razol

OK, I have loved my GT since I bought it last winter. I had a very annoying issue with it today. I just got back from a short trip (1 week). I needed to go to the store this morning and I hit the button to unlock the door, no joy. So I flip the key in the lock, no lights. I go to start her up, as I suspected the battery is completely dead. No crank, no interirior lights, nothing. You have got to be kidding me! I only left her for one week! Does anyone have any idea what drains the battery while the car is parked? I travel quite a bit, a dead battery every time I return is not something that I look forward to.

As a side effect, I also had this treat. My car stereo has my sattellite radio and iPod input running via the aux output. After I jumped the car and was greeted with my stereo on AM 590, I hit the AUX button. I got a message on the head unit NO AUX INPUT. Now since I already lost my external antenna because the bloody thing broke like the cheap thing that it is, I was a bit miffed to be tuneless. So I drive her around for an hour or so to get the battery charged up. As I put her back in the garage I hit the AUX button again, now it works fine. I think this is a bit odd. I suppose there is some sort of diagnostic/initialization that the stereo goes through and somehow it detect the line out and repairs itself. I find this a little strange, but hey it worked so I am pleased.

Overall the stereo is the only thing I dislike about my car (I have the Shaker 500). First it sounds just awful, it is plenty loud, but in a bad sort of way. It is loud, but the clarity is something thqat makes me wish I were deaf. The sound is unclear, distorted, the combo speakers sound like cheap wal-mart speakers. The CD unit often "forgets" what track it is on and starts the disc over from track one. Sometimes the player decides that it cannot read the disc, nevermind that it is the same disc that has been in there for weeks, it ejects the disc. Put the disc back in after the 2 minture load process and it will work fine. Why does it eject in the first place? Other times it just skips, not when you hit a bump or anything, it just randomly skips for some reason. I hate this system, I plan to take it all out when I have the cash, the problem is that the head unit, the speakers and such are of a proprietary design, so no part can be re-used, therefore everything has to be ripped out. Never again Ford, next time the dealer can take all that junk out and deduct the cost from the price before I buy the thing.

My question for everyone is two-fold. What is draining the battery while she is parked? How can I force the system to recognize my AUX line more quickly?

algregory

Highly recomend you get a "Battery Tender" most readily available at Motorcycle shops. You plug it int your car, it keeps the battery right at the top end of the charge. No reason to worry about it. I, and many other cycle types leave them plugged into our cycles 24/7 for months at a time if need be. Right now, with the wet California SF Bay Area, it need be.

RStone13

Ok I have had the same issue dead battery. I think I know what it is. One of two things. Either the alarm system or the radio. My gut feeling is the radio. When you turn off the car the radio keeps playing until you remove key, or is it open door. I'm not sure which right now. But never mind that, it's not my point. I think the radio sound (music) shuts off but not the radio its-self. I believe it's still drawing power somehow from the battery. So what i've been doing is manually shutting off the radio before I shut the car off. And so far it hasn't happen again. Try that and if it does happen again then try not setting the alarm. It's one of those two things. It's not enought drain to kill it overnight or while you are at work. But a few days or week without starting car and the battery is dead.
If you should narrow it down to which one is the culprit let me know

razol

Perhaps the battery tender is the way to go. I just think it is odd that the Mustang cannot hold a charge for just one week.

madmike

I've had my GT in the garage all winter, started it once a week and let it warm up to operating temp then put it back in. I kept the radio off the entire time, so far haven't had the dead battery nightmare.