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Dead battery

25K views 39 replies 27 participants last post by  sailor 
#1 ·
This is mostly an fyi thread, because I had trouble finding info on the subject.

Bought the car new in Jan of 2012, battery passed away in May of 2013. That's pretty horrible battery life. There was no prior indication of it going bad. No alternator lights or low battery warnings. I spend 3 hours a day on the freeway, so it has plenty of time to recharge every day.

I came out in the morning, took a short run to the store, and shut everything off. Four hours later I came out to make a food run, and it was basically dead. It had enough to juice to run the door locks (thank goodness) but not enough to even bump the starter. It had 10.45 volts on my voltmeter. It should have 13 or 14. Although the weather is very moderate in this area, I wanted to check the water levels (in hot dry areas like Arizona even "maintenance free" batteries lose water after a year). I could only check the cells in the front, and one cell was a little low, but not very bad. I left the charger on it all night, and it would not take a charge at all. It started with ease when jumped, so I bought a new jump starter battery because my old one was worn out.

Monday morning I went to a dealer, but they didn't stock the battery, so I went to another one about 8 miles away. Warranty on the battery is 36 months or 36,000 miles. Mine was 17 months old and I had... 36,300 miles on it. ARGGGHHHH. I don't know what mileage has to do with battery life since the car basically runs off the alternator while it's running, other than to eliminate warranty claims like in my case.

The good news is it cost about 130 or 140 bucks for a new one, including install. I'm not sure I want a new Ford battery since the old one was so crappy. They did replace it in under an hour, so it must not be as bad a job as it looks. The damn thing is virtually buried, so it looks like a horrible job to replace it at first glance. Oh, it also cost me a weekend of rental car fees and I bought a jumpstarter battery that I should not have needed. I was lucky that I got stranded at home instead of out somewhere.

I would recommend anyone with a Focus a year or more older get a small jumpstarter battery (about 50 bucks at Home Depot) and keep it in their trunk. Yes, you can call roadside service, but then you have to wait for them to come and it could be a long wait if you're out in the boonies. I had NO warning and these batteries are clearly defective to be failing so quickly.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
The battery is easy to pull and replace, but unfortunately it's not covered in the manual.

It goes something like this (going from memory here) :

Disconnect ground at strut tower.
Remove lid
Disconnect positive at post
Pull front "gate" of battery box up, and hinge it down
Remove battery tie-down bracket
Slide battery partially out to disconnect negative at post
Slide out to remove

Reverse for installation
 
#4 ·
That's ridiculous no battery should did that quickly. Do you happen to know your build date? I'm wondering if your car is like mine and sat on the lot for a while before purchasing. (mine longer than most) Mine is a Sept 2011 build date that i bought in April 2013. I think i should get my battery tested then. Really sucks that you were only 300 miles out of warranty, ford should do something about that

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express
 
#5 ·
Happened to me after 8 months of owning the car. Luckily I was still under warranty and the dealer replaced it no charge. They put in a Motorcraft Max battery, which is hopefully better than whatever came from the factory. Haven't had any issues since, knock on wood.
 
#6 ·
About a year after owning my Focus its battery died too. Mine also had a pile of battery acid on the positive terminal but I have no clue why. I was at 35600 when the dealership changed it so I guess I got lucky but they did a bad job changing it. They removed both top pieces of the battery job cover and the battery (I think) is seated too far back and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the rear part of the cover back on >.<
 
#7 ·
#14 ·
Meh...I guess the quality is dropping. My 02 V6 still had the factory battery when I sold it in 08. My 07 Focus still has the factory battery at 110k. My 03 Cobra went out in 2011 but our 04 GT went out in 06...who knows.
 
#18 ·
Couple things;

1) Batteries can fail early. It does happen. My wifes Honda Shadow had a brand new battery from the dealer (I watched them put it in), failed 3 months later. Same brand (Yuasa) is in my Kawasaki and is 7 years old.

2) Batteries will begin to become damaged when they dip below 12.4 volts. That's the point at which sulfation occurs. Your car may still start and run just fine, but below that, sulfate crystals will form on the plates impeding the batteries ability to hold a charge. This could've even happened at the dealer, if the battery was left 'dead' for days and then recharged! This is why some people use 'battery tenders' on things like boats, lawn mowers, motorcycles; etc. Things that may sit for months and not be used; to prevent them from dropping in voltage.

