Dead Battery Issues

[1hotboss]

Hi

I have a 2022 Mach 1 with 2700kms, I only drive it on nice days so sometimes it will sit 4-5 days without any start up. For this short length of time I do not have a trickle charger connected. The last few times that I have let the car sit for that length of time I will then have a dead battery, the battery charger states 0%, I can't even use the key fob to open the trunk. I connect a battery charger and let the battery charge up and then no issues starts up and drives., and continues to drive fine until that 4 day of sitting returns. I have had a GT350 and it would be used in the same manner and never had any issues with dead battery.

I brought the car to a local Ford dealer and the advisor checked the battery and stated that is holding a charge and that the alternator was providing sufficient charge. So he asked me where I keep my key fob, and I told him that I keep it in the car (as I also did with my Gt350), and he stated that when the key fob is located so close to the car that is keeps the car in "awake mode" and will drain the battery, ok I thought something different than my Gt350, so I kept the key fob in the house and low and behold again after a short stay without driving the car is dead.

Anyone else have this experience and or any advice.

Thanks

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[Charlemagne]

Don't make it easy for the thieves

 

[melwff]

So they didn't check for a parasitic drain at the dealer?

 

[Skye]

Keep the fob at least 10m away from the car, preferably further, for security and power draw prevention.

Research, purchase some faraday pouches, one for each fob; keep them in the pouch/s when not driving. The pouches will primarily be for security, but have the added benefit of preventing the fob/s from talking to the car.

Ensure everything is turned off and not in use, that nothing is plugged into the car's USB ports.

Lock the car when not in use, even if the car is inside your garage. Unlocked cars and fobs like to "talk".

After all that, if you continue to have problems, return to the dealer and explain yourself. Have the dealer test for parasitic draws, to ensure something unbeknownst to you isn't always drawing power.

Edit: If not using wireless or bluetooth, turn those interfaces off, to lessen any draws and for better security.

 

[sakman84]

My car will sit 4 or 6 days at a time. Got it in September 2021, has 7,500 miles now. No battery issues at all something doesn't feel right with your case.

My Fob is not stored near the car.

I always shutdown all radio AC and all electronics before turning the car off, and lock it with the FOB.

 

[saleen367]

I'd say the technician is probably correct. If you allow the battery to fully drain, its hard to bring it back by driving "occasionally". The more electronics in the car, the more that things are quietly using energy in the background even with the car off.

Don't leave the FOB within 20 feet of the car IMO.

Have you checked to see if there is a hidden GPS device under the dash anywhere? They run continuously. They are sometimes used by dealers/lenders who want to track the car for possible repossession purposes.

I use a CTEK - 40-206 MXS 5.0 and a quick connect so I can keep it on a constant trickle whenever its necessary. I restored my 5 year old battery using this because my breaker tripped in the garage outlet during the winter months and the battery was dead this spring.

 

[Scott058]

I had that issue. I replaced the battery and it has not happened since. My Mach 1 is just a toy as well.

 

[murick]

@1hotboss If you have the keyless entry activated, you may try to turn it off - just for the test. Apart from that, I do not see why the locked car should talk to the fob.

 

[GT450]

Exactly what i do, turn off keyless entry , leave alarm on low setting when getting out of the car and lock with key fob. I should add it sits for some weeks at atime and i keep it on a trickle charger when not in use. These toys are voltage sensitive so it pays to keep the battery in the best condition possible.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

Interesting enough I have same issue.

I have not found a solution. Dealership doesn't know what's wrong and I'm on second battery.

2013 rav 4 has sat for two weeks and started right up.

mustang I can't keep the fob near the car when washing. Very frustrating

 

[GT-DM]

Not impressed w/how the alternator on our Shelby charges up a dead battery after it has gone dead, & then charged enough to started, & drive it.
Thinking it will full charge up in 30/45 mins. It didn't seem to for us.

Our expectations are likely to high to think it should charge it up in that amt of time. The trickle charger on it now does a great job of maintaining it to full. We never had key fob within 100ft, but did leave door unlocked inside 1 of our secured facilities.

Going on a tangent now:
New automotive batteries are made with recycled lead material.
The general manager of a large battery store chain tells us that the reuse/recycling seems to have shortened the life of most new battery's in his 20yrs of experience. It would seem plausible that multiple recycling processes of lead, might cause the materials to not last as long, or transfer ions as efficiently, but that's a question for the manufacturers. I bet they say it's great. We have our doubts, as does the store management.

