rotorr22

I stopped in at my local dealer today and had a discussion with the Service Manager about this problem. He acknowledged the problem and admitted they are having the same issue with the Ford 500. Evidently, Ford has issued some sort of letter to the dealers telling them to advise customers to purchase battery buddies if the car is not used for 4-5 days. He also told me that they have replaced a number of batteries and the replacements have gone dead as well. I was given a Ford Customer Assistance number, 800-392-3673 to voice my displeasure with the issue. I advise all who are experiencing the issue to call. Make sure you have your VIN handy.

jsgst8

yes it pretty much sucks when evry 2-3 days your car goes dead, i dont drive it everyday especially if it is raining and of course the snow here in PA

sowaxeman

Thats a round about way to edit a post

If they are having a major problem, and replacements have gone bad too then I doubt an Optima would be any different.

So - dealers are told to recommend a battery buddy for less than a week of use [&:] What a bunch of crap!! I'd sure like to find out what this issue is, and why it is not affecting all the cars. Like I said before, mine sits for WEEKS (in a couple cases over a month) and not a hint of sluggishness when it cranks.

jsgst8

i will post what my dealer says on wednesday. i will be kinda upset if they say to run a charger or something of that sort on it. or blame it on my stereo, no way a new car should do this. Plus you have to be a rocket scientist to program my radio and i lose everything when the cars goes dead lol

MobyDickDog

I just had the dreaded "dead battery" syndrome also. So, for the second time in 6 months the car is on a tow truck again on its way to the Ford dealer. Then first time it was for a bad computer and got a brand new one installed.

I tell them about the information here on the Forum and they give the same old "we've never heard of this happening story".

I tell them to check the alternator, the drain from the radio (Shaker 500) and the anti-theft system. When I pick it back up they tell me they checked it out and found no problems. They gave me a new battery and sent me on my way. The next day I investigate just a little bit myself. I take a current reading at the battery with the key off, no alarm, everything turned OFF. Then I pulled the radio fuse from the distribution panel in the engine compartment and took another reading. I had a 1.38 Amp current drop from the first reading. Long story short, from my really quick test, the Shaker 500 is sucking our batteries dead. There is still a significant current draw with the radio fuse pulled. I didn't investigate further the remaining cause of the current draw.

jsgst8

i dont have the shaker system in mine and i still have the problem

jsgst8

i took my car to the dealer today and i was told that the battery and charging system is fine. They said the problem is with the amp on my subs. The checked the drain while it was hooked up and it was pretty high then they disconencted the amp wire and the drain went away.

Now my next question is, what in the amp would actually cause this? if it was wired wrong it would create a short and blow the fuse or it may not work correctly, i have neither of these problems, it plays fine. It was installed by my couisin who works for circuit city and has done my last 4 cars and never had a problem. The amp light definitely goes off when i turn the key off. COULD THE AMP GO BAD AND CAUSE IT TO KEEP A CHARGE WHEN THE KEY IS OFF?

The ford garage recommended a Automotive circuit breaker which would give me a switch under my dash to turn of the amp when i park the car, has anyone ever heard of this solution?

any feedback woulb be greatly appreciated as this problem is really irritating. summer is coming and i dont want to have this problem

JJ_Stang

I think the dealer is Blowing smoke up your A@@ trying to find something that you installed that is causing the problem. I have an aftermarket stereo with two amps and have left the car parked for weeks without a dead battery, but I had a dead battery with the SKIPPER 500, since I unplugged the SKIPPER amps and removed the head unit I have had no problems.

jsgst8

i dont have the shaker system at all.

also, i had disconnected the amp myself and let the car sit for a week and it didnt die. when i hooked the amp back up, it went dead after 2 days. they say there is definitely a draw on the battery when the amp is hooked up and it goes away when amp is unplugged.

also, i am still trying to find out some nfo on these AUTOMOTIVE CIRCUIT BREAKERS. i have searched for them on the interent and there are a bunch of different ones. also, will this even correct the problem?

i actually am starting to believe it is the amp, because of the fact i take the amp fuse out and it doesnt go dead...i was surprised that they said the amp but it is starting to make sense

jsgst8

also, would a simple toggle switch on my amp wire wor as well?