lodom

This was a popular topic on the Corvette forum a couple years ago. The solution many resorted to, was replacing the battery with the Optima Red-top.

The problem with recharging batteries that have run down, is that they loose a large portion of their remaining life every time they run down. So, it is more likely to happen again

biznazion

I was stricken with DBS (dead battery syndrome) a couple weeks ago. I don't drive the stang all that much, don't even have 2500 miles on her yet, but she usually get's out once a week for 1-2 hours. I've had the car since April and the usage pattern has been consistent. The DBS was after sitting for 7 days and it was completely dead. Put the booster on and she started up ok - drove it around for an hour or so and the battery was showing 12.8v. I put on the trickle charger (2A) that night and in 3 or 4 hours the charger shutoff. I've driven it a few times since - and now after sitting for 5 days the battery is showing 12.6v.

Gearhead

Battery Voltage Guide, Approximate, based upon my personal experience:
1.) When charging with a 10 amp charger, about 15.7 Volts to 16.1 Volts (measured while charging) would be fully charged.
2.) When off the charger for at least 2 hours, the voltage will stabilize, and you can read the standing voltage. 12.9 Volts is 100%, and 12.0 Volts is drained. You can linearly interpolate voltages in-between, so if you show a standing reading of 12.60 Volts, that would equal ((12.60 - 12.00) / (0.9)) * 100% = 67% charge.
3.) Should the cranking voltage ever be below 11.0 Volts, or if the standing voltage is below 12.6 volts after a full charge, then replace the battery.

yur1279

This seems to be a common problem. I use my car daily, but there have beena few cold mornings when it will hesitate to start as if the batery is not fully charged. This is rare but does happen to me on occasion.

05mealready

Hey Guys,

Mine stays put most of the time. I have let it sit for about two weeks at a time. 2x the battery has been dead. I thought maybe I left the door open or a light on. But not the case. I now start or drive at least once a week. So far so good... But it still dissapoints me to have issues like this.

k3druid

Adrenalin; 2.2 Amp Solar Panel.

I have had one Attached to the Mustang Cocoon :sleep: since Oct 31st.
Checked it out Today. Maintaining 12.56 Volts on the Battery,
which is still in the Car and fully Operational.
Seems to be an answer that only require Sun Light.

Also not starting the car til Mid April. :nono:

Original Sin

Will Ford address this somehow???? Just because a car sits for a week or 2 in cold weather doesn't mean it shouldn't start. Actually, it's ridiculous!

RENEW1

Just came across something on Edmunds web site about shorted shaker amplifiers. Apparently some shaker 500 and 1000 amplifiers do not shut off when the radio is turned off, thus draining the battery after a few days. The suggestion was to pull the amplifier fuse and see if the battery lasts longer. Ford apparently has warned dealers about this. Although mine is in storage and on trickle charge I may check this out. I have already measured current draw when my battery went dead the first few times. Maybe if I pull the fuse it will go to a lower value. Anybody else heard of this problem?

Galaxie

That's the first I have read about it.

I am going to jump the '05 today and let it run for about a 1/2 hour or so. I'll investigate the shaker issue and see if that could be the culprit.

adrenalin

Well I just put my battery back in the car and it fired up with no issues. I am going to leave the battery connected and the solar charger connected to the battery. I will see if it starts 4 weeks from now.

adrenalin

Actually, when a car is properly prepped for winter storage there is no reason to start it. I just started mine today because it was nice enough out for me to reinstall the battery and see if it would work.

tempman

I'm having battery problems too. dead after 2 days standing . I have the battery off at the moment . What is the Amp Hour rating so I can buy a better battery . I'm in the UK with a 12 month old 05 stang complete with a shaker 1000.
how do I check if the shaker is shorting anywhere?

I have had a current drain test done with the battery on the car and it was drawing a fluctuating current between 0.1 to 0.7 amps with the key out of the ignition and the doors closed and radio off. any idea what could be causing this strange fluctuation?

thanks

adrenalin

Hey Steve (aka tempman), just wanted to say welcome to the forums.

