I can't believe what my Ford Dealer is telling me!!

[cerbomark]

Weekend driven here only normally . On a tender all the time when not driving thru the week. BUT, I did take mine off the tender mid week a while back and then went on a road trip on Sunday (off tender about 4 days) and I got the system shutting down to save battery message multiple times for a couple days then went away. BUT I drove on a 1000 mile road trip. 2021, original battery, my modem is unplugged so no draw there. Always leave my fob about 25 feet away, doors locked.

I forgot , my modem is also unplugged. Just dump that battery for a NAPA special, it s about time.

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[skinnyb]

I forgot , my modem is also unplugged. Just dump that battery for a NAPA special, it s about time.

Eh, its holding on, never failed to start yet, not even turn over slowly... I keep a jump pack in the car just for that day when it doesn't start. Did the same for my daily driver, had to jump twice, then went and got a battery I figure spring time it will need to be replaced.

 

[saleen367]

There was someone else who had a similar problem to this and it ended up being a Lo-Jack that was plugged in to the OBDII port under the dash.

 

[KeyLime]

The biggest load and drain your battery will ever see is start up. If you can start the car the battery has more than enough juice to deal with maintaining electronics and dealing with the other issues you are having.

There is something else wrong. If the charging system can't keep up with the load while you are driving you are sure enough not going to be able to start the car the next time. That isn't the cause of your problems.

The BMS reset advice is BS. The BMS is there to minimize charging load to eek out a tiny bit more mpg. Not resetting it will not result in a dead battery or blinking lights or radios that don't work, etc.

Get a volt meter. Measure the resting voltage of the battery after it sits for a day or two. Measure the voltage while cranking the starter. Measure the charging voltage with the engine running. Those things will tell you the health of the battery and charging system. The resting voltage after sitting for a day or two will tell you if there is a possible parasitic load. Granted a dying/old battery may give the same voltage reading. If the battery is new/healthy then you can assume a low resting voltage is due to a parasitic load.

 

[steve_2020]

I don't do either and never had this problem. I like to drive mine at least once a week, but don't always get to do that, so it's sometimes two weeks between coming out of the garage. I'll use a battery tender when it gets real cold, but only in winter.

I’d use one all year. Sure helps the longevity of your battery.

 

[High Velocity]

I’ve never left keys in the car, even in the garage. Had a buddy when I was in college that always left his keys in his Corvette in the garage. One night he forgot to close his garage when he got home, left it open all night long and next morning his Vette was gone.

I drive my car every day, keep it in the garage, keep the fob at least 20 feet away and in a faraday box and lock the car at night. It’s probably a bit overkill but these newer cars always have something going that draws battery power. My wife’s SUV is 7 years old and is on the 3rd battery. I’m used to the days where 5, 6, 7 years out of a battery was normal but I don’t think that’s the norm anymore unfortunately.

What brand faraday box do you have? Have you tested it to make sure it works? I need to buy one and couldn’t believe how expensive some of them are.

 

[High Velocity]

I forgot , my modem is also unplugged. Just dump that battery for a NAPA special, it s about time.

I pulled the fuse going to it. Is unplugging the modem better? Where is it at?

 

[cerbomark]

I pulled the fuse going to it. Is unplugging the modem better? Where is it at?

in trunk behind drivers side taillight area.

 

[MAGS1]

What brand faraday box do you have? Have you tested it to make sure it works? I need to buy one and couldn’t believe how expensive some of them are.

I have a Samfolk box. We’ve got all of our car fobs in it and it does work. I’ve walked right up to our cars with the fobs in the box and the cars can’t detect the fobs. Sat in them to try to start them and same thing, doesn’t recognize the fob so won’t start

 

[Oakley]

i've got just under 11K miles (so like 70 miles a week on average) on my 22GT 6spd with zero battery issues ever. sometimes it sits for a couple weeks without moving.

they're retarded and something is draining your electrical system even while driving.
sounds like a bad alternator or something in the charging system.

they suck, escalate this.

 

[ORRadtech]

OP.
There's clearly something not right with your car. Since your dealership is unable, or unwilling to find and fix it, I'd do as others have suggested and try another dealership or escalate the issue up Fords hierarchy.
Parasitic draws are often hard and time-consuming to find. Dealerships that pay their techs flat rate make it uneconomical to spend hours or days searching.
You shouldn't "need" a battery maintainer. In fact, in your case one may just mask an issue. But they do have their place. They will assure that the battery is full and ready to go when you are and they do prolong battery life. And there's no need to spend tons of money. Battery Tender and NoCo make fine, inexpensive "smart" maintainers.

