107 replies to this topic

[1yountfan]

I'm having an issue with my battery going dead after leaving my car in the garage for more than a week (or so) without running it. I remember reading on the old site of people having similiar issues. It's happened to me twice now. I have yet to take it into the Ford dealer, planning on hopefully getting it in this weekend (depending on the weather). I have a feeling they'll just give me a new battery and that will be it. And in a few weeks I'll be right back there for the same issue. Has anyone taken in their GT-H for this issue and what did Ford do about it? Any feed back would be great!

[SHELBY1]

1yountfan, on Jan 22 2008, 04:15 PM, said:

I'm having an issue with my battery going dead after leaving my car in the garage for more than a week (or so) without running it. I remember reading on the old site of people having similiar issues. It's happened to me twice now. I have yet to take it into the Ford dealer, planning on hopefully getting it in this weekend (depending on the weather). I have a feeling they'll just give me a new battery and that will be it. And in a few weeks I'll be right back there for the same issue. Has anyone taken in their GT-H for this issue and what did Ford do about it? Any feed back would be great!

Battery Tender is the way to go. No more dead batteries. Always good to go.

[1yountfan]

SHELBY1, on Jan 22 2008, 03:20 PM, said:

Battery Tender is the way to go. No more dead batteries. Always good to go.

I'm getting one of those, but still......this is a nearly a brand new car (12,000 miles). This shouldn't even be an issue. Heck, I have a 1965 Mustang that doesn;t have this issue. I guess I'm more annoyed at it more than anything.

[Benzito]

Yount,

I have the same problem with my GT-H.  I think the battery tender is the way to go unless there is some way to stop the constant trickle of juice needed to keep the radio and other electronics semi-active.  My 1968 Mustang sits OUTSIDE the garage and starts after a few pumps of the pedal, no matter how long it's been sitting!  Oh well, trade-offs are worth it.

I'm going to try turning off the radio before shutting down to see if that does anything.

Mike

Edited by Benzito, 22 January 2008 - 12:27 PM.

[carnut]

Mine drained too, sat 4 weeks. I think the theft system and maybe the computer consume a lot of power just sitting there. I'll be looking into a battery tender also.

[1yountfan]

Benzito, on Jan 22 2008, 03:26 PM, said:

Yount,

I have the same problem with my GT-H.  I think the battery tender is the way to go unless there is some way to stop the constant trickle of juice needed to keep the radio and other electronics semi-active.  My 1968 Mustang sits OUTSIDE the garage and starts after a few pumps of the pedal, no matter how long it's been sitting!  Oh well, trade-offs are worth it.

I'm going to try turning off the radio before shutting down to see if that does anything.

Mike

I'm going to try the radio thing too....after I charge my dead battery up. Let me know if it works for you.

[aonebadbone]

Also if you leave your car in the garage for long periods of time then take it out for short trips than that will cause the battery to not fully recharge. Do this for a few times in a row and you're battery will go dead.
I have left mine in the garage for 3 weeks and no problem.
Battery tender is the way to go also if it is cold outside than that will also have a effect on you're battery.
Art

[Cobra Boy]

Okay darnit, I'm going to vent here.

First of all, my car sets for a month or more at a time sometimes and has never had a dead battery. Ford and everyone can make excuses all they want to, but to me it's all crap. Total crap. Did I mention I think it's crap?

I have a friend that just traded his 06 GT back in because it wouldn't maintain a charge. It also went throug two rear ends. The car had less than 4000 miles on it and never exceeded the speed limit. He has now become committed to avoid Ford products (Mustangs anyway).

For ford to say that you need a battery tender is a cop out. You can't tell me since there are plenty of Shelbys out there (like mine) that don't lose charge, that this isn't an issue that Ford could figure out.

My wife's 05 Ford 500 had a dead battery back in October. A cell went completely dead. The dealership told me that they have had some issue with substandard batteries.


My official stance is accept no excuses.........make the dealership/Ford figure it out. It's a new car.

Okay, now I'm done.

CB

[SHELBYGTH]

1yountfan, on Jan 22 2008, 03:15 PM, said:

I'm having an issue with my battery going dead after leaving my car in the garage for more than a week (or so) without running it. I remember reading on the old site of people having similiar issues. It's happened to me twice now. I have yet to take it into the Ford dealer, planning on hopefully getting it in this weekend (depending on the weather). I have a feeling they'll just give me a new battery and that will be it. And in a few weeks I'll be right back there for the same issue. Has anyone taken in their GT-H for this issue and what did Ford do about it? Any feed back would be great!

