Hi all,
I've had the Mountaineer in my sig for just over 2 years now with little to no problem. No reliability problems whatsoever.
When I bought it I could've sworn the PO told me he installed a new battery shortly before I purchased it. I did see that it's a Motorcraft battery, not sure of any other details as I've never had cause to remove the cover. Never had a cranking issue or even any slight sign that the battery was old or weak, even in very cold startups.
Fast forward to last week and my wife told me that the electronic climate control is set to "OFF" every time she gets in the vehicle to go somewhere, despite what it's set at when she shuts the car off. At first I don't think much of it (bad idea). And as she mentioned it a second and third time, I absent-mindedly think it might be a fuse on a memory circuit or something, did a bit of googling but then abandoned it (also bad idea).
We set out to leave for Pittsburgh the other afternoon after the car's been sitting most of the week and there's no crank. Barely enough power to keep the interior lights on. After a quick charge and boost from the charger it starts, runs and has no issues through a couple startups the rest of the night.
Next day, after sitting overnight, it cranks slow but after a short drive, it spins over and starts like normal. I'm still not worried at this point (jeez, am I dumb).
Finally, today, it barely starts, after sitting maybe 18 hours, as usual. I'm still thinking it should be ok after a drive. We drive to the fairgrounds to go to the fair, car seems to run fine. We go in for about an hour and a half, come back out for my wife to feed the baby. Start it to move to a closer spot , it cranks very slow but starts, and then park there for a while.
After sitting for maybe 10 - 15 minutes my wife is still taking care of baby, trying to get her calmed down, I have have her try it to see if it will start and I just get a clicking solenoid. After panicking and realizing how I should've started looking at it earlier in the week, I find someone to jump start us and we drive directly home.
Needless to say, my number one priority is to get this straightened out as soon as any parts stores open tomorrow. I will get my multi meter out to try to check for parasitic draws but will probably also get the battery tested.
Does sudden, serious depletion of a battery's capacity happen in short order like this? Or is it almost certainly a drain issue? ODBII scanner showed 13.0v - 14.0v at the ECU while running, lights on or off, regardless of load. It did drop to 8.0v on cranking over just after shutdown.
PS - Guys, pay attention to your wives, they don't say things just to say them.
I've had the Mountaineer in my sig for just over 2 years now with little to no problem. No reliability problems whatsoever.
When I bought it I could've sworn the PO told me he installed a new battery shortly before I purchased it. I did see that it's a Motorcraft battery, not sure of any other details as I've never had cause to remove the cover. Never had a cranking issue or even any slight sign that the battery was old or weak, even in very cold startups.
Fast forward to last week and my wife told me that the electronic climate control is set to "OFF" every time she gets in the vehicle to go somewhere, despite what it's set at when she shuts the car off. At first I don't think much of it (bad idea). And as she mentioned it a second and third time, I absent-mindedly think it might be a fuse on a memory circuit or something, did a bit of googling but then abandoned it (also bad idea).
We set out to leave for Pittsburgh the other afternoon after the car's been sitting most of the week and there's no crank. Barely enough power to keep the interior lights on. After a quick charge and boost from the charger it starts, runs and has no issues through a couple startups the rest of the night.
Next day, after sitting overnight, it cranks slow but after a short drive, it spins over and starts like normal. I'm still not worried at this point (jeez, am I dumb).
Finally, today, it barely starts, after sitting maybe 18 hours, as usual. I'm still thinking it should be ok after a drive. We drive to the fairgrounds to go to the fair, car seems to run fine. We go in for about an hour and a half, come back out for my wife to feed the baby. Start it to move to a closer spot , it cranks very slow but starts, and then park there for a while.
After sitting for maybe 10 - 15 minutes my wife is still taking care of baby, trying to get her calmed down, I have have her try it to see if it will start and I just get a clicking solenoid. After panicking and realizing how I should've started looking at it earlier in the week, I find someone to jump start us and we drive directly home.
Needless to say, my number one priority is to get this straightened out as soon as any parts stores open tomorrow. I will get my multi meter out to try to check for parasitic draws but will probably also get the battery tested.
Does sudden, serious depletion of a battery's capacity happen in short order like this? Or is it almost certainly a drain issue? ODBII scanner showed 13.0v - 14.0v at the ECU while running, lights on or off, regardless of load. It did drop to 8.0v on cranking over just after shutdown.
PS - Guys, pay attention to your wives, they don't say things just to say them.