I am not sure what the amp hour rating is and there have been several discussions regarding the shaker amps staying on after the car has been turned off. However, I find that hard to believe. My car does have the anti-theft system installed so that could be part of the problem in my case. I am going to remove the rear subs and test the connections to see if there is any draw when the system is off.

StangFreak

This is not a new issue with Mustangs and isn't only limited to the 05/06's. I had an 03 Cobra which I also drove limited miles in. I could let the car sit for a week and it would be fine. Any longer than that and the battery would be dead. I even replaced the stock battery with a Sears Diehard and it was no different. Some thing in the cars electronics drains the battery if you let it sit too long with out driving it. Could be the stereo, but who knows. I think it's just all the electronic crap they put in the cars now. I have a 90 GT convertible which sat for over 6 months straight and it started up on the first turn of the key.


So much for advancement.....................

Mongoose

Mine too has gone dead three times. One time the car was locked and there I was dumb as a rock wondering how I was going to open the locked door.

WERKED 66

there is a pretty new invention called the key it does work wonders.............

as far as the battery issue have not had any problems..the car has sat a few days , it been pretty cold in the morn...she has started right up........

tempman

thanks for the welcome!

I'm just about to pop my battery back in - the voltage is showing 12.39v . If the car fire us fine then I will take her for a run then remove the fuses to the shaker amps & head unit & see if there is any difference in battery drain with everything off. IF this issue doesnt get cured, I may be forced to go back to Mercedes! perish the thought

RENEW1

MY current readings with active anti-theft off ( at least I think so) and nothing else on was also variable between .2 to .7 amps. I have not been able to get the amp-hr rating on the battery,but generally cars with V-8s are between 60-100 amp-hrs. Johnson Controls makes the Mustang battery. Can't get a firm amp-hr number but I think it is 80. If you take that and look at measured current you get at the worst(.7amps) 114 hrs before battery is dead. That is only about 2 weeks. At .2 amps you get 7 weeks.Without recording over time I'm not sure what the average is. My car is dead after about 2 weeks.
To check actual ampplifier current you can use an ampmeter
plugged into the appropriate fuse socket after removal. The shaker 500 has one amplifier and the 1000 two.

tempman

found this on another mustang forum - dead battery seems to be a common fault!

at least we have the AH rating but 60Ah for a muscle car seems a bit low to me

"If you have the security system, you should have the larger Gr. 40R battery (60Ah). I know it's not a perfect solution, but maybe worth checking to make sure you have the 40R instead of the smaller 96R (52Ah) battery. "

http://www.mustangforums.com/m_857518/tm.htm

Anyone know what is the max AH battery I could fit into the GT?

I havent gotton around to pulling fuses yet . I'll report back my findings asap. I just need to find a dc clamp meter to save disconnecting the battery to check the battery drain.

tempman

Ok, I just got in from testing my cars current drain in the cold -2.0c which for us brits is chilly!

the car has been stood for a 24 hours & before I started, I checked the battery voltage and it was down from 12.4 yesterday to 11.8v !

I unclamped the negative cable from the battery and used an amp meter in line between the negative post on the battery & the cable .

for the first 30 secs or so the amps fluctuated around 2 to 2.5 amps then settled at a steady 1.1amps during this time the interior light stayed on . I couldnt see from the manual which fuse to pull to turn it off so I just opened & closed the drivers door to force it to switch itself off. that done the amps reading dropped to a steady 0.39amps

then I pulled the shaker 1000 amp fuses - fuse 6 & fuse 9 . Fuse 6 caused a drop to 0.12 amps . Fuse 9 made no difference, I then prceeded to pull in turn every other fuse and relay in the power box under the hood but no change from 0.12 amps. I tried the fuses inside the car but could easily get to them all so only pulled about half. no change to the amperage though.

so in the end I pulled both shaker 1000 fuses ie 6& 9. and the amperage remained at 0.12amps.


there is clearly something wrong with the fuse 6 circuit but I dont know how to proceed from here.

The car just about fired up & after running it for 10 mins or so the battery voltage was 12.80 . I guess I need to check it again tomorrow to see if the voltage loss is reduced.


POST EDITED TO REPLACE the incorectly stated fuse 5 with the correct fuse number 6 .