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Dead Battery 2014 Limited

TBill

Elite Explorer
Joined
February 19, 2014
Messages
345
Reaction score
119
Location
Prescott, AZ
City, State
Prescott, AZ
Year, Model & Trim Level
2020 Explorer Platinum
This is the second battery this vehicle has had installed, one died while still under the 3 year/36 mile warranty this second one went without any indication of an issue. Went to start the vehicle on Sunday, nothing, would not crank the engine. I don't live in Phoenix so heat should not be a factor, could it be all of the electronics in these newer vehicles?

I never experience this many battery failures in the 50+ years I have been driving!

TB
 



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I'm on my third battery.

In my 2017.
 






This is the second battery this vehicle has had installed, one died while still under the 3 year/36 mile warranty this second one went without any indication of an issue. When to start the vehicle on Sunday, nothing, would not crank the engine. I don't live in Phoenix so heat should not be a factor, could it be all of the electronics in these newer vehicles?

I never experience this many battery failures in the 50+ years I have been driving!

TB
It's unusual for a battery to just be 'dead' without giving some prior indications.that it is failing.

Peter
 






The original battery was replaced under warranty in April of 2016, the replacement did not make it 3 years, the one the dealer installed today is warranted completely for 3 years, then prorated after the 3 year period.

TB
 






It's unusual for a battery to just be 'dead' without giving some prior indications.that it is failing.

Peter

My first one didn't make it obvious. Dead as a doornail, not so much as a light came on. No slow cranks preceded the event, nothing.

Second one had a suspicious bulge... got rid of that one before catastrophic failure.
 






I think batteries these days are a crap shoot. Some last forever, some don't.

My Stang(89, so very few electronics) had a Napa battery that just stopped working one day. It worked just fine 1/2 hour before and then just dead.

My Ex battery is 4.5 years old, over 70k miles and it seems to be getting weak. I'll probably replace it before winter.
 






My '13 was on its 3rd battery (at least), when I traded it. Since the battery was only a couple of months old, I swapped it to the '15 before I left the dealership.
 






Depending on who you believe, the average life expectancy of a car battery under 'normal' conditions is said to be anywhere from 2-6 years. Some people have reported batteries lasting up to 10 years or longer and others only lasted a year or less.

Lots of factors can affect how long a battery will last - too hot, too cold, vibration, lots of short trips/frequent starting that depletes battery and doesn't provide enough time to recharge, sulphation/internal defect, corroded connections, parasitic drain, and so on...

If you have concerns with battery life, you can always have your charging system tested/monitored to see if it has a problem that may be contributing to the premature death of your battery.
 






Some batteries are better than others, some die quick, others are tough to kill. Back in 1988 I had a car crash that split my relatively new DIE HARD battery down the side, most of the acid leaked out, being the cheapskate that I am, I melted the plastic case back together with a solder gun, filled it with water, charged it up, and it lasted another 6 years!
 






Some batteries are better than others, some die quick, others are tough to kill. Back in 1988 I had a car crash that split my relatively new DIE HARD battery down the side, most of the acid leaked out, being the cheapskate that I am, I melted the plastic case back together with a solder gun, filled it with water, charged it up, and it lasted another 6 years!

Buy a lottery ticket, then buy me one, too.
 






I had the same issue with my battery. never had any indication there was a problem. parked in the garage then went to go out a few hours later and couldn't start. called AAA and they started car with their portable battery. he said I should replace it as soon as I could. since I was leaving on vacation the next day I didn't want to spend much time on it so I bought one of their batteries. I asked him and he said that it wasn't unusual for batteries to go out without warning signs.
 






Assuming you do not have any parasitic drains (TFT screen on or park shifter)
the issue most probably is because of the BMS (the smart battery management system) most of the times + dealers not resetting the BMS when a new battery is installed.
I am on my 3rd battery for less than 2.5 years. At least the good part is ford delaers change them for free, but it is very annoying.
Check out anyone with older Ford and you would see this issue is non-existent. Only the past years generations report this + other 2011+ models too - Focus, Edge, etc.

What basically happens is the BMS (battery management smart system) does not fully charge the battery and has a weird algorithm for charging/discharging (smart controlling the alternator) and especially if you do not drive much eventually you get your battery in partially charged state . ie 85-90% SOC...over time it gets bad and worst case may die or the dealer upon their "works" inspection may notice it does not work as expected.

The whole BMS algo is stupid. I monitor it with Forscan from time to time.
It charges less volts when car accelerates (which is most of the time with this weight of the Explorer), sometimes even discharges battery (i.e. stops the alternator) and you drive only on battery. Charges high only when you remove your foot off the gas pedal or going downhill, etc.
What partially helps is to drive with headlights turned on , this at least I've noticed puts a bit more Ampers from the alternator to the battery. But it is nowhere near a real solution.
 






^ I believe the BMS can be shut down with FORScan.

From what I understand about the BMS, even if the dealer forgets to reset the BMS--the loss is in efficiency, not the health of the battery.

Both my Taurus and Explorer had BMS. Explorer has cooked two batteries and on number three, the Taurus never nuked one (I did have an aftermarket battery in there to help out my dashcam in parking mode, but the point holds true. The OEM battery was good on removal.)
 






Yes, it can be disabled but I am not sure how it would work out long term. more specifically not sure if the the voltage regulator on the alternator would do its job as inthe old days or relies a lot on the BMS to control it. There are people who disable it but nobody (at least I have not found) posted real live data of how the charging works over a long term period (with forscan live monitorind data for example).

That is interesting that the Taurus did not have any issues. Wondering what could be the reason...either the aftermarket (probably larger battery) or the algorithm of its BMS. I am pretty sure they program them differently for different vehicles and options and most probably there is even software updates but you know dealers never do that pro-actively :)
 






Given that the cars are astonishingly close in powertrain implementation--you would think the distinction wouldn't hold.

The oversized battery probably helps. But I believe the BMS is tuned to the capacity of the battery--so even in my current ride things might be a bit "off." And I have a sneaking suspicion that the Explorer might eat battery number three. We will see.

FWIW, the Taurus community saw more than a few battery failures, too. Maybe I was just lucky on the first car. For the second one, I keep my jump box accessible.
 






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