Battery

[Ret]

Each year as we enter snow and ice period, I store my Mustang in the garage. About a month ago I parked in the garage and attached the trickle charger to the battery as I've done many times. About 3 to 4 weeks later I needed to get into the mustang and the key fob didn't work. I looked at the charging device and it wasn't doing anything. I assumed it died and bought a new charger. I hooked up exactly, per the instructing and lastly plugged it into an outlet. Immediately, the horn began beeping and sparks flew out of the plug. I disconnected the cord immediately and returned the charger and bought a new one.

I hooked up the new one and it showed a pulsing flash indication it was charging. Two days later I went out to check on the charging process and it was still showing it was charging but hadn't moved to the next leg of the charger as it should have. The battery was still totally dead. The battery is only six months old. I called my mechanic, and he came to the house, retrieved the battery to take to his shop. I don't know what kind of testing equipment he has but I trust he will either fix it or bring me a new one.

So, can a battery get so dead that it won't charge?

What would cause the horn to start beeping and sparks?

 

[golkhl]

Does your car have the “Shaker 500” stereo? The cd changer mechanism goes bad and kills batteries real fast.

 

[Nord315]

Some battery chargers will not charge a dead battery. I believe that they think that there is a short, so they do not charge.

 

[JC SSP]

Correct. The one I got at Harbor Freight will not charge a dead battery.

I purchased a Schumacher and it works perfect.

 

[DieHarder]

You need to remove the negative battery terminal to charge the battery. That's the fastest way to charge. Otherwise you're feeding any current draw there might be in the system. I use a Harbor Freight charger which works fine. Adjustable input 2A, 8A or 15Amps. I know I have a current draw due to some LEDs I added years ago and probably the stock radio. To prevent getting stranded I take a jump starter with me if I'm going to be away from home for any period of time.

 

[Ret]

Thanks for the input. Mechanic charged the battery and car working fine. He said the same thing some of you stated some chargers won't charge if battery totally drained. Again, learning something new.

Also told me if I'm going to store the car for a long period and be starting it up and running the car, disconnect the negative.

 

[satellitemanNZ]

Thanks for the input. Mechanic charged the battery and car working fine. He said the same thing some of you stated some chargers won't charge if battery totally drained. Again, learning something new.

Also told me if I'm going to store the car for a long period and be starting it up and running the car, disconnect the negative.

Really ?? - Well thats interesting , as i went overseas for work for nearly 3 months. I did exactly that...disconnected a perfectly good battery at the Neg terminal post. Came back home, the batter is indeed in excellent condition. BUT - the car no longer goes at all. On reconnection everything normal like changing a battery. It cranked for ever and didnt start, retried with sencond attempt to start ...it no longer crank ! - I now have a No crank , No start ! the PCM nolong has any High Speed Canbus comms and my 2009 4.6L GT with no previous errors in the 10 years ive owned it, now no longer works at all. Seemingly because i pulled the battery off for too long. And yes , the battery is fine, recharging it etc no effect. If i ground the start relay the engine cranks so fast even with headlights on and blower fan on full. I have heaps of battery capacity and marble is green/OK condition. The clutch Pedal position switch is also perfect and checks done all the way to the PCM with ford service manual . The PCM is the unit that is mysteriosly lost it flash it would seem. No aftermarket scanner willl connect to it , yet before the battery disconnection for 3 months it was a perfect working car ! . I will NEVER EVER disconnect for extended period ever again. The PATS is fine by the way - the instrument cluster shows the padlock going away the moment you put key in ignition and turn to IGN / Start it does not rapid flash or stay on full indication when trying to start the car. Something is messed up because of long term powerfailure . And yes , both Keys do the same, and both fobs can arm and disarm the locks and alarm.

 

[GriffX]

My car is going to winter storage for several month since 2007 and I remove the negative cable at the battery and charge it (doesn't matter if connected to car or not) 5A charger. When I reconnect it the horn beeps, I guess it is due to the alarm system?
If your battery is deep discharged you can trick the charger by connecting a second good battery in parallel for some minutes.
Because of the many controllers it is always a good idea to wait 5 to 10 minutes without touching the car before removing the battery cable so that the controllers went to sleep mode before disconnecting.

 

[Laga]

I have two cars that sit a lot. My 05 and a 93 Fleetwood. Using a battery tender on both while the cars sits, results in a battery lasting 2-3 years. Just had to change both. Co-incidentally, the battery in my 17 Ram died two days after replacing the ones above. I then proactively replaced the one in my 18 Camry. 4 batteries in one week.
My 05 would startup after having the tender on it, but then would turn over, but not start after 20 miles of highway driving. Put a portable battery jumper on it and it fires up right away.
I’m always monitoring the voltage in the Mustang, I’ve found that if it drops to 11.8 volts. The car will turn over, but not start. Since replacing the battery a month ago, no problems.

