Bob99b5

Mine is so dead now that it won't even run the "window drop" feature. I opened the door last month to see if it would start (of course I knew it wouldn't) and then couldn't get the door shut because the window was still in the up position. Road service came to my house but their jump box got the window to operate but it wasn't strong enough to start the car. I'm going to get a new battery next month when I start driving it again.

06hoss

Sorry bud, but you're reading that wrong. The Battery Tender Plus documention that your showing there is saying that it helps keep you from ever GETTING sulphation. The charger itself does NOT have a desulphation feature. What they are trying to tell you is that if you leave the battery tender on and it's on float charge (using their microchip technology) that it will eliminate your battery ever getting sulphation (which is true). But are you going to leave your car on charge all the time and never drive it? When you drive your car part of the normal process of running the battery creates sulphation. If you severely discharge the battery you create sulphation, if you overcharge the battery too much you create sulphation. Try to find out what frequency their pulse charge is at that destroyed the sulphation crystals...you won't find it, because it doesn't exist. They're just being clever in their explanation to try to fool people who don't understand what it is. Looks like they're being successful at it too.

m05fastbackGT

Although I have neither charger at this point. I consider the word (eliminate) as meaning destroy or get rid of, and not used as a preventative measure.

However the only time I leave my current pulse charger running 24/7, and never drive my car. Is while it sits in storage, during the winter.

Therefore my battery has neither been discharged, nor overcharged. As my current pulse charger, shuts off automatically when fully charged.

On the other hand, after reading over your reply. It does appear as though they're just being clever in their explanation to try to fool people, who don't really understand what it is.

In which they almost succeeded, until I read over you're reply.

At any rate, I'll definitely be upgrading to the Battery Minder Plus, and you sure can't go wrong with their free battery monitor.

DynamicmustangGT

Mine did that I took it out charged it up to full, and it was fine. I am getting an optima later this year to deal with the de-charging issue

m05fastbackGT

Hoss, I have an update for you. Shortly after purchasing my Battery Minder Plus from BatteryMart.Com, I spoke with Anthony who took my order. In which I asked him as to whether or not, the Battery Tender Plus has a desulphation feature similar to the Battery Minder Plus. Needless to say, he took over an hour in comparing each of the features from both chargers, and confirmed that the Battery Tender Plus does indeed include the very same desulphation feature as the Battery Minder plus. However Battery Tender (Deltran) is not permitted to use the term desulphation feature, due to the fact in which Battery Minder has a U.S patent preventing anyone else from using that term.

That being said, Anthony has assured me that both chargers include the very same desulphation features. The only difference, is Battery Tender uses the term (Absorption Mode) instead of desulphation mode, due to patent restrictions.

Anyway hope this clears up any misinterpretations, and btw: I've been very pleased with my Battery Minder Plus, so far

Vermillion06

This is not a Ford-specific or Mustang specific problem. Any car, with the amount of electronics that modern cars have these days, which draw current when the car is not running , is going to drain the battery if the car isn't driven enough to charge the battery.

06hoss

I'm glad that you got the minder, since it's the better charger, but I'm surprised that Anthony told you that Absorption Mode is a Desulphation mode. Absorption mode is when the charger goes full on constant voltage, in this case 14.7 Volts. When the charger's microprocessor thinks the battery is full, it then switches to float mode which is around 13.8 volts.
Desulphation mode is another mode that's not related to actually charging the battery.
It's at a specific frequency/waveform that pulses to break the crystals apart at the molecular level.
I think Anthony is a little confused. I'll bet that VDC doesn't have a patent on the term desulphation or desulphator, they most likely have a patent on the waveform process they are using to get the job done. There are other chargers out there that desulphate as well and they advertise it with no problem. Here is one the military uses: http://www.survivalunlimited.com/bat...ipulse6-12.htm

I'm really not biased toward either charger, I'm just trying to help guys get the most bang for the buck...I just don't think the Battery Tender is it. I'm glad you bought the better one though.

m05fastbackGT

You definitely helped me out, that's for sure. As a matter of fact, the battery minder plus has far exceeded my expectations, and works exactly as advertised.

In fact I don't even need to use the supplied ring terminals or alligator clips, but instead use the optional 12V adapter plug, by just plugging it straight into my 12V power port, and I'm good to go.

Once again, I've been very pleased with the battery minder plus, and thanks to you. I made the right choice.

metroplex

I've stored my late model Fords for months at a time without a charger/maintainer and the batteries never died out. If a battery is completely discharging within 30 days of not being driven, there's too much parasitic drain.

I am using a Black and Decker 2A smart maintainer with custom-wired alligator clips that can fit under a closed hood. I did not choose to use the cigarette lighter socket because I'd have to keep a window open or squeeze the wire in-between the door seals.

