Z7What

To start off, I don't drive my truck everyday. 2.5-3yrs ago I bought a daily driver and the F150 only comes from under the cover when it's a nice day. It sometimes will sits for weeks without me driving it. I will crank it up every week or so and bring it up to operating temp though. If I know it's going to sit for a week or more I plug it into a Battery Tender Jr.

About 2.5-3 months ago I realized I had forgot to plug the Battery Tender in. So I hit the buttons on the remote to start it, well it didn't have enough power to spin it over more than a rev or two, tried starting it with the key. It struggled but it did turn it over and started the truck. After it was running a couple mins I put the truck in D to pull it from under the carport and it made a clunk sound going into gear. I then noticed the gear indicator on the cluster was showing I was in 3rd or 4th(can't remember exactly which gear). Moved the shifter into M, and tried to get it into 1st like that and it didn't do anything. I then moved the shifter into 2 & 1 as well and it was still showing 3rd or 4th. Put the truck in P and the gear indicator on the cluster was still showing the truck was in 3rd/4th. Shut the truck off, restarted it(started just fine) and the gear indicator now was showing the truck was in P. Moved to D and everything was working just fine. At this point I though the battery is going on 5yrs old it's probably time to replace it. So I went to Ford and got a new battery, a bigger one. The original was a 750CA and I replaced it with a 850CA. After swapping the battery it started with no problems, drove it around town and everything worked as it should, Parked it that evening and if I remember correctly the next day or maybe 2 days later I went to crank it via the remote start and it didn't have enough power. Jumped in the truck and used the key to start it, it struggled but did get it started, let it run a while and everything was good. I could kill it and start it right back up. This time their were no weird issue with the tranny. Ended up putting it on the Battery Tender, that evening the Battery Tender said the battery was fully charged. It stayed on the Tender for roughly 2-3 weeks after that.

3 weeks ago I loaded the truck down and headed to my deer camp, which is 300miles/5hrs one way. Get there around 9am Thursday morning. Unloaded the truck, ran around to a couple places picking some things up, the truck was perfect. No issues with the remote start, using the key or tranny. Parked the truck around 11am and it stayed there the rest of the day. Around 11am Friday I went to remote start it and it would start. Used the key to start, it struggled but started. Let idle for a while, shut it off and cranked again and it started just fine, it stayed parked the rest of the day. Saturday around 11 the same damn thing happened, had to run to town for a few things and even after stopping at a dozen or so places it would start up no problem. After I got back it stayed parked for the rest of the day. Sunday morning I get in the truck to come home and it started just fine. Drive 5hrs home and park it without the Battery Tender. 3 days later I go to start and it started just fine. 3-4 days after that it started just fine. A week after that it started just fine. So in those two weeks it started just fine, with the remote and key and it was not plugged into the Battery Tender.

That brings me to this past Friday. Remote started the truck and it started just find. Pulled it from under the carport and spent the day washing it. After washing it I cranked it up to back it back under the carport to dry it. After I finished drying it(maybe 30 mins after pulling it under the carport) i went to crank it, with the key, to back it up all the way under the carport and all I got was clicks. Didn't even have enough power to turn it over any. Let it sit for a min and tried again. Same thing, just clicks. After trying a couple times to crank it finally on the 5-6th time it struggled but started. Let it run for a few and put it in D and the same damn tranny issue I mentioned early happened again. Put the truck back in P and killed it, let it sit for a sec and went to start it again. It started just fine and tranny was acting normal again.

Any idea wtf the issue could be?

It's clearly not a battery issue, because it happens so quickly and the Battery Tender doesn't have enough power to charge a dead battery so quickly. There's gotta be something else that's making the truck act like there is a battery issue. I'm getting 14.2-14.4v with it running so it's not a alternator issue either.

Help

Wayne

Spiky

Stu Cazzo

I would have the alternator checked. There are diodes inside the alternator which allow the power to run through and when they fck up, the power can be drained.
Its wonky things like you describe happen when the alternator doesn't work properly.
It could very well show its charging but can still be defective.

Also, you shouldnt need to tender your battery for the short periods that you describe.

Z7What

I know the shifter switch is a common problem and i was hoping that was the issue. Always having a cover on the truck would explain why i never see the cluster lights come on. But after the first time this happened i verified that the P on the cluster was turning orange. I cant say that i have verified that the P was orange this most recent time though but i did check it when i first changed my battery.

I agree i should have to tender the truck if it sits for a week or two or even three. But honestly once its clean and covered the chances of it sitting for a month is high so i just throw it on for safe measure.

I honestly think its a wire issue and not a battery/alternator. The reason for me to think this is that it sat for over a week and started right up with no issues at all when i moved it to wash it, sat for 3hrs and started just find, sat for a 1hr and started just find, sat for 30 mins and wouldnt even turn over.

Ill be sure to report back anything i find when i get a chance Monday to look at it.
Wayne

chitown40

Don't rule out the battery so quickly. Had similar issues with a brand new Honda CRV, where after it was driven for a while the battery would drain down to nothing, maybe 3-4v residual left an hour after a long drive. After many tests with the dealer, it turned out the battery had a bad cell. This is more common these days than not. The only other possibility if you suspect bad wiring, is maybe since your truck sits so much, maybe you had some critters munching on the wiring causing a short somewhere. My guess is on the bad battery though.

150ECO

Anyone know if the instrument light issue only effects the console shift trucks?

For refence here is a link to the console shift replacement switch, haven't been able to find the switch for the column shifter

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-2014-F...item3d7acc2e0b

jdunk54nl

Do you have any problems with animals crawling up under your hood in New Orleans? Mice, birds, etc? I know quite a few people in arizona get pack rats if they let their vehicles sit outside for long periods of time. They can do a wonder on wiring.

RLXXI

Here in New Orleans, I say here but I'm about 5 miles outside of downtown it's not so much a problem, he lives in a rural suburb of the city so that's very possible.
.

farmerandrew

Z7What

As Rob said i do live outside of the city but not anything that requires me to drive down a dirt road to get to my house. I do have woods behind my property though and within a mile or two there are huge fields of sugar cane. It just so happens that about 6-8 months before this started i did have a rat that made a nest on my intake manifold. I did do a quick search after killing the rat and cleaning the mess up for any signs of him eating anything and i didnt find anything. I really dont think that its the issue. Because its so random i feel like it has to do with a loose or corroded terminal. I keep my property, house and vehicles spotless, i guess because the truck doesnt move very often and is covered most of the time it was inviting. Not sure if i mentioned or not but the entire 5hr drive to my hunting camp it rained and it rained the entire 5hrs on the way home. Not sure if something is getting wet and causing this issue or not.