Battery warning light turning on and off.. bad alternator?

[ThorChristian]

I just picked the car up and everything seems ok. However, I won't be positive until the car runs a while and I don't get those magical chimes and the battery warning light for a good while.

Interesting thought about the battery being bad. I just tried starting my second car, and that battery was also dead. What are the odds? The batteries are both AC/Delco, and the second car battery is less than a year old. I bought both batteries at the same place, and both have 30 month full replacement, so that's the good news. The bad news is I can't believe two new batteries seem to be having trouble, and the one in my second car is dead. Maybe my house was hit with an EMP. (Haha). Or maybe it's just a coincidence. I'm charging the second battery now.

I'll update the thread whenever I have an update, or maybe in a week or so if everything is ok. If this is something others are seeing, maybe we can all figure out what is going on, and make the next person who deals with this have an easier time.

Does anyone know if Ford pushes software updates to the car automatically? Would something like that potentially cause a monitoring system glitch like this?

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[thefranchise713]

Not for something like that. There's no onboard modem in a 2016 that would permit the car to download anything.

For what it's worth, my Explorer has nuked two batteries--at which point I gave up on Motorcraft and went for an Interstate. (Yes, I know 2-3 players make batteries, and it's all just different stickers and specs beyond that...) I'm convinced battery quality is headed far, far downhill.

And low voltage causes strange symptoms. It's not as simple a symptom as slow clicks/cranks anymore.

 

[ThorChristian]

Update 1

Battery warning light popped on and off again twice today, so back to the dealership it goes.

Will keep you updated.

 

[15Limited]

Update 1

Battery warning light popped on and off again twice today, so back to the dealership it goes.

Will keep you updated.

Were you able to monitor the voltage thru the Engineer Test mode as suggested earlier? What was the voltage doing when the light came on?

 

[ThorChristian]

unfortunately, no. I was not driving it at the time (my wife) and she took it into the dealership directly.

Were you able to monitor the voltage thru the Engineer Test mode as suggested earlier? What was the voltage doing when the light came on?

 

[xlt03]

Standing by for follow up. I'm out of ideas although I'm starting to question the battery itself especially since you commented about odds of 2 batteries going bad and you had the slightly lower voltage reading. I replaced battery on my 08 Ranger with Motorcraft Premium and haven't had problem at all. Ranger is delivery vehicle used in City driving and the Ranger is not smooth riding - lots of bouncing around the so far no issues with the lead plates inside battery. I also had Kirkland (Costco) batteries with no issues. Costco stopped branding their own and replaces with Interstate brand.

 

[ThorChristian]

The interesting thing is, my wife said she pulled off the road when the warning light came on and she turned the car off. She started it back up with no problem and the warning did not appear. Driving another few minutes and the warning came on again. Stayed on until she got to her destination, she turned the car off again, and when she restarted, no warning message. The warning message came on again as she drove to the dealership.

There is a default mode the alternator operates in when an error is detected, and it's about 13.6 v. My reading on the multimeter yesterday right before I took it in was 13.2, so I wonder if the alternator is in this "default" mode? I would think Ford would be able to know what all possible ways that warning message would be generated, and work from there.

I'll update when I hear from the dealership. Thank goodness I bought that extended warranty!

 

[thefranchise713]

Don't read too hard into the default voltage. Anything from 13 or so to 14.5 (sometimes a touch higher) is normal for this car in my experience. At speed, the car may even drop into the low 12s--deliberately commanded by the BCM. The car will charge at a lower voltage in the summer, higher in the cold, generally speaking. When the battery is > 80% state of charge--it will drop into the 12s for fuel economy.

Keep in mind that the same documentation notes that the battery serves as a voltage stabilizer for the electrical system--I still don't trust your battery is good.

We just haven't seen wide-scale electrical failures on these cars beyond the corroding cables/terminal.

 

[ThorChristian]

fair enough. I have no idea what is going on, so I am now just trying to learn all I can. I've done all I can personally do..

I did have the corroding positive battery terminal issue, and they replaced the battery terminal wiring harness. I hope this isn't just a cascading problem. If the battery is bad, so be it. That's under warranty too, and I can get a new one. I just am not yet convinced, since I tested it before I installed it, and tested it before taking the car in, and the readings were both over 12.2 v.

 

[thefranchise713]

You tested it with a multimeter, but did you apply a load beyond what the car could on its own?

I'm thinking there might be a bad cell here, and that can be a very flukey thing.

 

[xlt03]

I have Solar BA-940-1200 CCA tester to test my battery. It said my battery was Good (ie. State of charge and state of health). 2 weeks later...bam NO start. Retested and only got 10.6 volts. New battery via 3/36 warranty. Bad cell. As they say "they sure don't make em like they use to". I haven't had a GM vehicle for 27 years so I haven't had any experience with AC-Delco batteries. I had dealt with factory FoMoCo batteries and had minimum of 5 years and as long as 10 years before they died. Had a couple of Interstates and they averaged 4.5 years. The Kirkland (Costco) averaged 7 years. I had Motorcraft Premium and so far 6 years. Remember, I live in Northern California so I don't have the extreme cold that kills batteries.

I'm still thinking your battery may be the culprit.

 

[ThorChristian]

You may be right about the battery.

Would Ford be able to test the battery and find a bad cell, or some other internal battery flaw? I have a DIY-level mulimeter... nothing special.

