Battery Issues

[FordService]

I woke up this morning to find my 2013 Explorer, bought in May of 2013, dead...

Hi daisybytes,

Send me your information (VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name) so I can get your regional customer service manager involved. They'll work with your dealership to get your concerns resolved.

Crystal

 

[blwnsmoke]

I woke up this morning to find my 2013 Explorer, bought in May of 2013, dead! Tried to have the car jumped, nothing.
This is the 2nd problem with this brand new car now. 1st one was a bad fuel pump.
I am so upset and am hoping to have the Lemon Law on my side.
If anyone has any information about Lemon Laws please help me.
I had the car for 10 days and then it was off to the dealer for 6 weeks. Now its going back again and its left me stranded.

Every state varies but most tend to be 30 days out of service or 3 failed repair attempts of the SAME problem. Im shocked you had to wait 6 weeks for a fuel pump.. I would had asked the dealer to pull one from an EX on the lot.

 

[ferjen]

I have been having a problem with my battery as well. SYNC had been informing me over the past few weeks it was going into power saver mode. Then, last night, I went to start it and it was dead. Bought extra long jumper cables to jump it in the garage since it's nearly impossible to put the darn thing in Neutral and roll it out. Jumped it with my wife's Edge, backed it out, drove it around to charge the battery. Put it back in the garage and went to start it again this morning after letting it sit overnight. Dead again. Jumped it again and took it to the Dealership. The Dealership just called me, said they drained the battery and then re-charged it full and tested it. Said the battery is fine. I told them to check something else. The car is drawing power off the battery when I'm not in it somehow, some way. However, I have no confidence in this dealership finding an answer based on past dealings with them. It'd be nice if someone already knew where to look so I could direct the dealership, as backwards as that sounds...

 

[peterk9]

I have been having a problem with my battery as well. SYNC had been informing me over the past few weeks it was going into power saver mode. Then, last night, I went to start it and it was dead. Bought extra long jumper cables to jump it in the garage since it's nearly impossible to put the darn thing in Neutral and roll it out. Jumped it with my wife's Edge, backed it out, drove it around to charge the battery. Put it back in the garage and went to start it again this morning after letting it sit overnight. Dead again. Jumped it again and took it to the Dealership. The Dealership just called me, said they drained the battery and then re-charged it full and tested it. Said the battery is fine. I told them to check something else. The car is drawing power off the battery when I'm not in it somehow, some way. However, I have no confidence in this dealership finding an answer based on past dealings with them. It'd be nice if someone already knew where to look so I could direct the dealership, as backwards as that sounds...

Welcome to the Forum ferjen.:wavey:
I get this warning about once a month and since the dealer told me the battery was good, I just throw the battery charger on it in. In 'trickle mode' it takes about 10- 11 hours to get a full charge. The first few times this happened they replaced the battery under warranty. That was almost a year ago. These vehicles always have a steady draw on the battery to keep some of the electronic programs operational. It shouldn't draw that much though. I think my problem is that I don't drive enough and long enough to keep the battery fully charged.

As for putting the Ex in Neutral with a dead battery, I'm not sure if you are aware of the following from page 227 of your Owner's Manual;

Use the BSI lever to move the gearshift lever from the park position in
the event of an electrical malfunction or if your vehicle has a dead
battery.
Apply the parking brake, turn the ignition key to the off position, and
remove the key.
1. Using a screwdriver (or similar
tool), carefully pry off and remove
the Brake shift interlock access
panel.
2. Locate the brake shift interlock lever in front of the
shifter assembly.
3. Apply the brake pedal. Gently push and hold the
brake shift interlock lever while pulling the gearshift
lever out of the P (Park) position and into the N
(Neutral) position.
4. Install the trim panel.
5. Apply the brake pedal, start the vehicle, and release the parking
brake.
Note: See your authorized dealer as soon as possible if this procedure is
used.



Peter

 

[jimmy7044]

Had the same problem with our 2011 Limited. We also had just about every possible TSB issued done to fix (or try to fix) other problems with our 2011 Limited. We traded it in last April on a 2013 Sport. Have not had any problems with anything yet (12,000 miles). It's like a totally different SUV, all the problems went away. The only warranty work done so far has been one SYNC update. Just FYI, Ford will send someone to jump start it under your free road side assistance, but one time we waited 1.5 hrs. for them to show up.

 

[Kiliona]

By the way having to constantly jumpstart your car can destroy the battery. If your battery has an excessive parasitic draw (the car is taking way more power from the battery when off than it should) then it might seem like the fault is a bad battery, because you may have a bad battery, but in reality it may have gone bad due to it constantly going dead and being recharged. Car batteries aren't deep cycle like toy car batteries or phone batteries, they like to run at 90-100 percent charge and dropping them too low can break them.

Point being, if your battery is bad, it may have been caused to be bad by a parasitic draw, it may not be the battery that's the source of the problem.

Parasitic draws happen from the computer in the car remembering things (keep alive memory) like what position you like your seat/mirrors and what stations you have favorited on the radio and etc etc. So some is acceptable, but if like someone stated previously if their car pulls 2.2 amps a half hour after it was shut off, then some circuit in the car is staying powered when it shouldn't.

 

[ferjen]

Welcome to the Forum ferjen.:wavey:
I get this warning about once a month and since the dealer told me the battery was good, I just throw the battery charger on it in. In 'trickle mode' it takes about 10- 11 hours to get a full charge. The first few times this happened they replaced the battery under warranty. That was almost a year ago. These vehicles always have a steady draw on the battery to keep some of the electronic programs operational. It shouldn't draw that much though. I think my problem is that I don't drive enough and long enough to keep the battery fully charged.