3) The oft quoted '13 or 14 volts' is not always accurate. When the vehicle is RUNNING, yes, it should be between 13.5~14.9 volts. Most run right around 14.1 volts. However, without the vehicle running, above 12.4 is acceptable. Most batteries (I say most because it can vary!) will run about 12.6~12.8 when fully charged. Remember that when you stick a meter on a running car (or use a gauge in the car), it's reading the total voltage of the cars electrical system, not JUST the battery. Also note that those numbers are assumed 'without load'. However, with OR without load, going below 12.4 volts for any extended period of time is harmful to the battery.

If you have a phantom draw you'll know by now, your new battery will be dead! But it's really not all that uncommon for a brand new battery to fail. It's not a precision instrument, it's a bath of chemicals (namely sulfuric acid) and lead plates. Plates can be damaged in shipping, sulfation could occur prematurely, etc. etc.
 
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#21 ·
Working at Autozone for the past 3 years ive seen some factors of battery failure not mentioned here.

1) Batteries are not secured down properly
2) Terminals are not maintained, have acid buildup
3) Terminals are original ones
4) Terminals are not tightened properly
5) Cold Cranking amps do not meet specs, yes having an audio system affects
6) No anticorrosive spray or gel daubed on the area
7) still iffy about this one...some batteries ive changed have a heat/cold jacket
8) battery acid wells not maintenanced...sum ppl over add distilled water
Personally ive helped lots of customers save a $100 bill by buying a $13 quart of battery acid and replenishing as needed

But yea the Motorcraft battery live span mentioned in here makes me sick to my stomach. At work, ill see few Everstart Walmart Batteries, Interstate, Energizer, or DieHard ones.

Never been a fan of the small terminals that hug the post giving it that clean look http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Battery-Terminals-are-lead-free-481147
Best Terminal in my opinion: Brass like this -->http://www.appleinternational.com/b...ctors/brass-battery-terminals-connectors.html
 
#39 ·
OK, I'm clearly not well versed in car batteries.

We're supposed to add distilled water to the batteries? Gel? What acid buildup?


Working at Autozone for the past 3 years ive seen some factors of battery failure not mentioned here.

1) Batteries are not secured down properly
2) Terminals are not maintained, have acid buildup
3) Terminals are original ones
4) Terminals are not tightened properly
5) Cold Cranking amps do not meet specs, yes having an audio system affects
6) No anticorrosive spray or gel daubed on the area
7) still iffy about this one...some batteries ive changed have a heat/cold jacket
8) battery acid wells not maintenanced...sum ppl over add distilled water
Personally ive helped lots of customers save a $100 bill by buying a $13 quart of battery acid and replenishing as needed

But yea the Motorcraft battery live span mentioned in here makes me sick to my stomach. At work, ill see few Everstart Walmart Batteries, Interstate, Energizer, or DieHard ones.

Never been a fan of the small terminals that hug the post giving it that clean look Waytek New Battery Terminals are Lead Free
Best Terminal in my opinion: Brass like this -->Brass Auto Products, Brass Battery Terminals Connectors, Brass Machine Made Battery Terminal
 
#23 ·
Yep, but I would verify that reading with a quality voltmeter first and take the reading directly at the battery terminals. Fully charged, a lead acid battery should produce about 2.10 - 2.14 volts per cell or between 12.6 and 12.8 volts after the surface charge is removed. (Run the headlights for a minute then shut them off before you take the reading) 11.8 is very low and may indicate a sulfated battery or a dying cell. I am surprised your car will crank with that voltage and that's why I would verify that reading at the terminals. You can figure out a bad cell by using a hydrometer to test the electrolyte of each cell. The specific gravity falls as the cell discharges. Specific gravity should not vary more than .05 between cells.

Charge S.G. Voltage

100% 1.265 12.7
75% 1.225 12.4
50% 1.190 12.2
25% 1.155 12.0
Dead 1.120 11.9

I just bought one of these to plug in to the power port in my console to keep an eye on voltage. $3.42 with free shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8MHZGU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

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#24 ·
Glad i watched the video. Very LONG, but still worth knowing about how to get off the covers, etc.
Agree some ofthe issues may come form bettery being discharged to far while sitting at dealer.
I hope my battery. Which was installed/built end July 2011, I bought it end August 2011 with 6 miles on it.. Will last.
 
#28 ·
I feel like my battery is on the way out. All was fine. Got my system installed. Voltage was up around 14.2 - 14.4 while playing. Then about a week or so of having it installed, the voltage just dropped to like 13.1. Sits there while the car is running. Idle, driving no matter what, it's at 13.1. and drops to like 11.8! But when I decelerate, the voltage goes up to 14.2 - 14.4 until I put my foot back on the gas and it drops back to 13.1.