The reason I ask is because they claimed they tested the battery and alternator and both checked out. Add to that the fact that when I replaced the battery initially the car wouldn't start, made me think something else is going on. I can't understand why a bad cell would cause the car to not start, then after waiting 10 minutes, turn the car over like everything is fine. Yesterday, the car was parked outside overnight (temp went below freezing) and my initial start attempt was a fail. No sound at all, and just white lights on the dash display... no graphics. After waiting, it started right up. Would a battery with a bad cell behave this way? I did not hook my battery up to any external charger overnight, either...

 

[xlt03]

Yes Ford can check battery and alternator with equipment.

I'm not a battery engineer but consider each cell is connected to each other from one side of battery to the other side of battery. If one of the cell is bad the battery will not have full power (voltage). Each cell has lead plates that are separated and has spacing between each plate and filled with electrolytes. If there is damage to plates, the battery will be weak. Also if battery electrolyte is low - battery output will be low. Has anyone checked the electrolyte? "Maintenance Free" battery not necessarily maintenance free. AGM (Optima) is maintenance free.

 

[15Limited]

Since the dealer replaced the battery terminal wiring harness, I would double and triple check for a faulty connection(s) in that area...an intermittent connection would give you exactly what you are experiencing.

 

[KayGee]

"Driving habits rather than battery defect are often the cause of battery failure.

A German manufacturer of luxury cars reveals that of 400 car batteries returned under warranty, 200 are working well and have no problem. Low charge and acid stratification are the most common causes of the apparent failure. The car manufacturer says that the problem is more common on large luxury cars offering power-hungry auxiliary options than on the more basic models.

In Japan, battery failure is the largest complaint among new car owners. The average car is only driven 13 km (8 miles) per day and mostly in a congested city. As a result, the batteries will never get fully charged and sulfation occurs. The batteries in Japanese cars are small and only provide enough power to crank the engine and perform some rudimentary functions. North America may be shielded from these battery problems, in part because of long distance driving.

Good battery performance is important because problems during the warranty period tarnish customer satisfaction. Any service requirement during that time is recorded and the number is published in trade magazines. This data is of great interest among prospective car buyers throughout the world.

Battery malfunction is seldom caused by a factory defect; driving habits are the more common culprits. Heavy accessory power when driving short distance prevents a periodic fully saturated charge that is so important for the longevity of a lead acid battery. According to a leading European manufacturer of car batteries, factory defects amounts to less than 7 percent."

"A common cause of battery failure is acid stratification. The electrolyte on a stratified battery concentrates on the bottom, causing the upper half of the cell to be acid poor. This effect is similar to a cup of coffee in which the sugar collects on the bottom when the waitress forgets to bring the stirring spoon. Batteries tend to stratify if kept at low charge (below 80%) and never have the opportunity to receive a full charge. Short distance driving while running windshield wiper and electric heaters contributes to this. Acid stratification reduces the overall performance of the battery."

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/archive/what_causes_car_batteries_to_fail



"Approximately 85% of premature deep cycle and starting batteries failures that are not recharged on a regular basis is due to an accumulation of sulfation. Sulfation is caused when a battery's State-of-Charge drops below 100% for long periods or under charging. Hard lead sulfate crystals fills the pours and coats the plates. Recharging a sulfated battery is like trying to wash your hands with gloves on."

BatteryStuff Articles | Common Causes of Battery Failure


Top Reasons Why Car Batteries Fail Prematurely


https://northeastbattery.com/top-5-reasons-batteries-fail-prematurely/

 

[peterk9]

I can verify the part about short driving distances causing battery issues. In my case, it results in the Low Battery warning on the main screen. I've run into that with my 2011, 2014 MKT and 2017 Explorer. I put the charger on twice within the last couple months. Over the Christmas period, the vehicle sat in the garage for 6 days. It gets the most long-distance driving (44 miles) once a week or every other week in the Winter time. Other than that, it is usually just short trips of 10 miles or so once or twice a week. I have put on 5800 miles in the 26 months I've had it.

Peter

 

[ThorChristian]

Update 2:

Ford called and said the alternator was bad. It’s been replaced under warranty.

As to why the alternator passed their tests the first time I took it in? I don’t know. I don’t know enough about their troubleshooting procedures, but maybe someone else can help with this. I imagine when the car showed up the second day in a row, there was more attention paid to find the problem, but I still wonder what happened the first time.

In any event, we’ll see. It looked good the first time I brought it home also, so if it is an electrical gremlin, it will come back.

To answer a couple of questions I saw in the thread.

The car is driven daily and usually long trips. (Over 50 miles). I don’t think the battery would have trouble recharging if the system was working properly.

As to the connections. I specifically asked them to check the connections since I had both the wiring harness and the water pump replaced with it the last couple of months. They assured me that the connections were secure.

Thanks all for the input and suggestions. Hopefully I won’t update this particular thread again with a 3rd failure, but if I learn anything new, I’ll of course post.

 

[xlt03]

Thanks for posting back with the outcome. This leaves a trail and answer to the issue so others can follow if they have a similar problem. Many a times the OP posts, ask a few qustions and is never heard from again and we never know what the solution was. A forum is a platform is where we share.

Sounds like your problem may have been solved. Happy motoring!

 

[15Limited]

Please post back in a couple of weeks...helps to wrap up the thread when issues are fixed.

 

[thefranchise713]

Thanks for posting the outcome. Fingers crossed this is gone for good.