06hoss

+1 on that. These S197s definitely have too much of a drain on the battery. Some guys are starting to think it's the shaker system. One guy had his replaced by Ford and his problem disappeared. Mine went flat since it sits in the garage alot and when I charged the battery and started the car, I had left the stereo on. The current idea going around is to make sure your stereo is off when you shut the car down for awhile. It's just a theory at this point since we don't know yet for sure. If Ford would let everyone know what the expected or accepted draw is when the car is turned off, then we could go through the fuse box and try to see where the problem is. They really need a TSB out on this issue though. Guys keep thinking it's the battery and that's Ford's response to it, but it doesn't look like it...it's too much parasitic drain like you said. So, I'm just hooking it up to a float charger when it's going to sit awhile...sad yes, but that's where we are right now.

metroplex

Excess parasitic drain can mean a faulty piece of electronic equipment. It isn't normal if you need a new battery every 3-30 days or need to use a tender/maintainer for a period of 3-6 months.

m05fastbackGT

I've had my battery tested by both Ford, and by an independent shop who specializes in automotive electronics.

Both times during amp testing, my results were the same. In which parasitic draw was exactly 0.1milliamps. According to latest TSB, Ford considers this as normal parasitic draw.

However if my car sat for more than 10 day periods, and wasn't fully charged. My batteries always went dead.

So my question, is 0.1milliamps enough to drain a battery in less than a 30-day period ?

Boomer

ahhhh the good ole battery threads.
I remember going through this when we all first got our hands on the 05s.

We all found out the hard way that the original batterys were crap and with the load of the components (sonic sensors on the alarm, stereo at random intervals rotating the disc assembly etc) that the batterys would drain VERY quickly.

For the first winter I left the battery in, and started the car every week and let it run for 20-30min
By Feb, the battery was dead, replaced under warranty with a NEWER model and more cold cranking amps (better battery)

The following 2 winters, i took the battery out of the car and stored it on a shelf.
Over the whole winter, without a tender, in COLD temps, it maintained 12.2-12.4volts and around 70+% charge, after sitting for 3+months. Just shows you how much the system chews.

If you HAVE to let the car sit and want to minimize the ammount of juice drained you can do a couple of things. #1) Leave the stereo on a radio station then turn it off. IIRC if you had it on the CD player, it would randomly cycle the discs. Not sure if this still happens.
#2) Lock the door manually by pushing down the locks and the alarm will not be set. (i'll have to check, it may set the door/incline sensors, but not the sonic sensors that drain the system.

I also found out while storing the car, if the car was unlocked (and the door left open so that the window would not be caught in the all the way up position (so I could freely open/close the door and not have to worry about the short drop) while taking the battery out, the alarm would not go off when the battery was re-installed.

Sorry for the long post

m05fastbackGT

Pete, I understand exactly where your coming from. However I don't quite understand what you mean by sonic sensors that drain the system. Just what exactly are these sonic sensors ? In other words, are they part of the active security/motion sensors, or are they related to something entirely different. To be honest with you, I'm neither familiar with nor have I ever heard of sonic sensors, until just now

RCSignals

I have two 2003 Ford cars, both V8s, both have the original battery and neither shows any sign of problem.

They're maybe the best batteries I've ever had in a car

theedge67

I think he is referring to the interior motion sensors as the "sonic sensors". I'm not sure why though, I've never heard them called sonic sensors, and I don't think they have anything to do with sound. They are motion sensors.

metroplex

I stored my 07 GT 2 winters ago w/o using a battery tender, with the Shaker 500 turned off in the CD mode, and armed my active anti-theft system. The battery remained strong in the spring.

At 0.1mA of draw, it would take about 45 years to deplete a 45 A-h battery.

m05fastbackGT

So what exactly does he mean ? He already mentioned that it wasn't the door or incline sensors, in which are directly related to the interior motion sensors.

At this point, I'm really confused and have no clue as to what else he may have been referring to as sonic sensors

m05fastbackGT

Charlie, why is it that according to the latest TSB, Ford claims that during normal parasitic draw batteries will drain in 30-day cycles, if not driven enough or aren't connected to battery tenders

theedge67

If you lock the doors by pushing down the lock pin in the door, it arms only the perimeter sensors (doors, trunk, hood sensors). It does not arm the tilt sensors or interior motion sensors. I think he just got his terms mixed up and called the interior motion sensors "sonic sensors" instead.

The interior motion sensors are located where the dome lights are at, there are two of them...as long as you have the active alarm system.

The interior motion sensors are a larger draw on the battery than the other sensors, so keeping them off could help save some battery power for a long storage.