Battery Dead...Dont know why...

[firemanken]

a few weeks ago i put the mustang away in the garage for the winter. about a week later i went to start it and the battery was dead. i thought i might have left a door open a little so the interior lights stayed on but i wasn't sure. the trunk was shut tight. i charged the battery for about a hour and it started up and i ran it for about 20 minutes.

everything seemed fine. i checked both doors and i waited for all the interior light to go off then i covered it back up and left it alone until tonight..which is about a week from when i charged the battery... i got in the car and the battery was dead again. i can't figure what is drawing on the battery. i look in the center console to make sure i didn't leave a cell phone charger plugged in but everything looked ok.

i have gone more than a week on several other occations without starting it and it started up fine and the weather has been very mild so the garage isn't cold. the only thing different is that i have the wheels on 2X10 boards to keep them off the cement floor but i can't see how that would matter.

any suggestions would be appreciated

thanks

 

[thump_rrr]

a few weeks ago i put the mustang away in the garage for the winter. about a week later i went to start it and the battery was dead. i thought i might have left a door open a little so the interior lights stayed on but i wasn't sure. the trunk was shut tight. i charged the battery for about a hour and it started up and i ran it for about 20 minutes.

everything seemed fine. i checked both doors and i waited for all the interior light to go off then i covered it back up and left it alone until tonight..which is about a week from when i charged the battery... i got in the car and the battery was dead again. i can't figure what is drawing on the battery. i look in the center console to make sure i didn't leave a cell phone charger plugged in but everything looked ok.

i have gone more than a week on several other occations without starting it and it started up fine and the weather has been very mild so the garage isn't cold. the only thing different is that i have the wheels on 2X10 boards to keep them off the cement floor but i can't see how that would matter.

any suggestions would be appreciated

thanks

Check to see if the radio was left on. There have been many posts on the subwoofer amplifiers not turning off occaisionally if the radio is not turned off before taking out the key.

It happened to me once. I now turn off the radio and haven't had this problem since. I don't feel like taking it in for something intermittent like this. Also charge your battery with a charger till it's full. Sometimes bad alternators show up on these cars as a P0340 code.

 

[93GrunT]

What Thump said, I was searching for the thread, but I couldn't find it.

 

[red05bullitgt]

when doing your searches ? type in either dead or drained battery..I've submitted several posts in both threads, concerning personal issues and solutions..

 

[bigcat]

the bottom line is that you need a battery tender, or something similar if storing the car for any amount of time, or unhook the battery.

 

[red05bullitgt]

Hopefully some of these may help out ? I'm pasting some posts from past threads concerning this issue...I've taken my 05 to 3 different dealerships, for the very same reason and didn't finally get a straight answer, until speaking with a Ford field service engineer..And this may not make any sense, but it appears that this is how Ford designed these cars, and the explanation I got was, each computer has a timer that is running continulessly, in addition each sensor or module also stores computer memory.. for ie there's one for the drop down window module, another for the motion sensor on the alarm system, another for the radio, power door locks, power windows and so on..and if the vehicle sits for more than 10 days and the battery is not fully charged and also if the computer reads less than 9volts, it will automatically drain the remaining voltage as some sort of fail safe protection, that has to do with preserving computer memory..I was also informed that it's even worse, if you start the vehicle and only let sit at idle for 15-20 min. because he claims that sitting at idle, does not rev the rpm's enough to fully keep the battery charged..Therefore, their are only 2 options..either run and drive the vehicle at least once every 5-7 days or install a tender or trickle charger if the vehicle is going to sit more than a week...As I said before, I know this doesn't make much sense and I still don't quite understand it all, but that's just how these cars are now designed..Anyway, hope this helps out in someway...Originally posted by 310stanger..as a ford tech i have this to say. the ford motocraft batteries really seem to be crap. we replace them constantly on stock units. meaning cars on our lot that may sit for awhile. also. if you dont run your car for a long time yes there actually is a draw. the computer uses some electricity to run your kam. KeepAliveMemory. bring it to your ford dealer and see if they can warranty you a battery.

 

[red05bullitgt]

Originally Posted by red05bullitgt
As for the Motorcraft Batteries are concerned ?? I couldn't agree more.. In less than 2 years of owning my 05 GT I'm now on my third battery, The first one lasted 2 months and the dealership replaced it due to it having a bad cell and then got 6 months out of the second before it went dead, took it another dealer for a second opinion who claimed that battery more than likely sat on the shelf too long and wasn't fully charged, so they replaced that one as well and was then advised by their feild service engineer to invest in a tender charger and ever since then, I haven't had any dead battery problems..However, I still think it's ridiculous that a brand new car can't sit for more than 10-14 days without it's battery going dead but at least I'll give the dealerships credit for this ?? they did replace both batteries under warranty...Anyway, being that your a Ford tech. perhaps you can answer this for me..Does the electricity that is required to run the keep alive memory, cause enough of a draw to drain these batteries, if they sit for 2 weeks ?? or does it take longer than that ?? The reason why I ask, is because this was also what the feild service engineer explained and this is the explanation that seems to make any logical sense..