 

[Midlife Crises]

I have two 4 bank Battery Tenders mounted to a shelf in my garage. Everything from lawnmower to motor home batteries spend 6 months on that shelf connected to a tender. I leave the battery in the Thunderbird and connect it to the tender with an extension. The Mustang battery may or may not be in the car depending on whether I’m working on it or not but it will be on the tender ether way. I get 5 or 6 years out of a battery.

 

[Pentalab]

Really ?? - Well thats interesting , as i went overseas for work for nearly 3 months. I did exactly that...disconnected a perfectly good battery at the Neg terminal post. Came back home, the batter is indeed in excellent condition. BUT - the car no longer goes at all. On reconnection everything normal like changing a battery. It cranked for ever and didnt start, retried with sencond attempt to start ...it no longer crank ! - I now have a No crank , No start ! the PCM nolong has any High Speed Canbus comms and my 2009 4.6L GT with no previous errors in the 10 years ive owned it, now no longer works at all. Seemingly because i pulled the battery off for too long. And yes , the battery is fine, recharging it etc no effect. If i ground the start relay the engine cranks so fast even with headlights on and blower fan on full. I have heaps of battery capacity and marble is green/OK condition. The clutch Pedal position switch is also perfect and checks done all the way to the PCM with ford service manual . The PCM is the unit that is mysteriosly lost it flash it would seem. No aftermarket scanner willl connect to it , yet before the battery disconnection for 3 months it was a perfect working car ! . I will NEVER EVER disconnect for extended period ever again. The PATS is fine by the way - the instrument cluster shows the padlock going away the moment you put key in ignition and turn to IGN / Start it does not rapid flash or stay on full indication when trying to start the car. Something is messed up because of long term powerfailure . And yes , both Keys do the same, and both fobs can arm and disarm the locks and alarm.

Don't disconnect the negative terminal. Only time the negative is disconnected is if welding on the car. I had the steeda rear STB welded in the trunk. Neg terminal of battery was disconnected 1st. Welding completed 1/2 hr later....and negative terminal re-connected. Car started asap, but ran sorta semi rough at idle....and for a few miles. Was fine when I got home. With the negative terminal of the battery disconnected, you lose all your short + long term fuel trims and a bunch of other stuff. All of those items require a few miles to re-establish themselves to normal config.

Just connect the charger....and leave it alone.

 

[GriffX]

My batteries last around 10 years, but what I do is to take a look at the acid level when the battery is 5 years old and all of them need some water. After refill, I use the reconditioning mode of the charger to stir the acid. The recon mode does a water electrolysis and by gassing, the bubbles mix the heavy sulfuric acid at the bottom with the lighter water at the top.
Of cause not with glass mat or gel batteries. The Ford batteries are easy to fill up.

 

[Pentalab]

My batteries last around 10 years, but what I do is to take a look at the acid level when the battery is 5 years old and all of them need some water. After refill, I use the reconditioning mode of the charger to stir the acid. The recon mode does a water electrolysis and by gassing, the bubbles mix the heavy sulfuric acid at the bottom with the lighter water at the top.
Of cause not with glass mat or gel batteries. The Ford batteries are easy to fill up.

I haven't seen a battery in the last 10 years that you can add distilled water to. Everything available locally is all sealed. They typ last 5-7 years.
If you do add water to a battery, make sure it's distilled water.....and not tap water.

IF you do something like get your oil changed at the local Ford dealership, DON'T let em do a ....'battery load test'. They will fuck up your battery every time. The only way to try and pull 500++ amps out of a battery is to lay a dead short across it with buss bar, or real heavy ga cu wire. And depending how long the dead short is laid across it, will determine how much they fuck up your battery. Your start motor only pulls 100-140 amps. Just use the battery till it dies, and the car won't start. Get it jump started, then buy a new one. Use Mobil 1, 100% synthetic, in 0W-20, or 0W-30. Then the eng will start real easy in cold wx. No block heater required.

 

[GriffX]

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/tested-tough-max/battery---accessories/batteries/31624da3221a/motorcraft-tested-tough-max-battery-group-size-96r/mot2/bxt96r500

The part with the print are 2 caps which can be opened with a screwdriver. Every cap has 3 cells below it.
There is also a level indicator inside, when you fill up the light reflection from the acid surface changes when the level is full.
Most are sealed, but often have hidden plugs.

PS: Governmental overreach.... Germany made it a felony to own sulfuric or nitric acid. That's why you cannot buy self-fill-up AGM batteries anymore. I have an 9 year old AGM motorcycle battery wich I filled up with an acid pack (and also refilled it after ca. 6 years)..... Retrospective, all these crazy laws appeared 2018/19, just coincidental....