The "Space GhoST" has lost its powers....

[st8]

Since I've been using my BatteryMinder once a week or so the ASS has been working every time it gets up to temp. That tells me it has helped as It had been months with the ASS not kicking in. I don't mind the feature and if I want the Explorer to be running as the light turns green I just let up on the brake pedal and it starts right up.

I guess in my mind I just shouldn’t have to use a tender once a week or so. I’m just wondering if my battery is just shot and not going to ever return and maintain full capacity. I don’t mind ASS either. And I’m not trying to get my battery up necessarily to get that function running, I just want my battery to be stable and not leave me stranded in the near future. I’ve just been using the lack of ASS as an objective measure as to whether my battery is healthy or not. I do know battery isn’t the only condition when deciding whether that system activates or not but certainly a big component of it.

 

[Dale5403]

I guess in my mind I just shouldn’t have to use a tender once a week or so. I’m just wondering if my battery is just shot and not going to ever return and maintain full capacity. I don’t mind ASS either. And I’m not trying to get my battery up necessarily to get that function running, I just want my battery to be stable and not leave me stranded in the near future. I’ve just been using the lack of ASS as an objective measure as to whether my battery is healthy or not. I do know battery isn’t the only condition when deciding whether that system activates or not but certainly a big component of it.

How old is your vehicle? Mine is days away from the battery being out of warranty.

 

[st8]

How old is your vehicle? Mine is days away from the battery being out of warranty.

I bought it brand new last December. So it’s only a little over a year old. 12k miles on it.

 

[Big Turk]

I guess in my mind I just shouldn’t have to use a tender once a week or so. I’m just wondering if my battery is just shot and not going to ever return and maintain full capacity. I don’t mind ASS either. And I’m not trying to get my battery up necessarily to get that function running, I just want my battery to be stable and not leave me stranded in the near future. I’ve just been using the lack of ASS as an objective measure as to whether my battery is healthy or not. I do know battery isn’t the only condition when deciding whether that system activates or not but certainly a big component of it.

I think you need to do a little test. Drive somewhere at freeway speeds for at least 30 minutes and then back home. Then test the battery. I am going to venture that the battery will be back to 12.8. Short trips (10 minutes) slowly drain the battery, as the short run is not sufficient to replace the power used to start the vehicle. And there seems to be a pretty good phantom load when the vehicle is off. Good luck.

 

[Dale5403]

I bought it brand new last December. So it’s only a little over a year old. 12k miles on it.

The battery life has not been good on this vehicle. Not sure what the cause is as I've not found a good answer.

 

[st8]

I think you need to do a little test. Drive somewhere at freeway speeds for at least 30 minutes and then back home. Then test the battery. I am going to venture that the battery will be back to 12.8. Short trips (10 minutes) slowly drain the battery, as the short run is not sufficient to replace the power used to start the vehicle. And there seems to be a pretty good phantom load when the vehicle is off. Good luck.

Yeah that’s a good idea. I will have to try that. But yeah, it’s like 15 min in morning with dropping kids off and work. Then 15 min on way home. Occasional trips here and there but that’s really it.

 

[st8]

The battery life has not been good on this vehicle. Not sure what the cause is as I've not found a good answer.

Probably just a cheap battery that really can’t handle all the power hungry electronics of the vehicle.

 

[Blown F-150]

The battery life has not been good on this vehicle. Not sure what the cause is as I've not found a good answer.

Common across multiple Ford vehicles apparently. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the alternators are undersized for the application.

 

[Dale5403]

Taking mine in for service tomorrow. Yesterday I had the TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS, HILL START ASSIST, AND THE COLLISION ASSIST UNAVALABLE LIGH all come on. I think my battery is coming to an end but will see what they say. Voltage was down to 12.1V this morning.

 

[TMac]

Because all of these control modules are voltage sensitive, my experience is the ST has to have a good charged up battery or you'll see all kinds of errors. Probably 2 1/2- 3 years is maximum. On the bright side $200 for a new battery every three years isn't all that bad.

 

[Dale5403]

Because all of these control modules are voltage sensitive, my experience is the ST has to have a good charged up battery or you'll see all kinds of errors. Probably 2 1/2- 3 years is maximum. On the bright side $200 for a new battery every three years isn't all that bad.

Hoping to get warranty on it. I have 7 days left.

 

[Cdubya]

well there's always going to be a drop. the car doesn't charge the battery to 100%. On a good battery, it'll stop charging when the battery target is reached and the alternator won't be active. I have always used my radar detector in voltage mode to see the changes in real time. I knew my battery was on the way out when the alternator was always on, which for me is around 14.6-14.8V and with the car off, voltages went from 12.3-12.4 to 11.9-12.1.

