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Voltage/battery management issue
- Thread starter Blivit
- Start date
Thread Starter
#46
Ugh, so not really an update. More of a "I should have known..." and things are going to get interesting...
I am 45 and by principle, I do not like dealerships. Since I got my license at 16, with multiple vehicles, I made it a point to figure things out. The only time any of my vehicles go to the dealership is for warranty repairs. Basic maintenance, modifications, etc I have no problem doing some research, asking questions and getting my hands dirty. As we have a Ford extended warranty, on a Ford gold certified pre owned vehicle...this went in for what should be a warranty repair.
Red flag #1: I posted when it happened, but all of this started IMMEDIATELY after picking the vehicle up from this dealership after replacing a cv axle under warranty in June. Zero starting issues before that, zero slow cranking. We pick it up, my wife goes to a meeting and comes out to a no start. According to her, she saw smoke and smelled burning electronics while trying to start it but I could not reproduce that and never saw it. Tow it home, I replace the battery and all is well for about 2 weeks or so when the slow cranking started.
Red flag #2: my advisor is out until next week which is why my initial appointment wasn't until the 19th. I was able to talk to someone else who set up an appointment for this past Friday.
Red flag #3: Had to tow it there and did so Thursday night so it was there first thing Friday morning. Appointment was 8am. I waited until 5pm when I hadn't heard anything and sent a message to this new advisor. His response: "our transmission techs are very busy...it may be a few more days..." Ok thanks but this has nothing to do with the transmission. No response.
Red flag #4: Today I call. The second advisor isn't there on saturdays so I talk to someone else. "Oh, we can't get it out of park so it is still sitting there while they try to figure that out." Dafuq you mean you can't get it out of park...you're a ford dealer. How did I put it in neutral, get it on a tow truck, get it off the tow truck in neutral....and you can't get it out of park? "ok, hold on." Comes back and says they are able to get it out of park and the tech is still trying to figure out what's wrong. Mentioned something about there being an issue with how the battery is connected and wires are "smushed" in there and not connected properly. Bullshit! I did the battery, it's not rocket science and I have a picture of what I did. If it wasn't connected properly, how did it run for 3 months after I put it in?
Red flag #5: Ford warranty so they have to put me in a Ford rental....but they don't have any....again, dafuq? That and they can't put me in a rental until they diagnose the issue.
I just KNOW they are going to say there is an issue with the battery or how it's connected and will stop there. "Oh, we'll go further if you replace the battery with us..." And somehow they are going to try to avoid covering this.
I am 45 and by principle, I do not like dealerships. Since I got my license at 16, with multiple vehicles, I made it a point to figure things out. The only time any of my vehicles go to the dealership is for warranty repairs. Basic maintenance, modifications, etc I have no problem doing some research, asking questions and getting my hands dirty. As we have a Ford extended warranty, on a Ford gold certified pre owned vehicle...this went in for what should be a warranty repair.
Red flag #1: I posted when it happened, but all of this started IMMEDIATELY after picking the vehicle up from this dealership after replacing a cv axle under warranty in June. Zero starting issues before that, zero slow cranking. We pick it up, my wife goes to a meeting and comes out to a no start. According to her, she saw smoke and smelled burning electronics while trying to start it but I could not reproduce that and never saw it. Tow it home, I replace the battery and all is well for about 2 weeks or so when the slow cranking started.
Red flag #2: my advisor is out until next week which is why my initial appointment wasn't until the 19th. I was able to talk to someone else who set up an appointment for this past Friday.
Red flag #3: Had to tow it there and did so Thursday night so it was there first thing Friday morning. Appointment was 8am. I waited until 5pm when I hadn't heard anything and sent a message to this new advisor. His response: "our transmission techs are very busy...it may be a few more days..." Ok thanks but this has nothing to do with the transmission. No response.
Red flag #4: Today I call. The second advisor isn't there on saturdays so I talk to someone else. "Oh, we can't get it out of park so it is still sitting there while they try to figure that out." Dafuq you mean you can't get it out of park...you're a ford dealer. How did I put it in neutral, get it on a tow truck, get it off the tow truck in neutral....and you can't get it out of park? "ok, hold on." Comes back and says they are able to get it out of park and the tech is still trying to figure out what's wrong. Mentioned something about there being an issue with how the battery is connected and wires are "smushed" in there and not connected properly. Bullshit! I did the battery, it's not rocket science and I have a picture of what I did. If it wasn't connected properly, how did it run for 3 months after I put it in?
Red flag #5: Ford warranty so they have to put me in a Ford rental....but they don't have any....again, dafuq? That and they can't put me in a rental until they diagnose the issue.
I just KNOW they are going to say there is an issue with the battery or how it's connected and will stop there. "Oh, we'll go further if you replace the battery with us..." And somehow they are going to try to avoid covering this.
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They're all a bunch of ripoffs! Every time I even go "near" a ford stealership it hurts. The answers they give you and their total ineptness to the mechanics of their own product is an insult to your intelligence!
"I" could get a tech job there and outclass their mechanics on the first day! Just can't say enough. Good luck my friend!
"I" could get a tech job there and outclass their mechanics on the first day! Just can't say enough. Good luck my friend!
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Could be the starter solenoid / relay. Also get one of the supercapacitor based jump start bricks. Using that with the worst of batteries will tell you if it’s a battery problem or not. You mentioned burning electric smell when this started sounds like something fried like the solenoid.
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Thread Starter
#51
And for your reading pleasure: It has sat in the same parking spot since thursday, they haven't moved it. I have questions on if they had done anything until today or not. I get a call today saying the battery is bad and they can't go further until that is rectified. I could replace it with them and pay $300 or try to get mine warrantied. They had a print out showing voltages etc. Drove down there, picked up the battery and took it back to get tested this time with the print out. Tested bad there too finally so new battery acquired. Still not "fixed" but they can move forward now. And we at least got a rental today.
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Thread Starter
#56
Back with another update....
So starter was approved and ordered. They get it in, open the box and they ordered the wrong one. Ordered a new one, that took a few days but came in yesterday. This morning they put it in. After it was done, they were driving it out of the shop to the parking lot and the coolant crossover tube under the intake manifold broke dumping coolant everywhere. Ordered a new one and gave me an eta of 10 days....they will have a better idea tomorrow if that is correct.
I have looked this up and see what it is but I don't see any mention here of this being a commonly failed item. I am at 60k miles on a 2020, not driven hard and it was purchased as a certified preowned.
I haven't approached the rental yet...but I still have it....nor did I ask on this being covered under my warranty (but I see no reason for it not to be covered.)
Aside from this episode, this thing has been mostly trouble free....but this sucks.
So starter was approved and ordered. They get it in, open the box and they ordered the wrong one. Ordered a new one, that took a few days but came in yesterday. This morning they put it in. After it was done, they were driving it out of the shop to the parking lot and the coolant crossover tube under the intake manifold broke dumping coolant everywhere. Ordered a new one and gave me an eta of 10 days....they will have a better idea tomorrow if that is correct.
I have looked this up and see what it is but I don't see any mention here of this being a commonly failed item. I am at 60k miles on a 2020, not driven hard and it was purchased as a certified preowned.
I haven't approached the rental yet...but I still have it....nor did I ask on this being covered under my warranty (but I see no reason for it not to be covered.)
Aside from this episode, this thing has been mostly trouble free....but this sucks.
Rough luck on the coolant hose. I don't remember where the stater was cause that timing is terrible. Did they mention they were taking care of it, or that they'd bill you for the repair? Was hard to tell from your post if they were covering or if it was related to the repair and they're making you whole.
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Considering 2025 ST but concerned with reliability
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