MustangForums.com - View Single Post

Ericksonlaw · 01-22-2007, 05:28 PM

Last year I bought my daughter a 2005 V-6 Mustang for a graduation present.

I bought the GT grille and fog lights and had these installed at the local Ford dealer using nothing but Ford parts, relays, etc.

She goes to University in Toronto and the car is parked most of the time.

From about July 2006 onwards virtually every time she went to start the car, she found that the battery was dead and she had to get it boosted. This must have happened a dozen or more times.

Ford said it was a faulty battery and replaced it. The problem was not the battery.

The car finally went into a service facility in Toronto and they identified the problem. The problem is the relay which powers the GT fog lights. This is a live relay and has a small but constant electrical drain. Under normal circumstances where the car is driven daily it is not a problem, but when it is parked for a long time it definitely is.

The original relay was not faulty – it was designed to be powered all the time – Ford engineers apparently overlooked the fact that some cars are driven so infrequently or for such short distances that the battery never gets fully charged and the small drain is more than the battery can handle.

In this case, the repair shop changed out the relay and went to a different type of relay. If anyone out there is experiencing the same problem, contact Yorkdale Ford, Att: Jack Iaboni, Service Manager fax no. (416) 787-3964. I am sure he will tell you the part number of the replacement fog light relay. This relay is only powered when the ignition is "on" and does not drain the battery down when the ignition is "off."

01-22-2007, 05:28 PM	#18
Ericksonlaw Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1	RE: 2005 Mustang GT Dead Battery Last year I bought my daughter a 2005 V-6 Mustang for a graduation present. I bought the GT grille and fog lights and had these installed at the local Ford dealer using nothing but Ford parts, relays, etc. She goes to University in Toronto and the car is parked most of the time. From about July 2006 onwards virtually every time she went to start the car, she found that the battery was dead and she had to get it boosted. This must have happened a dozen or more times. Ford said it was a faulty battery and replaced it. The problem was not the battery. The car finally went into a service facility in Toronto and they identified the problem. The problem is the relay which powers the GT fog lights. This is a live relay and has a small but constant electrical drain. Under normal circumstances where the car is driven daily it is not a problem, but when it is parked for a long time it definitely is. The original relay was not faulty – it was designed to be powered all the time – Ford engineers apparently overlooked the fact that some cars are driven so infrequently or for such short distances that the battery never gets fully charged and the small drain is more than the battery can handle. In this case, the repair shop changed out the relay and went to a different type of relay. If anyone out there is experiencing the same problem, contact Yorkdale Ford, Att: Jack Iaboni, Service Manager fax no. (416) 787-3964. I am sure he will tell you the part number of the replacement fog light relay. This relay is only powered when the ignition is "on" and does not drain the battery down when the ignition is "off."