I usually let it run for about 15-20 mins, enough time to let it warm up and roll it around on the driveway to avoid flat spots on the tires. however i let it run yesterday for almost and hour since it was the second time I had to jump it. maybe I will take it in when it comes out in the spring and get it checked.

 

EDIT: the threads were now merged, so nevermind

 

That's the problem; there are no answers. Owners have reasonably new vehicles, or in some cases 2007 vehicles and their batteries go dead when the vehicle is inactive. It's nonsense.

The only discernable suggestion mentioned is to store your vehicle with the radio off, and the security system off - i.e. don't lock your doors if you can get away with it.

Another area where Ford needs to step up and solve a problem that should not be happening.

 

No disagreement with you there...I'm just saying that this thread should be locked, and to post in one of the other ones. No sense in starting another thread when there is already two going.

 

3 threads for batteries isn't that bad... have any idea how many Flowmaster/Borla/SLP LM exhaust threads there are?

It's all good though... no matter how many times a topic repeats, there's always a fresh point of view that pops up.

Regarding the battery, Ford just uses a cheap battery, period. If they started putting in high quality stuff, the MSRP will go on the rise. So what's one to do?

 

If you check out the Dead Battery/New Problem thread ? you'll find several posts that address this issue.

 

If you manually push the lock pins (not the power lock buttons) the doors will lock but no portion of the active anti theft system will be armed.

 

If your going to store your car. you need to disconnect the battery. On modern cars the computer,clock and various other items still use power when the car in use. I do this on all my cars and I have had no problem with the battery life.

 

do the easy method.

DISCONNECT THE BATTERY WHILE IN STORAGE.
Battery tenders are awesome, but when a car is stored, take the battery completely out and dont leave it sit on a concrete floor. if you'd like you could still hook it up to a battery tender. if you really dont want to remove it, just grab small 10mm box wrench (i think thats the size, either 10 or 8mm) and leave it in the glove box. then whenever your going to go drive the car, just pop it on, you have the tool already. The only thing you'll lose is your radio presets. and dont forget to treat your gas, no matter what you turn off, or what method you lock your car, there is always going to be a drain on the battery in modern cars. if you would like it keep driving it or run it every couple weeks, dont just start it in the driveway. take it for a spin. grab a beer, or just to get milk one day. your not going to recharge a battery at idle. and those of you who have had ded cells, askt he dealer to upgrade to a dry cell, optimas are the graeatest thing since lead acid. i personally never let my car sit more than a week. gotta let all the seals stay mated to thier surfaces, warm everything up like the trans oil and all. just keep it going. its a modern car, cold weather doesnt bother it as much as older cars do. god i hate writing long posts, but at least i try to keep them full of info, and not filler.

i'll add this same post to the other threads of the topic

 

do the easy method.

DISCONNECT THE BATTERY WHILE IN STORAGE.
Battery tenders are awesome, but when a car is stored, take the battery completely out and dont leave it sit on a concrete floor. if you'd like you could still hook it up to a battery tender. if you really dont want to remove it, just grab small 10mm box wrench (i think thats the size, either 10 or 8mm) and leave it in the glove box. then whenever your going to go drive the car, just pop it on, you have the tool already. The only thing you'll lose is your radio presets. and dont forget to treat your gas, no matter what you turn off, or what method you lock your car, there is always going to be a drain on the battery in modern cars. if you would like it keep driving it or run it every couple weeks, dont just start it in the driveway. take it for a spin. grab a beer, or just to get milk one day. your not going to recharge a battery at idle. and those of you who have had dead cells, ask the dealer to upgrade to a dry cell, optimas are the greatest thing since lead acid. i personally never let my car sit more than a week. gotta let all the seals stay mated to thier surfaces, warm everything up like the trans oil and all. just keep it going. its a modern car, cold weather doesnt bother it as much as older cars do. god i hate writing long posts, but at least i try to keep them full of info, and not filler. some people there is too cold of weather and there is a lot of snow on the ground for long periods of time, all i can say is take the battery out of the car and store it indoors. cold weather kills batteries that arent being used.

i'll add this same post to the other threads of the topic

 

Optimas are not dry cells. Optimas are AGM batteries, not flooded lead acid batteries.

Odysseys are dry cells and are generally not used in SLI applications due to their smaller capacities.

 

my apologies.. all i am sure of is that there is one in each of my fathers classic stangs, and they work great

 

thanks for all the info guys. i do appreciate it.

 

Remember, Motorcraft batteries are nowhere near the best.
In 30+ years of using various batteries I have found that Diehards and Motorcraft are very low on my list. Interstate is my favorite (they also own Optima).

 

Thanks Karman.
When my Diehard craps out in my Tacoma, I'll check out Interstate as a replacement. When my Motorcraft goes, it'll be Optima all the way (the Red Top will match mt Torch Red pretty good!).

 

merged the two battery threads

This is a common issue that needs to be resolved.

I also had my battery replaced last year after the car was sitting for 10 days in the cold weather. After the battery was replaced, I disconnected the negative terminal for about 4 weeks between startups without issue.

Hopefully someone from Ford reads this thread and realizes that something needs to be done, either the batteries upgraded, or the electrical system modified so there is less parasitic drain.

 

I've had poor experiences with Motorcraft batteries. We rarely get more than 3 years out of them but recently they have gotten better. My only guess is that the Group 96R/40R Motorcraft batteries are not made by JCI. Johnson Controls also makes the DieHard and Optima batteries.

The last Diehard Gold battery I have that crapped out did so after 9 years of severe duty service

 

In our shop the soonest replaced batteries seem to be Motorcraft,AcDelco, Mopar. We use Interstate to replace


But what got me to post here was no driving for 4 days and the car just barly started. It has been 0-10 degrees tho. The clock/radio was reset, but presets were still there. Took it for a good long cruise to get charged up.

 

My Mom's 06 Gt just had the dead battery syndrome. The car sit for 5 or 6 days while snow was on the ground and it was parked in the garage. No warning, just completly dead. Ford obvisoulsy has an issue going on here.

My 03 Mach is still on the original battery after 3 1/2 years and seems to be ok. To tell a customer to buy a battery tender and plug it in is just unacceptable to me.

 

Radio presets are stored in non volitile memory. Which means it doesn't need power to remember things.