I have a 2013 F150 Lariat Super crew.
Periodically, it won't start, acting like battery isn't charged (clicking). I had the battery checked and the alternator checked- both were good. Also, the starter was replaced within the past year.

I have a relatively short drive to work (10 minutes), but it would sometimes start and other times not, very unpredictable.

When it doesn't start, it can be jumped in a matter of a minute. I took it to my regular mechanic. They charged it, checked the battery the next day, and it didn't seem to be losing charge. They couldn't figure it out, and there was a concerning error message like it lost connection (can't remember exactly), so I took it to the Ford dealer, and they couldn't recreate the problem after having it a week.

I then took it to another mechanic, who had it for 2 weeks, and it started right up daily, they couldn't recreate the problem. So, I started driving it again, and for a couple months all was fine. Then, it started having the issues again, and I had to jump it a few times. I took the battery back in, and this time it failed so I got a new battery.

I have it on a trickle charger. At first, the red light never went off, meaning it never was completely charged (?). So, now I trickle charge it with the battery cables disconnected, and the green light goes on. Maybe this is a because I had the negative terminal on the battery, but should have connected it the truck itself?

So, I now have a truck that I'm scared to drive because I don't know when the problem will strike. So, I only drive it when I know someone is around to bale me out.

Hope this made some sense. Any advice on things to check?

 

Welcome, so there are no codes? There was something about a transmission nuetral switch or something like that, that would go bad and prevent starting???

 

Thanks for the response! There were multiple codes the first time I took it in (can't remember what they were- pretty serious sounding, which is why they told me to take it to the dealer). Now, it doesn't throw codes, it just doesn't start.

Also, it reliably starts right up when jumped- I don't know if that would be the case for that switch issue you mentioned, or if that would be more of a semi-permanent problem?

 

There must be a module not falling asleep, or even perhaps a door switch that is intermittent. See if your interior lights go off every time or not.

 

Did they look at the cables? From the battery to starter, alt, fuseboxes.

 

Just put in a new battery, as lately, every time I turned off the truck and tried to sit there for a while and listen to the radio, it was telling me to start the engine or the truck was going into battery saving mode. Truck just turned 50,000 miles, and I bought it new at the end of May 2021.

 

Instead of jumping it. Have you tried jiggling the battery terminal connectors or wires going into the connectors? Have the connectors ever been changed or are they factory?

I had this issue on a Honda and it was the wire inside the connector on the positive end. Took forever to figure out.

 

to clarify, i dont have a direct answer, but in the beginning you said the red light goes out with the key off? it should be blinking with it off, key out doors shut, at least mine does, and i didnt get a 'fob' key when i bought it .. bought one of those 12$ aftermarket fob thingys and programmed it ...anyway, its a pita😅 but it works .. but yeah, 'to me' it sounds like your having a security disconnect related to that system, course, i could be totally wrong admittedly ..