My close friends wife, got ~19yrs out of her OEM Delco battery, in her 2002 LS1 SS Camaro 6spd, w/41k mi on it, bought new. Side sticker even said it was an '02. I took that battery from her to see what exactly went wrong, & found 1 cell was down on voltage on 1 end. Which is usually what I've seen when they go bad. 1 cell is usually to low. Her battery may have been 1 of the last yrs of using new virgin lead inside it. She took impeccable car of the car, & it was in climate control most of its life. Perhaps hers wasn't lead that had already been recycled many many times bk then.

We have very few complaints about our Gt500. The battery maintaining, w/o help, when sitting for weeks during the winter, is probably the only thing we can thk of. Luckily it's easily remedy'd a w/trickle chrgr.



Clipped frm Association of Battery Recycler

1) About 80% of a typical new lead battery is made from recycled lead battery material, and lead can be infinitely recycled. The lead and plastic from spent lead batteries is valuable feedstock for other batteries. (I believe the 80%# above,
is closer to 95%- in our opinion)
2) Lead batteries are the most recycled consumer product (99%) in the U.S. and the most sustainable battery technology.

the above paragraph,
was taken in 2 parts from this site;

https://www.associationofbatteryrec... of a typical,lead can be infinitely recycled.

 

[Charlemagne]

If you have the keyless entry activated, you may try to turn it off - just for the test.

Can it even be turned off, though? I didn't find any such option in the menu so I bought the Faraday pouches and they work like a charm.

 

[luca1290]

mustang I can't keep the fob near the car when washing. Very frustrating

Just put the key fob inside the car when washing, preferably in the cup holder. Car will not continuously lock and unlock this way, it will remain open.

 

[WD Pro]

Going on a tangent now:
New automotive batteries are made with recycled lead material.
The general manager of a large battery store chain tells us that the reuse/recycling seems to have shortened the life of most new battery's in his 20yrs of experience. It would seem plausible that multiple recycling processes of lead, might cause the materials to not last as long, or transfer ions as efficiently, but that's a question for the manufacturers. I bet they say it's great. We have our doubts, as does the store management.

My close friends wife, got ~19yrs out of her OEM Delco battery, in her 2002 LS1 SS Camaro 6spd, w/41k mi on it, bought new. Side sticker even said it was an '02. I took that battery from her to see what exactly went wrong, & found 1 cell was down on voltage on 1 end. Which is usually what I've seen when they go bad. 1 cell is usually to low. Her battery may have been 1 of the last yrs of using new virgin lead inside it. She took impeccable car of the car, & it was in climate control most of its life. Perhaps hers wasn't lead that had already been recycled many many times bk then.

We have very few complaints about our Gt500. The battery maintaining, w/o help, when sitting for weeks during the winter, is probably the only thing we can thk of. Luckily it's easily remedy'd a w/trickle chrgr.



Clipped frm Association of Battery Recycler

1) About 80% of a typical new lead battery is made from recycled lead battery material, and lead can be infinitely recycled. The lead and plastic from spent lead batteries is valuable feedstock for other batteries. (I believe the 80%# above,
is closer to 95%- in our opinion)
2) Lead batteries are the most recycled consumer product (99%) in the U.S. and the most sustainable battery technology.

the above paragraph,
was taken in 2 parts from this site;

https://www.associationofbatteryrecyclers.com/industry-overview/industry-faq/#:~:text=About 80% of a typical,lead can be infinitely recycled.

The general manager is guessing with his theory ...

The battery manufacturers will buy to a spec that specifies with tolerances, exactly what's in the alloy - it's irrelevant how the smelter gets his product in spec, so long as it is in spec.

That's not to say the battery manufacturers havent changed the spec over the years and ignoring cost saving initiatives, that's a natural evolving process to suit evolving manufacturing processes

WD

 

[luca1290]

I've heard mine occasionally priming the fuel system when I'm doing some works in the garage, even if the key fob is a hundred meters away and I did not touch the car for days.

My guess is that is is connected to the car regularly waking up some subsystems (like the Body Controller Unit) needed for the Telematics Control Unit to check on the car and send status updates to Ford. I don't have enough data on the system to verify this but I think it's the TCU that have the capability to wake up the car, not the other way around....

if you have battery drain problems just try to remove the Ford Pass and remove the connectivity options in Sync (do a FordPass reset from Sync the put all the connected services sliders to off) and let us know if it slows the process. It should.

I don't know in the very long run how beneficial this connected car thing is, not only for the battery but also for all the subsystems that get regularly excited for a few seconds just to get some data from a resting car.

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