 

[red05bullitgt]

Originally posted by 310stanger...evidently it does, i havent ever tested the draw from the computer across the power to test but if i remember i will and report back. one thing i can say more then anything is that i think a lot of these batteries although they may start the vehicle dont actually have a full charge which is what i feel to be a big reason on why they go dead. your battery needs to have a full charge to avoid it going dead when its left to sit. personally i highly recommend you guys using a battery tender if at all possible. or even pulling ur batteries and chargin them up then storing them. an easier way may be to jus disconnect the battery. when i perform work on my 5.0 and i know the car is gonna sit i jus disconnect the battery and dont seem to have a problem. granted my car is quite a bit different. but dont feel bad guys, all fords at my work across the board i have replaced batteris in before they even leave the dealer. now one could say that ford engineers the vehicles **** up and be right, another could say that motorcraft batteries suck and you wont be getting any disagreement from me on it.

 

[wotfr]

Check for the thread 'Car Won't Start' I would link it but apparently I'm a moron as I have not figured out how yet.
It's near the bottom of the third page here in 2005+ GT Tech.

 

[MBDiagMan]

You will need to remove one of the battery cables with everything turned off and using an ammeter in series with the battery cable and the battery post measure the current draw. If it is anything over about 100 milliAmps then you have a low current short in the system and need to find it.

With the ammeter still in place, start by pulling and replacing fuses one at a time and see if the current draw drops considerably. If so that is the offending circuit.

Good luck.

 

[discofan]

I had the same problem with a "dead battery" after a long sleep...

Took the car to a stereo/car alarm store and had them check the alarm wiring...

$20.00 later, problem is fixed!!!

That's right, PROBLEM IS FIXED...

My battery going dead had nothing to do with the radio or stereo...

Dave

 

[wotfr]

I had this happen again yesterday. The 'Stang only sat for about 18 hours from driving the night before. I put it on the charger and came back to pour through the TSB's (thanks bigcat) and found the one on the little inspection window for the battery. So after charging for about an hour (not completely dead just not enough to turn over) I fired it up and drove for about a half hour. When I came back the little ball was still red which according to the TSB means the battery or at least that cell is 40% charge or less. So I think I have enough now to take it back the dealer with out having to leave it for a week to see if the problem repeats. I will try to get it in before Turkey day and I will update on what they find. I've read so many warranty work horror stories on here I can't say my hopes are high, but I've had the car less than three months and had this problem three times with only 1650 miles on the clock.

 

[wotfr]

So I took it in today, they tested the battery it failed. Replaced it no charge (no pun intended). So I've got my fingers crossed that this is the end of my problem.

 

[red05bullitgt]

I hate to be the one to say this ? but this is not the end of your problem ? I had 3 batteries replaced for the very same reason..the only solution is if your car sits for more than 7 days at a time ? you must install a tender charger otherwise the Keep Alive Memory feature in the car's PCM will drain the battery voltage as a fail safe measure..I've already had 2 of Ford's field service engineers confirm this is normal and part of how these cars are now designed..And as a result ? I have not had any further problems since installing my tender charger..

 

[mustangsquared]

well I have the same issue... the car has sat for 2 weeks in my garage (its not even very cold out) and today she wouldnt start... put a charger on her and I get a clicking noise from the right rear quater panel under/along the trunk.... and the charger claims the battery was at 9%.... really teeing me off since I was goign to washer her and head to the beach... now I am charging... and I hate the fact that I almost broke the stupid window opening the door (did not drop since it had no power and I did not realize it till I tried to close her)... I think once I get her runnning I am getting a "red top".... screw the stock batteries.... you all have me scared of them now... the cars a year old... my 91 LX 306 doesnt have this propblem unless she sits for a few months!!

ANy ideas what the click noise is???

 

[TL_05GT]

Six days for me today and dead battery.

Did same thing with doors and windows not rolling down(should have emergency crank for them!)

Hooked up battery charger tender (I'll wire it in permanent now) and immediately the noise like a air compressor in back passenger side wheel wheel area.

Rear lights were trying to come on and backup lights were on.

Opened trunk and removed rear plastic cover to get at tail lights and disconnected power to them and noise went away, reconnect and it comes back.

Front turns were stuck in a low power jitter flash as well, so removed bulbs.

Looks like next project is batteries and power draw investigation.

 

[LV51FER]

Mine sits for 14 days or more and I've never had a problem so it's not an automatic corollary of storage I'm afraid. The only thing is that I lock my garage, not the car so maybe that's something to do with it?

We have lots of lighting problems in the UK as in the post above and it's usually because of the SJC unit failing (is it SJC? The multi-function box...)