gsxr1216

Truck has left me stranded 7 times so far, dealer cant solve it, now what??

the truck is bone stock no added electrical or other mods except a radar detector and a garmin gps both which are unplugged from the cig lighter every time i park the truck for the night.


So I bought a new 2012 f-150 in October 2012 it has 12km miles now on it. in December 2012 I came out to it totally dead twice, like 7.5 volts in it dead. The first time I thought I left something on so I just jumped it, I found out nothing was left on after all. The second time it was dead I had the dealer tow it. The dealer simply threw a battery in it and said it was “fixed”.

Fast forward to august this year, its been dead on the following dates:

8/8/2013

8/10/2013

8/27/2013

9/5/2013

9/18/2013

I took the truck back in on 8/13/2013, they had the truck for 2 days straight and they gave it back to me on 8/15/2013 with “no problems found”…. They said the battery is fine, well the battery isn’t the issue SOMETHING kills it sporadically and they are not doing anything to find it since it starts fine for them while they have it.



So after they gave it back to me with no issues found it was dead next on 9/5/2013, so on 9/6/2013 I put the good battery from my boat in the truck to prove its not a battery issue, sure enough on 9/18/2013 I come out and its stone dead with 7.5 volts in it so it killed my boat battery also.




On 9/19/2013 I take it back in, they say they want to keep it for a week, I told them I have swapped batteries ETC and the battery is NOT the issue since it had now had three different batteries in it all with the same result. Well as of today 9/24/2013 I called them and they say “we cant reproduce the issue” and are telling me that when I come get it on Thursday if they cant reproduce the issue they cant do anything for me. Honestly even if its dead for them I don’t know how that solves the issue at all, they need to be tracking down whats killing it, not trying to wait for it to be dead again, not sure why they think finding it dead will help them fix it.



So I’m just supposed to keep driving a brand new friggen truck that dies all the time and be fine with that???


Oh and I had a list of a bunch of other issues when I took it in last time that they say are “ fine” also such as the rear brakes that squeak, they said “normal”

Clunk in the rear end when putting it in reverse. They said “normal”

Horrible ecoboost fuel mileage (14.6mpg over 12,000 miles, best tank ever is 17.5mpg on a 1400 mile trip from NY to KY and back) they say that’s normal also. Hell I tow a 2 place aluminum snowmobile trailer and its lucky to get 11mpg.

This truck has been the most unreliable and disappointing new vehicle i have EVER owned and i have bought a lot of new vehicles over the years.



So what steps can be taken next to get my truck fixed, this is BS just sending me on my way time after time because they cant manage to find or solve the issue. basically i have a truck that every friggen day i come outside its a gamble whether it will turn over or not, thats pretty sad.........

caperJ

Rear end noise TSB 13-7-7 as for dead battery have them check for a drain on the system should be obvious. Have you done any mods? Also check to see if the tranny has the latest flash it may need an update which could result in better mpg

kidastra

iTrader: (1)

How often do you drive it? Is it dying from sitting?

I noticed recently that the dome light has constant voltage (3.2-6.5v) in the middle position (light on when doors open) wonder if this could be causing your drain

mamonti

Ok if you read some of my posts you will see I don't have much patience when it comes to a problem not being fixed as in the limp ecoboost and shudder.... But I can tell you being a mechanic for several years the worse problem to fix is a electrical problem. Not one that happens all the time but one like yours. I had a customer come in and tell me his turn signals weren't working once in a while.. I would go out every other hour and try them,,, Of course they always worked for me!!! So I could and did check the obvious things but didn't find any thing. I wasn't a dealer so I didn't want to just start replacing things at the customers cost to find out it wasn't it so I told them,,,, I can fix it,,, but it has to break down for me to do it and I hope that it stops working long enough for me to try a couple of things. Even when I could get it to do it you (I) was never 100% positive I fixed it because it could just have started working again! Not to blow my own horn but I was damn good at finding and fixing those issues but I did let the customer know up front it will be frustrating for both of us as I lost time (money) going out and checking it every hour and he lost travel time with his vehicle. The best you can hope for is that when you bring it in that it does it for them! Now I could take a wild guess but it is wild.... I would guess the alternator or the BCM. You could check to see if by chance you have a small water leak that is running down to the BCM. Either of the two I mentioned could cause this as I have seen it before (not on a 2012 F150 ) but on other cars. So maybe you could sit down with the dealer and ask if they would help you by letting you use a car for a couple of weeks if they are willing to put a probe on the truck and check it every other hour to find the draw! I have seen the bcm get shorted and the interior lights, dash lights and so on come on in the middle of the night for no reason and that could be the issue with yours. The problem is your dates........ as you realize you can't make sense of it but maybe,,, just maybe it is when it is raining hard and then a day later it is dead? IF so I think my guess would be dead on.... no pun intended!! This could be also the reason they never find anything as they may have the truck in the shop so it doesn't get rain! Think about it and see if you can remember.... I can tell you anything you can tell them to help find the problem will help them! But I will agree,,,,,, you don't have a bad battery problem!!! I could also be a bad ground wire going to the battery,,, I have seen this also... I could help you more if the dates were close together as to how much draw it is using but with your dates it could be anything including the dash lights.... I am sorry and feel your pain but you have walked into the twilight zone of problems.... intermittent electrical issues!

mamonti

The nice thing about the F150 and most new cars today is the fact you can leave your door opened and forget about closing them and after a set time.... in the BCM it shuts down the power.... This is why I say the BCM because we have a built in 11.5 volt check in the truck... It won't allow the truck accessories to discharge below that,,,, Of course as you can see that isn't working or he wouldn't have a dead battery...

mamonti

good advice on the TSB and re-flash but the dates he has listed mean the drain isn't always there so it will cause a PITA to find!

gsxr1216

its driven daily, its dying from something in the truck staying on sprodically. truck sits 13 hours over night and the doors wont even unlock its so dead, it shows like 7V when i find it dead. i look at the truck at night and see no lights or other stuff "on" when i check it. pretty sad i have to go look at a new truck every night to see if something is on to try to find out the issue since the dealer cant solve it.

as for the other poster, as my 1st post states truck is bone stock. i personally draw tested the truck and after all the computers shut down after 30 min or so it only draws 18MA. the problem is there is some item that stays on sporadically that is creating the draw and killing it. i dont have the time to draw test the truck every time i park it, nor should i have to with a new $42k truck......

mamonti

Ok! Now I have a little more info! So you drive it daily and it isn't a matter of sitting for days without driving it... Then you have a large draw to draw the battery dead! I would think a Main Ground Wire is loose or the alternator short draw! The only other thing that would draw the battery dead over night which like you stated is 12 or so hours would be your headlights and you know you probably would see it... Check the ground wire(S) coming off the battery and see where it connects and if it is tight! Also think about the rain???? it still could be the bcm!

gsxr1216

not rain related, i dont think its ever been dead on a rainy day actually out of all the times its been dead. heck one day i moved the truck in the AM about 10am i think and it was sunny, i went to go to the store about 5pm same day and it was still sunny and truck was dead as a doornail

BCMIF150

I suggest finding a new dealer that knows what they are doing!