 

[Garfy]

Greetings,

I can't believe what my Ford Dealer is telling me!!

I have a 2022 Mustang GT Premium w/ Manual transmission. Stock, except for suspension mods and short throw shifter.
My car is only driven on weekends, its stored for the winter, and currently it has 5400 miles on it. It will be 3 years old October 25th.
I have had no problems with it since I bought it 3-years ago

In early July, out of the blue, I started to get on my Ford phone app that my battery was going into sleep mode (Paraphrasing) to save power.
At about the same time I was having key fob issues too. The car would not detected either one of my fobs to start my Mustang.
I replace both key fob batteries and that problem stopped. However, the sleep mode continued so I brought the car in and Ford decided to replace the battery with a new one. It was fine for two weeks and then the sleep mode crap started again. They ran a 24 hour electronic test, it passed, and I was told my key fobs were to close to the car when parked, and it was draining my battery as the car was trying to communicate with the fobs. So I move the Key Fobs well into my house.

Fast forward 6-weeks to this weekend. No key fob issues, no sleep mode issues. I was out driving my Mustang and all my stereo speakers just stopped working. Radio unit was on, it was not in mute, and there was no sound, no matter how high I turned up the volume. Here is were I cant believe my ears. After 6 hours in their service department today they deemed my battery was so low that it started to shut down certain electrical functions on my car, even while driving it.

I said its a brand new battery that you just installed 6-weeks ago. How could this be? I was told that once the batter was recharged to 100% in their shop my stereo speakers started to work again. What I was told is that I am not driving my car enough to recharge the battery to 100%. I told them again that I drive my Mustang every weekend in the summer, and that I average probably 150 miles each weekend. I was told that is not enough, and I also need to drive it on week days too. By doing this it would keep my batter fully charged. I was also told that there are so many electronic functions that these new cars have that they wear the batteries down even when they are parked. This is the dumbest thing I ever heard. They are keeping my Mustang over night to see if everything works in the morning including my speakers.

So the fix for this is to drive my Mustang every day to eliminate the battery sleep mode, and other electrical problems, like stereo speakers not working. I have a 2024 Trailblazer my wife drives maybe twice a week, and I have a 2025 Colorado pick up that I drive during the week. Neither vehicle has had any issue like my Mustang.

Please tell me that I am not nuts for not believing this bullshit.

Thanks in advance Edgemere..............

I had those "sleep" messages on my car as I maybe drive it once a week during winter if no snow. I put a battery maintainer (tender) on it and no more issues. I still have the original battery which tests above the rated CCA and I have about 7800 miles on my car. Yes, these cars have lots of modules; mine has 22 systems and it's a base model; yours probably has more. I still have the original batteries in my fobs also and they work fine.

 

[Cobra Jet]

2018 original owner and battery - 40k miles, no issues with original battery… no battery tender on it either.

It’s strange how some have premature battery failures or batteries that don’t last and others have an original battery with miles and many years still going strong.

 

[njweatherman]

I own a 2023 California GT Special with my only mod being a FORD Performance X pipe. I'm on my third battery:( FYI - this car is my daily driver.

 

[Gen 6 Mach1]

OP ... Every Car has voltage draw while sitting , from the systems installed in our cars. Even with the same systems ECM,BCM etc. out of the hundreds or thousands manufactured some may draw more amps/ volts than others even tho very minimal , so we can have the same cars and my battery may go without being driven / charged let's say 2 months and most likely by now the voltage is below 12 volts 11.8 but still starts my car , while joes car won't start after 4 weeks and the battery is well below 11.5 volts . Battery age and how many discharges , times it sits below 12.6 volts plays a Big part on battery health . Batteries allowed to drop below 12.6 get a capacity loss and Sulfation will occur . So letting you car sit for a week or more without a trickle charger or maintainer , the battery is losing its capacity to do its job when it's called upon . Usually when your miles from home and or late at night . My car is a weekender and on a maintainer , I carry a norco jump box . Never jump-start you car with another car , unless an extreme circumstance .
I know you had the battery replaced, new can be defective, Alternator not putting out maximum amperage, systems drawing more that normal but still in the normal range , I will not say the dealership you are with doesn't know what they're doing, but I would have another opinion. Keep a tender on her , as you mentioned she is not a daily driver til you can have another opinion .
This information pertains to lead acid batteries . I Added discharge to AGM /Gel , these batteries are more forgiving to discharge than LAB , but are still susceptible to discharge and Capacity loss .

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