I had the same problem with my GT-H.  I believe it's related to the Hertz/Sirus unit being powered up.  The console unit has it's own "power" button, separate from the Ford radio control.  I have since ensured it is powered "off" and have had no more issues.  

If that does not work, I agree with Cobra Boy...  have the dealership correct it...

Edited by SHELBYGTH, 22 January 2008 - 07:32 PM.

[stump_breaker2]

SHELBYGTH, on Jan 22 2008, 09:16 PM, said:

I had the same problem with my GT-H.  I believe it's related to the Hertz/Sirus unit being powered up.  The console unit has it's own "power" button, seperate from the Ford radio control.  I have since ensured it is powered "off" and have had no more issues.  

If that does not work, I agree with Cobra Boy...  have the dealership correct it...

Someone also mentioned if the CD player is still on when the car is turned off it drains the battery.  I don't know for sure as fortunately I have yet to have this problem and my car can sometimes sit for nearly a month without being cranked.

[Grabber]

I use the tender on both my Stangs, and truck and Harley. Here is a thread on it if you need some information on it.

http://forum.teamshe...showtopic=15005

[Alloy Dave]

Cobra Boy, on Jan 22 2008, 08:57 PM, said:

Okay darnit, I'm going to vent here.

First of all, my car sets for a month or more at a time sometimes and has never had a dead battery. Ford and everyone can make excuses all they want to, but to me it's all crap. Total crap. Did I mention I think it's crap?

I have a friend that just traded his 06 GT back in because it wouldn't maintain a charge. It also went throug two rear ends. The car had less than 4000 miles on it and never exceeded the speed limit. He has now become committed to avoid Ford products (Mustangs anyway).

For ford to say that you need a battery tender is a cop out. You can't tell me since there are plenty of Shelbys out there (like mine) that don't lose charge, that this isn't an issue that Ford could figure out.

My wife's 05 Ford 500 had a dead battery back in October. A cell went completely dead. The dealership told me that they have had some issue with substandard batteries.


My official stance is accept no excuses.........make the dealership/Ford figure it out. It's a new car.

Okay, now I'm done.

CB

+1 Kyle.

To those of you having issues, are you locking the car?  I'm wondering if since it's locked the anti-theft system uses more juice?  I don't know...just a guess.

Dave

[Grabber]

I got this post from a guy in the know on another site:

FYI-You have to actually drive the car to get the alt. to charge the battery.The batteries in the new Mustangs will last about 3 weeks while parked.The electrical systems on these cars are what we call on the network.While these cars are parked and turned off the network actually powers 7 modules,anti theft switches and the amps in the stereo.After 30 minutes the network goes into sleep mode but still powers all items mentioned.If you pop the trunk or open the door the network wakes up and stays awake for 30 minutes as long as nothing else is used in the car then goes back into sleep mode.The reason you hear sometimes to turn your radio off before you turn the car off is the ACM or audio module draws 4 amps and usually the most likely module to go bad.If the ACM goes bad it never goes into sleep mode and draws 4 continuous amps till the battery is dead,which doesn't take long.Hope this helps.

[1yountfan]

Cobra Boy, on Jan 22 2008, 08:57 PM, said:

Okay darnit, I'm going to vent here.

First of all, my car sets for a month or more at a time sometimes and has never had a dead battery. Ford and everyone can make excuses all they want to, but to me it's all crap. Total crap. Did I mention I think it's crap?

I have a friend that just traded his 06 GT back in because it wouldn't maintain a charge. It also went throug two rear ends. The car had less than 4000 miles on it and never exceeded the speed limit. He has now become committed to avoid Ford products (Mustangs anyway).

For ford to say that you need a battery tender is a cop out. You can't tell me since there are plenty of Shelbys out there (like mine) that don't lose charge, that this isn't an issue that Ford could figure out.

My wife's 05 Ford 500 had a dead battery back in October. A cell went completely dead. The dealership told me that they have had some issue with substandard batteries.


My official stance is accept no excuses.........make the dealership/Ford figure it out. It's a new car.

Okay, now I'm done.

