HI! Hope someone out there can help me!
SO I took my 2004 3.9L in to Autozone last week to get the battery tested, just because I know its about 4+ years old and my theft light would blink sometimes (I read on another forum sometimes it does that when the battery is starting to weaken). The guy came out and hooked up the battery tester and it ran "bad battery!" at 12.54v so he started telling me I needed to buy a new one. I had never had a problem with it before then, I just wanted to check it, so he checked the alternator and when he did that my engine started shaking violently and then my car shut off. He scanned the battery again and got 12.48v, and now my car wouldn't turn on. He started telling me it was because the battery was bad, (12.48v IS enough to start the car) and I needed to buy a new one. Although, my car was turning over and all electrical (headlights, radio, phone charger) worked - not signs of a dead battery. I sent him away and jumped it with another guy in the parking lot, because if its the battery a jump should work, right? It didn't, and another employee came out and said it was because when batteries are really dead they won't hold a jump (5 minutes ago my battery wasn't so dead though???) Anyways long story short i bought a battery only with the guarantee that if it didn't work I could return it because I didn't think it was a battery issue. Put the new battery in, it didn't work, returned it, had to tow my poor baby home.
Read up on a bunch of things at home, thought it might be PATS because of the blinking theft light. But after not being able to get to it for a few days, I've tried different spare keys and the theft light blinks regularly with/without key in ignition, but stops blinking in on position. Car still turns over but won't turn on. No DTC codes for PATS, inertia switch is working properly, no OBD-II codes, fuses in both fuse boxes all seem to be good... last resort is getting it towed to Ford tomorrow
SO I took my 2004 3.9L in to Autozone last week to get the battery tested, just because I know its about 4+ years old and my theft light would blink sometimes (I read on another forum sometimes it does that when the battery is starting to weaken). The guy came out and hooked up the battery tester and it ran "bad battery!" at 12.54v so he started telling me I needed to buy a new one. I had never had a problem with it before then, I just wanted to check it, so he checked the alternator and when he did that my engine started shaking violently and then my car shut off. He scanned the battery again and got 12.48v, and now my car wouldn't turn on. He started telling me it was because the battery was bad, (12.48v IS enough to start the car) and I needed to buy a new one. Although, my car was turning over and all electrical (headlights, radio, phone charger) worked - not signs of a dead battery. I sent him away and jumped it with another guy in the parking lot, because if its the battery a jump should work, right? It didn't, and another employee came out and said it was because when batteries are really dead they won't hold a jump (5 minutes ago my battery wasn't so dead though???) Anyways long story short i bought a battery only with the guarantee that if it didn't work I could return it because I didn't think it was a battery issue. Put the new battery in, it didn't work, returned it, had to tow my poor baby home.
Read up on a bunch of things at home, thought it might be PATS because of the blinking theft light. But after not being able to get to it for a few days, I've tried different spare keys and the theft light blinks regularly with/without key in ignition, but stops blinking in on position. Car still turns over but won't turn on. No DTC codes for PATS, inertia switch is working properly, no OBD-II codes, fuses in both fuse boxes all seem to be good... last resort is getting it towed to Ford tomorrow