... of dead batteries!

Actually I'm not new to the club, but this time it seems to be completely dead.

I had the battery die on me in the winter of 06 (since I have a winter beater). I learned my lession and purchased a battery tender. Worked great last winter!

Fast forward to the present. I haven't been driving the 'Stang all that much due to the rising cost of fuel (high gas prices + loving the sound of that V8 roaring + lead foot = ) so I've been driving my 4-banger Grand Am (gets pretty good gas mileage too, and I'm not tempted to do a smoking burnout at every red light. 'Stang has been sitting in the garrage, but I'd still get it out every week or so to drive her, so I left the battery tender off. A couple weeks went by when I didn't (or couldn't) get her out, so to my surprise (or not) the battery is dead. Tried hooking her up to life support... but she was too far gone for the battery tender to do any good. Tried jumping her... but nothing! So I'm planning on taking the battery to AutoZone to get charged up, then taking the vehicle down to a dealership to have the battery replaced under warrantee. Few questions though:

1. Should I even bother getting the battery charged, or can I take just the battery in to be replaced?

2. Same as above, except should I call roadside assitance to have my baby towed to the dealer (dead battery and all)?

3. She has a custom tune... has that been erased since she's dead? And if so... well I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

4. Unrelated (sorta), but last winter when she was hooked up to the battery tender, I noticed at least once the radio stations reset like the battery had been removed. Tranny felt like it "unlearned" everything too. Is that normal? (Note: this was before my tune)

So yeah... I'm going to sleep now. 14 hour night shifts make one

 

I had sporadic battery problems on my 05 GT. It would hold a charge if I drove it regularly. But winter storage required frequent charging. Finally took it in a few months ago before the warranty ran out and the dealer tested and then replaced it. No problems with the new battery. We will see how this next storage season goes...

 

dealer won't do anything w/out cat actually there. If you get it towed,those clowns will probably scratch the paint somehow or something worse. The dealers are just as prone to doing the same thing. I would bite the bullit and just buy a new battery but thats just me.

 

"1. Should I even bother getting the battery charged, or can I take just the battery in to be replaced?"
This is totally up to you. If you do put a charge on it and take it in the Ford Dealership will probably replace it. I have never liked recharging a battery once it has completely died but thats me.

2. Same as above, except should I call roadside assitance to have my baby towed to the dealer (dead battery and all)?
I wouldnt do this one like Boltzman said. They wont care to put a scratch or two on your stang....not worth it in my opinion. You could call roadside and have them jump you so you can get to the dealership on the otherhand.

3. She has a custom tune... has that been erased since she's dead? And if so... well I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

No problems your tune has not been erased it is saved. Trust me my battery has died a few times and I havent had any issues.

4. Unrelated (sorta), but last winter when she was hooked up to the battery tender, I noticed at least once the radio stations reset like the battery had been removed. Tranny felt like it "unlearned" everything too. Is that normal? (Note: this was before my tune)
perfectly normal I have disconnected my battery to do a few Mods and once I reconnected it I could feel a difference in my Tranny.

Hope this helps.