As for putting the Ex in Neutral with a dead battery, I'm not sure if you are aware of the following from page 227 of your Owner's Manual;

Use the BSI lever to move the gearshift lever from the park position in
the event of an electrical malfunction or if your vehicle has a dead
battery.
Apply the parking brake, turn the ignition key to the off position, and
remove the key.
1. Using a screwdriver (or similar
tool), carefully pry off and remove
the Brake shift interlock access
panel.
2. Locate the brake shift interlock lever in front of the
shifter assembly.
3. Apply the brake pedal. Gently push and hold the
brake shift interlock lever while pulling the gearshift
lever out of the P (Park) position and into the N
(Neutral) position.
4. Install the trim panel.
5. Apply the brake pedal, start the vehicle, and release the parking
brake.
Note: See your authorized dealer as soon as possible if this procedure is
used.



Peter

Peter, I am aware of the Brake Shift Interlock, but it's extremely inconvenient to have to tear apart part of your console to get the vehicle out of the garage. My wife's Edge is even more inconvenient. The part about using the screwdriver to "carefully pry off" the access panel will likely not go so smoothly. 'Carefully' and 'prying' seldom work out well. It would be nice if there were a youtube how to video out there to show how to go through the procedure.

BTW, got my Explorer back from the dealer, and as expected, they found nothing else wrong. I doubt it ever got another look.

 

[royski]

Dead battery after sitting for 11 days

2013 explorer leased in August 2012.

So I was away for 11 days and came back to a battery so dead that the FOB could not unlock it/power locks button on driver door would not unlock the rest of the car/no interior lights on.

Jumped pretty much right away, slight hesitation but ran fine. I did notice that the radio came on by itself when it started. Not sure if this is normal when a battery dies or not but I always turn radio/AC off before I turn the car off.

No doors were ajar, no lights left on, nothing left in any charger. Explorer is driven daily up until the day I went away. It has always started no problem, never been sluggish.

I did have an emissions inspection done the 2 days before I went away, but see no reason for that to cause any drain. Also, my FOB did not always lock/unlock the car on the first click, but I always assumed I needed new batteries in them.

Any ideas?

I'm calling Ford tomorrow since there is no reason a 2 year old battery should be dead like that. Car sat last summer for longer and started no problem.

 

[colintrax]

It's 2 years old, could be weak. Few months ago I replaced the battery on a lady's maxima that was just over a year old. It broke going down the road and made the car stall.

 

[peterk9]

......I'm calling Ford tomorrow since there is no reason a 2 year old battery should be dead like that. Car sat last summer for longer and started no problem.

Which model do you have? You haven't added that to your profile. It would help. If you have a Limited with all the bells and whistles I'm not surprised it could be dead. I got the low battery indicator in my MKT after it sat in the garage for 5 days. It started alright but after turning it off after a short trip, the Battery Saver Program OFF popped up on the screen indicating a low battery. Had the same issue with my 2011 Explorer Ltd if it sat 3 or 4 days. There is always a steady but low drain on the battery to keep some of the memory circuits powered.
You may also want to check out; http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=375500

Peter

 

[dco43054]

Changing the battery is the first step. They don't seem to last long, and some have died earlier than one would normally expect.

 

[royski]

Thanks for the replies.

The Explorer is a base model with the only option added being 4WD and is completely stock.

 

[royski]

Dealership just called, said the battery is testing fine and the charging system is OK. I am baffled why the car was completely dead Monday night and now checks out fine.

I know 100% that no lights were left on, what else could have drained the battery like that?

The only thing else I can think of would be the alarm but I thought it was only a passive system in the car and the only time I have heard it was wen I hit the panic button by accident bringing groceries into my house. Any ideas?

 

[peterk9]

The Battery Saver program should turn off anything accidently left on. The only lights it will not turn off are the parking lights. I never turn the radio and or A/C off before shutting the vehicle down. There really isn't any need. By turning the radio off manually I don't know whether or not you would see a 'Battery Saver OFF' (low battery indication) warning or not but then I'm not sure where you would see that message with a Base model.

Peter

 

[AAGHemi]

Battery Voltage - Engine On & Engine Off

Hi,

I new to the board. I have a 2013 Limited. I also had a 1996 XLT that I loved and put close to 200k on.

Just the last couple of days when I start my Explorer after about 20-25 seconds I get a "Check Charging System" warning and then the "Battery" light comes on and stays on.

What is the fully charged Battery Voltage when the engine is off? I read 12.64V.

What is the fully charging Voltage when the engine is on? I read about 14.3V. I know this will drop as electrical load is added but quickly recovers to the value.

Do these values sound normal? If the battery is weak I will just replace it. I don't want to drive to the dealer and wait for them to look at it if I don't have too. If it's the alternator I will go because it is still under warranty.

Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

Joe

 

[BKennedy]

If its still under warranty, take it to the dealer and let them deal with it.
How long has the battery sat prior to you checking voltage? If its 24 hours or more, than the battery sounds like its functioning properly.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum AAGHemi.:wavey:
Why not take it to the dealer? The battery is covered under the 3year, 36k mile factory warranty.

Peter

 

[AAGHemi]

I did not realize this was covered under warranty. I thought the battery is a consumable.

Thanks.

Joe

 

[peterk9]

They replaced mine after about 1.5 years Joe. Once replaced then I believe the battery comes under its own warranty. Good luck.

I also merged your thread with this existing one.

Peter

 

[markls8]

Hi AAGhemi. I posted some technical data for you but the post somehow was deleted, maybe inadvertently during the thread merge? To recap...

There are many variables, but your voltages are within the range. Check your battery terminals for corrosion and tightness - those are common issues.

The battery is located where it is exposed to harsh conditions and high temperatures, so I am not expecting any great lifespan from them. Hopefully I'm wrong about that...