CB

I couldn't agree with you more Cobra Boy!!!!! I have a 2002 Caddy and a 65 Mustang that can sit for months and have no issues with the battery!
A nearly brand new car shouldn't need a battery tender!  And I shouldn't have to go out and buy one or charge my battery up every few weeks. Sounds like it's not a one-off problem just in my car......sounds that many that are having the same issue. You think someone could have found a solution by now. But I'm 100% with you Cobra Boy!

[interceptor]

guys let me chime in on this and give some help. first of all you need to make sure your battery is fully charged. look at the charge indicator on the battery and see if it's green. if not charge it fully till it is.use a charger on slow for several hours. running the car a few minutes only puts a surface charge in it[this is useless] .when it's fully charged disconnect either cable and hook an amp meter[digital] one lead to the battery and one to the post. let sit for s few minutes as it takes a while for the modules to power down. when all said and done you should have no more than .05 amps draw.don't leave the key in the ignition when in storage. have your battery load tested but only after it's fully charged. 90% of the time these problems are a result of a battery that is not fully charged! it has to be or it will continue to die.check the charging system to make sure it is up to par also. battery tenders work great for storing batteries for extended times and if you don't use one and the car sits more than a month then unhook the cable. good luck!

[shelby001]

Alloy Dave, on Jan 22 2008, 11:00 PM, said:

+1 Kyle.

To those of you having issues, are you locking the car? I'm wondering if since it's locked the anti-theft system uses more juice? I don't know...just a guess.

Dave

Just went out & tried my car & it wouldn`t start & yes it is locked at all times , had this same problem when i first got the car new . I got my car in Nov,07 put 50 miles on it & had to put it in storage for the winter monthes. Once I started driving this summer never had a problem but if you don`t use it for two to three weeks it goes dead. So are we saying that this is a bad battery & I should take it to the dealer to check it or do I have a electrical charging problem? Or both? I can`t believe its the charging system as it maitained the system all summer with no problems. I can`t believe these batterys go dead that quick. Any thoughts.

[GTH391]

Let me chime in. Mine sits covered for 3 weeks at a time in the garage. (Its cold here in the north with road salt and stones) Everytime I start it, I have no problem. I remember reading threads earlier about the alarm system drawing a charge, so I never armed it in the garage.

I certainly think I would take it to the dealer for a dead battery or discharge problem.

Just adding my experiences to the discussion.

[1yountfan]

shelby001, on Jan 23 2008, 03:34 PM, said:

Just went out & tried my car & it wouldn`t start & yes it is locked at all times , had this same problem when i first got the car new . I got my car in Nov,07 put 50 miles on it & had to put it in storage for the winter monthes. Once I started driving this summer never had a problem but if you don`t use it for two to three weeks it goes dead. So are we saying that this is a bad battery & I should take it to the dealer to check it or do I have a electrical charging problem? Or both? I can`t believe its the charging system as it maitained the system all summer with no problems. I can`t believe these batterys go dead that quick. Any thoughts.

Mine is going right back to the dealer! It should make no difference if I lock it, keep the radio on when I turn off the car, or leave it for more than a couple weeks without driving it. The battery should not be drained!

[SLB8SNK]

I can add to the frustration  here.  Sorry, I live in MI, cool as heck outside.  My car sits in the garage.  It sits for 4-5 weeks, and I walk up, get in, and it starts right up! No tender, no nothing!  I am sorry, but anyone here who thinks this is normal, that a battery will not last a few weeks, needs to buy up some of that swamp land!  Todays cars are MORE efficient, not less!  Todays batteries are stronger than the old days.  If your battery is dying in a few days or couple week..... YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR CAR!  End of story!  Sorry, we are all venting, but even Grabber's post (and I like him) is dead wrong here and seems someone is feeding him a line.  No disrespect Rob, you know that, but this is uncalled for BS for anyone to accept a dead battery, and more so for anyone to state it is normal.  Oh yea, and I lock my car as well, so even with the so called anti-theft on, IT STARTS RIGHT UP!

[interceptor]

tsb 07/05/13 addresess this concern and it states that cars in storage or limited use MAY need to use a battery tender to keep the charge maintained. when you go to the dealer and they can't find a problem[ and i stress if  they don't find a problem] they will tell you this and it's a direct quote from a FORD bulletin,i know i work at one.