 

[dolsen]

I took my ST in to the dealer yesterday with 35,200 miles on it because for the last week or two the vehicle goes into deep sleep mode, within a few hours, every time I turn it off. I told the service advisor that it was going into deep sleep mode and the response I get is "what the hell is deep sleep mode?" (He wasn't being shitty, I think he was genuinely confused or likely had never heard of it). So I showed him the app and he asked if I spoke with the Ford Pass people to make sure it wasn't an issue with my phone I told him that never happens with my 22 F-150 and that those same errors I get on the Ford Pass app should show up in PTS or OASIS, I cannot remember which.

Anyways, It did it again overnight while the vehicle was sitting at the dealer and hopefully they can just replace the battery under warranty. But I'm sure I'll get the "it tested fine so there's nothing we can do". This dealer I took it to isn't all that great, but the good dealer in town is about 40 mins from my house and this one is 5 mins from my house, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

 

[KANSAS]

This is a voltmeter that will plug into a car 12 volt outlet. They are commonly available on the Internet. I leave it plugged into the outlet at the front of the console under the lid. It is easily readable while driving when the lid is opened. If I have just been doing short trips it will show 14.7 volts while driving, bu if I drive on a longer trip it will reduce to 12.9 volts. This shows that occasional longer trips are required to keep the battery properly charged. BTW the power to the outlet is automatically removed a few minutes after the car is turned off.

This is one example:
https://www.amazon.com/Zeltauto-Cig...locphy=9023859&hvtargid=pla-568712381669&th=1

 

[dolsen]

I took my ST in to the dealer yesterday with 35,200 miles on it because for the last week or two the vehicle goes into deep sleep mode, within a few hours, every time I turn it off. I told the service advisor that it was going into deep sleep mode and the response I get is "what the hell is deep sleep mode?" (He wasn't being shitty, I think he was genuinely confused or likely had never heard of it). So I showed him the app and he asked if I spoke with the Ford Pass people to make sure it wasn't an issue with my phone I told him that never happens with my 22 F-150 and that those same errors I get on the Ford Pass app should show up in PTS or OASIS, I cannot remember which.

Anyways, It did it again overnight while the vehicle was sitting at the dealer and hopefully they can just replace the battery under warranty. But I'm sure I'll get the "it tested fine so there's nothing we can do". This dealer I took it to isn't all that great, but the good dealer in town is about 40 mins from my house and this one is 5 mins from my house, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Surprisingly, I just got a call from the dealer saying they replaced the battery and they ordered a new catalytic converter for the recall. Seems like all is good news, for now

 

[st8]

This is a voltmeter that will plug into a car 12 volt outlet. They are commonly available on the Internet. I leave it plugged into the outlet at the front of the console under the lid. It is easily readable while driving when the lid is opened. If I have just been doing short trips it will show 14.7 volts while driving, bu if I drive on a longer trip it will reduce to 12.9 volts. This shows that occasional longer trips are required to keep the battery properly charged. BTW the power to the outlet is automatically removed a few minutes after the car is turned off.

This is one example:
https://www.amazon.com/Zeltauto-Cig...locphy=9023859&hvtargid=pla-568712381669&th=1

Oh wow that’s awesome. No idea that existed or even was possible. Will order one that also adds usb c and a.

Also, I’m out of the country this week and measured my battery at 12.6 volts right before I left. Curious to see what kind of drain I’ll see just from sitting.

 

[Dale5403]

Well after being in service today my battery tested good. What they did find was DTC U0102 stored in the ABS module. They reprogrammed the ABS module per SSM 49045. https://ford.oemdtc.com/7190/awd-va...er-police-interceptor-utility-lincoln-aviator Also has the backup camera recall done while there. On a side note had an oil change while there. When checking the cabin air filter it looks like a mouse chewed a hole in it. Didn't appear to be any other damage from it. Plan to order that voltage meter Kansas posted. Looks like any easy way to keep an eye it. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[st8]

One week sitting with no activity, she dropped from 12.6v to 12.39v. Not sure the significant behind this just she is power hungry even when not running.

 

[l1tech]

Common across multiple Ford vehicles apparently. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the alternators are undersized for the application.

The alt on the ST is rated at 220 amps which is more than enough for this application. At just over 600 rpms the alt is capable of outputting 112 amps and a max of 233 amps at 2500 rpms.

 

[Big Turk]

One week sitting with no activity, she dropped from 12.6v to 12.39v. Not sure the significant behind this just she is power hungry even when not running.

I know they are AGM batteries, but even with no draw they will lose 1% of charge per day. Add on the background draw, cold weather, and it is not surprising that they would lose power fairly quickly. I stick a real battery charger on my parked ST every couple of weeks or so.