Scarpi

My car is not a daily driver. It is an 05 (June 05), but only has about 4600 miles on it. I still have the original battery. Recently I got into my car and when I tried to start it, the battery was dead. No warnings as usual with things like this. I called Ford road assistance and they came to my house and started it. I must say that they came out within an hour of my calling them on Saturday. So I go to Checker Auto Parts and they check my alternator and battery. They say my alternator is OK but my battery has only about 350 amps instead of the 500 or so it supposed to have. I then bought a battery charger (Schumacher 6amp, 2amp model) because I don't drive the car daily and I thought it is a good thing to have anyway. After driving the car around for a while and coming home and charging the battery for a couple of hours on 2amp mode, it shows a full charge on the meter. Here is my question, do you guys think that the battery is OK, or should I take it to Ford and have them check the battery and if I need a new one I guess it is covered under warranty. My three year warranty is up in June.

theedge67

Since you probably did not drive it around very much in between the jump start and the check at the auto parts store, the battery probably was not fully recharged when they checked it. A battery charger is great and will come in very handy, but it is going to take a while to recharge, especially on 2A mode with a battery charger. Leave that thing on overnight in 2A.

Once you have recharged it fully, next time you are in town, have the battery tested again by Ford. It may be fine now that it is fully charged.

I would recommend a battery tender if the car sits for more than 10 days without starting. There are several threads on battery tenders, just do a search.

Ranger

Would get the battery checked. There is at least one good long thread regarding the issue. I had my 05 for almost 3 years without a starting problem and then it turned up. Pulled the battery and took it to the dealer - was a bad cell. They gave me a new one and after I installed it, took the car back to have the system checked which was fine. Would recommend you consider getting a Battery Tender or other simliar device since this apparently is not an unusual problem to have. My warranty is up in Feb and unfortunately my dealer closed after 50 years in business so I guess I was one of their last customers