Can a dying battery be causing other issues??

[06MountaineerPA]

For the last week or so I have been dealing with the dreaded Wrench, ABS and Traction light on and off intermittently. Sometime will come on as I'm driving and be brief and other times come on and stay on. I don't get the wheel lock up, like a bad ABS sensor. I checked my tone rings, thinking one was broken. I changed my rear brake pads, as they were low. Noticed this while checking tone rings. Brake fluid is within allowable limits. Brake pedal feel is soft and making a whoosh as I apply pressure.

The warning lights have been coming on at morning cold start up and stay on for maybe 10 mins. I also have noticed its been cranking longer to start the truck, like a weak battery. I put a voltage meter on my OBDII bluetooth app. My voltage has been 13.9 at start up and bounces around between 13.4-13.6 depending on high how I have the heater fan, seat warmer, etc.

From doing research, I read a post where someone asked about there airbag light being on and people commented saying its from a failing battery. My airbag light has been on a few times at start up as well. So I was wondering if there's a connection and if I replace the battery will these issues go away or do I need to be looking at something else.

sorry for the long post, just wanted to be as informative as possible.

 

[96eb96]

Its possible, have you checked out the alternator and diodes? Parts stores do it free. These cars also have flimsy wire insulation. That could be an issue.

 

[D Hook]

If your battery has a few years on it, that would be a great place to start. Cheapest option.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

I've heard of weak batteries causing all sorts of problems in 5th gens, but haven't heard much about it in other generations. I would think it's possible though. Have you checked your coils on plugs? I'd check the COPs too.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

A weak battery can cause many issues in computer controlled vehicles. My old 99 Ranger was turning on the CEL almost daily. I new battery fixed it right up. If yours is turning over slowly and it has any age on it at all, I wouldn't hesitate to replace the battery.

 

[D Hook]

Might also want to check the battery posts and cable connections for corrosion. Sometimes the corrosion wicks up the cable and it's difficult to find. If cleaning the connections (ground to body and positive-to-alternator cable also) doesn't solve, then I'd suspect the battery next.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I've heard of weak batteries causing all sorts of problems in 5th gens, but haven't heard much about it in other generations. I would think it's possible though. Have you checked your coils on plugs? I'd check the COPs too.

What are COPs?

 

[D Hook]

Coils On Plugs.

 

[deewan]

I had a weak battery that caused all sorts of issues. My easy entry seats which I had turned off would go into motion. The door handle locks sometimes wouldn’t work. Interior lights were wonky. Battery was inspected and physically looked good but was old enough I replaced it. All the issues disappeared.

 

[Greg 59]

For the last week or so I have been dealing with the dreaded Wrench, ABS and Traction light on and off intermittently. Sometime will come on as I'm driving and be brief and other times come on and stay on. I don't get the wheel lock up, like a bad ABS sensor. I checked my tone rings, thinking one was broken. I changed my rear brake pads, as they were low. Noticed this while checking tone rings. Brake fluid is within allowable limits. Brake pedal feel is soft and making a whoosh as I apply pressure.

The warning lights have been coming on at morning cold start up and stay on for maybe 10 mins. I also have noticed its been cranking longer to start the truck, like a weak battery. I put a voltage meter on my OBDII bluetooth app. My voltage has been 13.9 at start up and bounces around between 13.4-13.6 depending on high how I have the heater fan, seat warmer, etc.

From doing research, I read a post where someone asked about there airbag light being on and people commented saying its from a failing battery. My airbag light has been on a few times at start up as well. So I was wondering if there's a connection and if I replace the battery will these issues go away or do I need to be looking at something else.

sorry for the long post, just wanted to be as informative as possible.

I have an 07 explorer that had a airbag light would come on if it sat a couple days, my voltage was in the same range as yours. My alternator was weak not bad just weak! I changed my alternator and my battery, since the battery would only hold a low range charge. Your alternator should maintain 14.5 volts. If you have low voltage everything will work you will just get funny faults out of the computer. I hope that helps!

 

[LorenzoGarbanzo]

I was having a bit of rough idle sometimes, hard starting, and an air bag light on constantly for a bit. The battery went down twice over a few weeks when I realized I needed to stop leaving my phone charger & dash cam plugged in at night. Since doing that and letting the battery re-charge. It's running better, starts easier, and the air bag light is gone. Low battery output can definitely affect multiple electronic systems in your vehicle.

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

Your voltage at your obd2 adapter should be closer to 14V and with a meter on the battery more so at 14+ 14.6 In a perfect world your battery at rest for a time should hold at least 12.6 volts. This means your alt has to put the battery at a minimum 13.6 volts to both charge the battery and supply voltage to truck itself. You should see well above 13.6, even on my 96 X when my alternator started to go it got down to 13.6 volts and that caused the battery light to come on because even though it is enough power to run the truck its not under full load, lights, radio, air con, ect ect it was no longer charging the battery but pulling from it as well to operate right. Best thing to do is run into town and get yourself a bare bones meter if you do not have one and see what its doing.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Running your voltage should be the same everywhere. A car charger and dash cam shouldn’t drain a healthy battery overnight. If it’s years old, it’s likely on its way out.

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

I only mentioned because I know my obd2 deal says about .5 lower than my voltmeter does. I assumed he is using the one on a cell phone not a scanner. Probably should have asked that first but.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Most likely that’s a meter discrepancy.

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

I think it's in the app or little obd2 dongel deal since sometimes it will match the meter. Or It could be other way round. I just tend to trust the 100$ fluke over the 20$ obd2 deal

 

[06MountaineerPA]

Yes, I'm using an OBDII dongle thru an App. Even when it got down to 13.4v, my battery light hasn't come on.

 

[Mbrooks420]

There’s probably a debounce timer on it so it has to see below a threshold for a certain amount of time, or longer.

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

I would agree with Mbrooks420 mines fairly old school, The light directly relates to the voltage as it would blink when it would bounce above and below a certain point.