Battery issues advice...

[legendary70]

Hello all.

i have a 2005 explorer. i noticed that when it started getting cold here in El Paso my battery would have a hard time starting up the car in the mornings. after about a week of struggling to start up the truck it died. one morning it just did not start anymore. I went to wal mart and got it exchanged since i had just bought it about 7 months ago. so i went ahead and put the new battery into my expedition and put the one in the expedition into my explorer. It never had issues when on my expedition. Well that was about 3 weeks ago and started to notice the battery again having a hard time starting my truck....well this morning it is dead again. I am not sure if it is the cold weather or what. what do y'all think?

thx

 

[Mbrooks420]

How old is It? Do you drive them the same frequency?

 

[legendary70]

2005 explorer
2013 expedition

I drive my explorer to work everyday about 6 miles round trip.

 

[Mbrooks420]

How old is the expedition battery, I mean?

How often do you drive the expedition?

You might have a weak alternator, and 3 miles isn’t enough to recharge it.

 

[legendary70]

The expedition ;battery is around 2 years old. the expedition is good2go. i dont have issues with expy. the explorer is the one that has the issue.
So if the alternator is not good it wont charge battery? aside from removing alternator to test it.....should i turn truck on and remove negative terminal to see if it stays on? if it does not then i guess it is the alternator? thx

 

[Mbrooks420]

My point is if you drive the Expedition for longer periods of time it might just have more time to charge the battery.

I wouldn’t remove a battery terminal when running, I believe it can damage modern alternators. I’d start by jumping it, and letting it run awhile, or taking it for a longer drive. Then start it early and let it run a bit before heading to work.

If you have a multimeter you can test voltage when sitting, and when running. Should be above 14 when running.

Either that or I’d drop a $50 battery in it and see what happens.

 

[legendary70]

k. I will take it to get tested. and I will just try out a new walmart 50 battery. thx brooks

 

[legendary70]

usually my expy is used on the weekends only. during the week is the explorer.