Truck dead
08-16-2011, 04:02 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Truck dead
Seems like this has been covered before (search turned up a few hits).
2010 Lariat Screw, ~10k miles
Drove it into work today just like normal.
Went out for lunch to start it up...
Turned the key - power seat started to move into place, normal bells and what not. Gauges did their crazy swing thing, truck started to start.
Then stopped dead. Nothing. No bells, no lights, nada.
Speedo needle was jumping around a little and there was an audible clicking sound coming from the dash behind the speedo that sounded like a relay.
Pulling the negative battery cable stopped the ticking, and when I put it back on, could hear a faint clicking from the fuse box in front. Couldn't tell which fuse it was, and none appeared to be blown.
Trying to jump it didn't work... hooking up the other car got the voltage up enough to have all the bells/lights/relays work like they normally do, power seat went into place. Truck cranked but not enough to start it. Tried that a few times but with no luck.
Back under the hood, could smell sulfur pretty well... makes me think the battery's toast (shorted cell maybe? low voltage would explain the funny electricals).
Dealership wants to run a full charging system diagnostic on it (2+ hrs they said)... and, they're booked up until Thursday! No... no loaner at this dealership.
The service writer I normally work with said they'd try to squeeze it in tonight or tomorrow morning, but no guaranty.
I'd hoped to go boating tomorrow, weather looks great and in VT when the sun is shining you make hay.
Something sound fishy? Should I just throw an autozone gold in there and be done with it? Or should I really be concerned that maybe the alternator is gone and it fried the battery?
Thanks,
-Matt
2010 Lariat Screw, ~10k miles
Drove it into work today just like normal.
Went out for lunch to start it up...
Turned the key - power seat started to move into place, normal bells and what not. Gauges did their crazy swing thing, truck started to start.
Then stopped dead. Nothing. No bells, no lights, nada.
Speedo needle was jumping around a little and there was an audible clicking sound coming from the dash behind the speedo that sounded like a relay.
Pulling the negative battery cable stopped the ticking, and when I put it back on, could hear a faint clicking from the fuse box in front. Couldn't tell which fuse it was, and none appeared to be blown.
Trying to jump it didn't work... hooking up the other car got the voltage up enough to have all the bells/lights/relays work like they normally do, power seat went into place. Truck cranked but not enough to start it. Tried that a few times but with no luck.
Back under the hood, could smell sulfur pretty well... makes me think the battery's toast (shorted cell maybe? low voltage would explain the funny electricals).
Dealership wants to run a full charging system diagnostic on it (2+ hrs they said)... and, they're booked up until Thursday! No... no loaner at this dealership.
The service writer I normally work with said they'd try to squeeze it in tonight or tomorrow morning, but no guaranty.
I'd hoped to go boating tomorrow, weather looks great and in VT when the sun is shining you make hay.
Something sound fishy? Should I just throw an autozone gold in there and be done with it? Or should I really be concerned that maybe the alternator is gone and it fried the battery?
Thanks,
-Matt
08-16-2011, 04:36 PM
#4
Senior Member
Again, the battery. You probably have a dead cell in your current battery, it happens. Take it to an autozone, checker, pepboys, orielly or whatever you have in your city and have them hook their tool up to your truck. It's not as fancy as the dealer's tools but will get the job done and verify that it's the battery and not your charging system.
Heat kills batteries, I've seen them die in as soon as 6 months when I was a service adviser.
Additionally, it's pathetic that they say they don't have time to get to it. It's quite easy to diagnose a failed battery, while the test lasts 2 hours (so they say, our machines it took less time) it should really take the mechanic under 30 minutes. The dealership should jump on a warranty repair on a truck that's a year old with 10k on the clock; I know I'd be furious if my truck died at just under 10k and I was told "sorry, we're too busy for a while to put a battery in your truck."
I'd suggest going "tactically irate" with the service manager - express that your angry but do NOT loose your cool. Firm customers can push what they want without pissing the shop off. From what I've seen on the forum it's harder then hell to get any form of executive escalations from Ford itself, so you may have to talk to the General Manager of the dealership if the service department is no help. Note: That only works if you bought a minimum of one car from said dealer.
Heat kills batteries, I've seen them die in as soon as 6 months when I was a service adviser.
Additionally, it's pathetic that they say they don't have time to get to it. It's quite easy to diagnose a failed battery, while the test lasts 2 hours (so they say, our machines it took less time) it should really take the mechanic under 30 minutes. The dealership should jump on a warranty repair on a truck that's a year old with 10k on the clock; I know I'd be furious if my truck died at just under 10k and I was told "sorry, we're too busy for a while to put a battery in your truck."
I'd suggest going "tactically irate" with the service manager - express that your angry but do NOT loose your cool. Firm customers can push what they want without pissing the shop off. From what I've seen on the forum it's harder then hell to get any form of executive escalations from Ford itself, so you may have to talk to the General Manager of the dealership if the service department is no help. Note: That only works if you bought a minimum of one car from said dealer.
Last edited by carbinereloaded; 08-16-2011 at 04:40 PM.
08-17-2011, 12:08 PM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Service writer called today at 10:30am to say it was done - battery is smoked, shorted cell. Squeezed it in this morning.
Thanks for the advice guys - spot on as well.
And, if it happens again, i'll go with a non-motorcraft battery!
-Matt
Thanks for the advice guys - spot on as well.
And, if it happens again, i'll go with a non-motorcraft battery!
-Matt
08-17-2011, 09:47 PM
#6
Took my Ecoboosted F150 in for its first visit to the service department today because of a dead battery (4400 miles since June.)
It was dead-dead-dead -- no courtesy lights when the door opens or anything. Two hours on a 12A charger did very little (not surprising, but I ran out of time.) It took several attempts to jump start the truck.
The dealership ran its diagnostics on the charging system, the battery, and checked the parasitic draw on the battery. Everything was in spec. No smoking gun. They did replace the battery though. That was nice.
Current thinking is that the heat MAY have killed the battery (we've has 51 days over 100-degrees with today's high of 105,) OR there is an intermittent parasitic draw. Time will tell...
It was dead-dead-dead -- no courtesy lights when the door opens or anything. Two hours on a 12A charger did very little (not surprising, but I ran out of time.) It took several attempts to jump start the truck.
The dealership ran its diagnostics on the charging system, the battery, and checked the parasitic draw on the battery. Everything was in spec. No smoking gun. They did replace the battery though. That was nice.
Current thinking is that the heat MAY have killed the battery (we've has 51 days over 100-degrees with today's high of 105,) OR there is an intermittent parasitic draw. Time will tell...