't have it in my truck for the first incidence but used it the second morning to get started before going back to the dealer. You can bet I will carry if from now on. I have a 2017 Edge that has set for a few weeks at the time with no battery issues. I've been driving the Ranger more since I got it a couple months ago but make a point of driving the Edge enough to feel good about getting a good refresh charge on it. I'm driving the Edge to Florida later this month and will be gone for a few weeks. I'm a little concerned if the battery will be able to start the truck when I get back. I do know there is a sleep mode when the battery gets to a certain discharge level. I saw that happen with this latest battery trouble. I never had trouble like this with my older 2002 Ranger but I'm sure there is more drain on the battery of the newer truck. I would have thought there would be a heavy duty battery in the Ranger because of drain with the truck shutoff, plus the start/stop feature would require that also. I don't use the start/stop function, I turn it off immediately after the engine starts.

I have a feeling many of these trucks sat untouched for a bit, or at least the battery did. My truck constantly says "Start Stop Disabled due to vehicle charging", the headlights dim when it does shut off, and the voltage goes well below 10.5v when it's starting back up (as measured by the voltage cut for my ham radio)

 

[Robert Elmore]

I have the Harbor Freight version of this. I was a little skeptical at first but I've used it probably 3 times in the last year and loaned it out and it works every time. Very convenient very handy very small. I'd recommend one. A little pricey but worth it. I think I paid around $60. On sale.

I got this one from Amazon. I like the built in volt meter, USB ports, flashlight, and wireless phone charging. It even has a compass which I hope I will never need. I've only used it once so I can't say it is better than any of the others on the market. I am surprised that something so small can jump start a vehicle with a dead battery. I also have one of the monster ones that seem to weigh a ton that I got at Harbor Freight. I bought the big one before I saw someone use the smaller version and was blown away that it worked so well.

 

[VAMike]

I have a feeling many of these trucks sat untouched for a bit, or at least the battery did. My truck constantly says "Start Stop Disabled due to vehicle charging", the headlights dim when it does shut off, and the voltage goes well below 10.5v when it's starting back up (as measured by the voltage cut for my ham radio)

I think there were just some bad batteries.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Started to say you could do this by yourself using the cigarette lighter as a test point, but I'm not sure if that's still true with all the voltage regulators they have on it related to the ASS system. Notice how your lights don't brighten or dim as the engine kicks on and off.

Hi Dan,

Yep...you really need to to this at the battery. There is another step and that with the engine running, turn on the blower motor, the A/C compressor, the heated seats and all the lights and check if the system will hold the voltage observed in the 1500rpm test. This tests the battery's ability to supplement the alternator and this hints at the battery's capacity!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Countryboy]

17 months in and 10,400mi and the battery in my 2019 Ranger XLT was dead. Good news is the dealer replaced it under warranty. They said it had a bad cell. Bad news is they didn't have it in stock so I sat for 3 and 1/2hrs. in their waiting area while they picked one up at another dealership.
I must be old school. I don't feel that I should have to carry a booster, keep it on a tender, or be sure to drive a minimum number of miles each week to keep it cranking!

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