Yanked the system out and voltage is the same in Test Mode.

Upgrading my battery in the near future.
 
#29 ·
Geez they don't make anything easy in these new cars. Only other car I owned that the battery was a PITA to remove was my Chrysler Intrepid. You had to remove the right front wheel, remove a panel in the inner fender well and then slide the battery backwards out the wheel well. I owned the Intrepid though for 5 years and the battery was still putting out juice fine. I just changed it as a preventive measure because that's how I am: I change stuff before it goes bad, I don't wait until something fails.

Now my Dodge Magnum was easiest car battery to replace. It was in the "trunk" so you just lifted up a panel under the rear floor and there it was easy as heck to get to.
 
#32 ·
Another factor is how long the battery sits before being installed at the assembly plant. The batteries arrive on large pallets. If the plant has a good rotation system, they are installed in the order they are received. If not, a pallet can sit at the back for weeks. The plant shuts down for a week or more if sales are slow. It shuts down for more than a week at Christmas and a week or two for summer break. The workers may play the radio while the car sits in the plant. All of these can degrade the battery before the car goes to the dealer.
 
#33 ·
Just had to do roadside assistance on my 2014 Focus w/ 18000 mi purchased in 3/2014. The last time I drove the car I noticed that the first crank of the morning was extra slow, but subsequent cranks were fine. Then today I turned the key, and I got the radio/displays/lights powered but absolutely no crank. Not even a sound.

Luckily I was at home and I was only going to get groceries, so the tow truck came out and jumped it. I took it in and left it at the dealer for 3 hrs or so, and apparently it held when they recharged it. So for now, I'm still using the original battery, but I can see where this is going.

I figure Motorcraft clearly makes a crap battery if it doesn't last more than a year. Pretty crazy, considering my last Ford was a 1996 Ford Explorer with an OEM battery that I only replaced at 9 years/115000 mi out of an abundance of caution.

Maybe Kirkland?
 
#34 ·
I figure if it doesn't last more than a year.
Clearly. Good assumption.

Guess mine could go any day now after over 3 and a half years and over 87k miles.

There obviously couldn't be any kind of exceptions.

Heck I even had to replace the battery in my Flex after four years. I mean it wasn't completely toasted or anything, but since "Motorcraft clearly makes a crap battery" I didn't want to take any chances.
 
#36 ·
i took my car in just before the warranty expired (35,900 lol) they tested among other things, the battery. they told me the test failed and i needed a new battery - it would be ($ whatever it cost) but it would come with a warranty. i asked - doesn't the one that's in there come with a warranty? they checked - yep. okay, one more test before we can replace it under warranty.

oh, it passed that test. so... the test for charging me $ to replace the battery failed. then the test for charging ford $ to replace it passed.

i'm at 42,000 now, i don't have a lot of confidence that this battery will last a long time but we'll see i guess.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
#37 ·
i took my car in just before the warranty expired (35,900 lol) they tested among other things, the battery. they told me the test failed and i needed a new battery - it would be ($ whatever it cost) but it would come with a warranty. i asked - doesn't the one that's in there come with a warranty? they checked - yep. okay, one more test before we can replace it under warranty.

oh, it passed that test. so... the test for charging me $ to replace the battery failed. then the test for charging ford $ to replace it passed.

i'm at 42,000 now, i don't have a lot of confidence that this battery will last a long time but we'll see i guess.
Did you get that in writing? If the battery failed the test within the 3 year/36,000 mile window, it should have been replaced under the bumper to bumper warranty. The warranty status has no impact on the electrochemical state of a battery. Your dealer scammed you.
 
#40 ·
That's a long list of generic information, not all useful or applicable for each situation.

The addition of distilled water to maintain electrolyte level is required for any that are NOT of the maint. free type with sealed or no apparent caps.

"Gel" mentioned is one of a number of corrosion prevention products. Felt washers (green &red) with anti-corrosive material in them are the most often seen of this type product. Coating terminals with grease is the most basic/common prevention measure.

"Acid buildup" is the cause for most corrosion, as batteries can seep a little at the terminals. White buildup of lead corrosion or green on copper are typical results, and that is an acidic buildup. Baking soda/water solution or the same thing in a spray can are the clean up methods to neutralize acid. LOTS of water to flush is needed after that to clear the area, and treating twice is recommended.

That top up with acid might be a temp. fix for a bad battery when levels dropped, but it isn't good since the concentration changes. Water is what disappears and needs to be replaced followed by charging.

Battery care is a large subject, this info. is just on the basic trouble areas.
 
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