intermittent 12 volt battery drain

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chuckm

Member
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
6
Occasionally overnight the 12 volt battery looses all its charge, rendering the car inoperable. The last time this happened I had to have the 12 volt battery jumped. The external charger would not charge the car. I had checked to be sure all the lights were out the night before when I shut it down.
 
Yes replacing the 12v battery solves the issue for 90% of the people. The ford motorcraft batteries are not known for their longevity.
 
Yep thats a longstanding weak link of the FFE.
I learned to use a 12v battery maintainer overnight and get a plug in 12v meter accessory to plug in the accessory port to monitor it.
Also I got a 12v Lion battery emergency jump unit to carry in the car.
 
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I hope you are still under warranty. I consider it a design flaw that the FFE does not log when something doesn't shut down like it is supposed to. Either that or have it designed such that one module controls access to the 12V battery. Your problem is some module is not shutting off when the car turns off. Unless it is repeatable or the mechanic happens to catch it in the act of misbehaving it is impossible to troubleshoot the cause. If you just replace the battery you may be wasting money as a strong new battery may mask the problem as it may be strong enough to keep from going dead as quickly. Search my other posts for information on this problem.

Carbuff, I respectfully disagree. My last two Motorcraft batteries lasted 9+ years. 1 died after 9 years. The other I replaced after 9 years and ended up going into my '68VW when its battery died. That motorcraft was still working at 10+ years old when I sold my VW. I speculate it's the over abundance of electronics in modern vehicles are what's killing the batteries after only a few years. Although I'll admit it also could very likely be a case of they don't make em like they used to.
 
triangles said:
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I hope you are still under warranty. I consider it a design flaw that the FFE does not log when something doesn't shut down like it is supposed to. Either that or have it designed such that one module controls access to the 12V battery. Your problem is some module is not shutting off when the car turns off. Unless it is repeatable or the mechanic happens to catch it in the act of misbehaving it is impossible to troubleshoot the cause. If you just replace the battery you may be wasting money as a strong new battery may mask the problem as it may be strong enough to keep from going dead as quickly. Search my other posts for information on this problem.

Carbuff, I respectfully disagree. My last two Motorcraft batteries lasted 9+ years. 1 died after 9 years. The other I replaced after 9 years and ended up going into my '68VW when its battery died. That motorcraft was still working at 10+ years old when I sold my VW. I speculate it's the over abundance of electronics in modern vehicles are what's killing the batteries after only a few years. Although I'll admit it also could very likely be a case of they don't make em like they used to.

Triangles - I believe it is the over abundance of electronics. On all of my modern cars, batteries are only lasting 3 years maximum. Notice how hard it is to get a battery with a warranty longer than that? The battery manufacturers have figured it out!! The battery in my 65 Buick lasted ten years. That battery never failed to crank the engine, even if it sat for weeks between starts. I think I hastened it's demise by allowing one of the cells to go dry. Ditto for the batteries in my f-in-law's classics. Never a problem.

Keith
 
Yeah, the problems Ive seen with motorcraft batteries have been with fairly new cars. 2008 fusion, 2014 fusion, 2013 lincoln, 2015 explorer, none made it past 3 years. The batteries in my 67 camaro and 65 buick have lasted forever. The battery in my 98 mustang just died this year and it was old when I got the car 4 years ago. it was not a motorcraft.
 
Keith,
That makes sense both my long lived Motorcrafts were on an 80's and a 2000 Ford both with minimal electronics. Since I plan to keep my FFE until it rusts out we'll see how long I can get the Motorcraft battery that Ford replaced under warranty 2 months ago to last! :lol:
 
campfamily said:
Carbuff said:

Carbuff - I have a 65 Buick Skylark Gran Sport Convertible. What do you have?

Keith

Had. 1965 Skylark convertible. Light blue metallic, white roof, white interior, with buckets and console. 300 automatic. Previous owner subbed a th350 for the original 2 speed. It was a fun car. Not my car but it looked like this.

https://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/[email protected]?rev=1

Mine had rally wheels and white interior. Funny, I just came across the radio delete plate for this car while re-arranging some stuff. Oddly enough, I dont know if I even have a pic of the car. Had it for over 10 years too.
 
Carbuff said:
Had. 1965 Skylark convertible. Light blue metallic, white roof, white interior, with buckets and console. 300 automatic. Previous owner subbed a th350 for the original 2 speed. It was a fun car. Not my car but it looked like this.

https://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/[email protected]?rev=1

Mine had rally wheels and white interior. Funny, I just came across the radio delete plate for this car while re-arranging some stuff. Oddly enough, I dont know if I even have a pic of the car. Had it for over 10 years too.

Sounds nice. Mine is the Gran Sport, so it has the 401 engine and the 2 speed automatic. Burgundy with white interior and top. I bought it from the original owner's family, had 63,000 miles on it when I got it, has about 70,000 now. Interior, drivetrain, upholstery etc. all original. Was repainted in the 90's original color, and top was replaced about the same time. It's a high option car, ps, pb, pw, tilt, factory A/C (still blows cold), power top, rally wheels, buckets, console, tach.

Hey, let me know if you want to let go of that radio delete plate.

OP, sorry to have hi-jacked your thread!! :) Any update on your battery issue?

Keith
 
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