2005-2014 Mustangs Discussions on the latest S197 model Mustangs from Ford.

Dead Battery

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Old Jun 5, 2006 | 12:34 AM
  #11  
2006GT's Avatar
2006GT
2nd Gear Member
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 180
From: Virginia
Default RE: Dead Battery

Add me to the dead battery club. My car sat for 2 months recently and fired right up like normal. I let it sit in my insulated garage for a week while I was on vacation, and the battery was completely dead as described above. It's very annoying on a car with 2200 miles, especially when the dealer says it's "normal with outside temp fluctuations." What a bunch of crap. If it were normal, I guess everyone in town would have dead batteries. I'll be getting a second opinion.
Old Jun 5, 2006 | 12:52 AM
  #12  
olym4gery's Avatar
olym4gery
1st Gear Member
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 147
Default RE: Dead Battery

Are you serious?

2 months w/o running it and you wonder why the battery is dead?

1 month w/o running and it turns over is pretty good.

2 months is too long. Newer cars will always have some draw, due to computers etc. I'm sure "anti-theft" also uses up battery.

Get a trickle charger. Put the 'Stang on the charger once a week.
Old Jun 5, 2006 | 01:40 AM
  #13  
281GT's Avatar
281GT
3rd Gear Member
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 864
From:
Default RE: Dead Battery

Mine sat all winter. Mid November to early April. I know this was too long so I disconnected the battery and when I connected it again in the spring it fired up no problem. I would not allow any modern car to sit for more than two or three weeks without putting it on the charger though. Modern cars have too much power draw to sit much longer. With all that said though the current measurements you are getting seem very high. It doesn't take more than .25 of an amp to keep the memory alive in the stereo.
A dome light for example draws somewhere around half and amp and that will kill a fully charged battery in approximately 24 hours assuming room temperature. Less if it is colder.
I sold auto parts for years and a lead acid car battery is the single most misunderstood part of any car. Once a car battery has reached discharged state it must be placed on a charger within approximately one hour or permanent damage WILL result. What happens is that with the battery in a discharged state the electrolyte’s chemical composition goes from an acid to a base. This produces an effect on the battery’s' plates known as sulphating. The plates become corroded within a few hours of when the battery was discharged and are permanently damaged.
Depending on how advanced the sulphating becomes, the damage can run the gamut from a battery that does not work at all to one that has varying degrees of capacity loss depending on how long it was left before the charger was put on it.
In short, unless you discovered your dead battery within approximately an hour of when it went dead the first time, there would have been damage. Your battery would have reduced capacity to hold a charge as well as reduced available output even when fully charged.
Now that it's gone dead twice it most likely is finished.
Get another battery and have the dealer check the car for the source of the high current draw.

Old Jun 5, 2006 | 02:41 AM
  #14  
discofan's Avatar
discofan
2nd Gear Member
 
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 390
From: Chicago, IL
Default RE: Dead Battery

I had the same dead battery scenerio and took the car to a stereo/car alarm shop...

It appeared that my alarm system was wired incorrectly...

Once I got it fixed by these guys ($20.00), my battery has never gone dead since then...

I also store my car during the winter and put a trickle charger on the battery all winter long...

Dave
Old Jun 5, 2006 | 03:06 PM
  #15  
cwall583's Avatar
cwall583
1st Gear Member
 
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 63
From: Phoenix, AZ
Default RE: Dead Battery

Just as a reference point my battery died at 9,500 miles. I have owned my '05 GT since November 2004. I drive it one or two days a week. Also strongly suggest you upgrade the battery if you add alarm systems or stereo systems. When they replaced my battery the dealer upgraded it as well for free.

So I am kind of 3 for 3 on the typical '05 GT problems. Gas sensor replaced at 4,200 miles, Shaker 500 replaced at 7,800 miles, and battery replaced at 9,500 miles. I love my mustang but there are inherent quality issues.

Old Jun 5, 2006 | 10:22 PM
  #16  
2006GT's Avatar
2006GT
2nd Gear Member
 
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 180
From: Virginia
Default RE: Dead Battery

ORIGINAL: olym4gery

Are you serious?

2 months w/o running it and you wonder why the battery is dead?

1 month w/o running and it turns over is pretty good.

2 months is too long. Newer cars will always have some draw, due to computers etc. I'm sure "anti-theft" also uses up battery.

Get a trickle charger. Put the 'Stang on the charger once a week.
Um, no....re-read my post. I said after 2 months it fired right up like I had driven it the day before. Drove it for a couple months with no problems, then it sits for 1 week and completely dead. I expected it to be dead after 2 months, but it wasn't. I did not expect it after only a week. I travel a lot and have never had this issue with any of my vehicles before, and my vehicles have always been less than 2 years old...Call me crazy. I will not accept it as normal that I should have to have a trickle charger on the car all the time if it sits for a few days...if so, ford should ship the mustangs with one.
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