Just wondering if anyone here has had problems with their batteries going flat all the time! It's back at the Ford dealership where we bought it, again, for the 4th time. I've lost count of how many flat batteries we've had and the dealership has no idea what's causing it. They say we're the only ones in the country having this problem. We love the ute, it's awesome. When it goes.
amberjandal,
Dec 4, 12:15am
No , your the only one.
meathead_timaru,
Dec 4, 12:47am
There are a few reason why a battery goes 'flat'.
Faulty battery. Charge and load test to eliminate. Faulting charging system, be that over or under charging. Check charging system to eliminate. Excessive draw when the vehicle is off, sometimes due to a faulty regulator, sometimes due to a load like a light or motor that is ON when the vehicle is off. Verify current being drawn when the vehicle is off by using a multimeter both through the accessory and starting circuits.
You should send it to an auto electrician. There's a reason why it's a speciality.
bellky,
Dec 4, 1:14am
Agree, sometimes a timer stays on and hence the battery draw.
wasser61,
Dec 4, 1:16am
x1
You are not the only one having the problem, over here there is an issue with Ford Ranger Batteries with damaged cells which causes and internal discharge and the battery going flat. Have they changed the battery! And this problem is only on the 2012 model.
splinter67,
Dec 4, 1:21am
Wouldnt they be better to leave it to the ford franchise as its a new car taking it elsewhere is quite likely to void the warranty
smac,
Dec 4, 1:22am
No, the dealer should engage a sparky. Their problem.
theram1,
Dec 4, 1:55am
x1
Alternator diodes.
lyonruge,
Dec 4, 2:06am
I worked for ford 3 years ago, we replaced heaps of ranger batteries.
lyonruge,
Dec 4, 2:06am
.among other things of course!
mokaubach,
Dec 4, 6:57am
You are not alone, me too, I was blaming everything else but now realise its a vehicle issue, like you I'm very happy with the vehicle as a whole but it will be going back to the Dealer. The other really annoying issue is when you tow a trailer with LED lights, they flicker. Ford sell a conversion lead to plug in between the plugs, why doesn't it come with the towing package as everything is LED now!.
fordcrzy,
Dec 4, 7:05am
x1
DID YOU GET A FORD TOW PACK OR AFTER MARKET! there are several things you must do when hooking up trailer lights as you can easily blow up the ranger ecu with incorrectly wired LED trailer lights.
twit7,
Dec 4, 7:41am
do you leave the keys in the ignition over nite or for long periods as when they sat in our show room with keys in the batterys went flat a lot faster ,so now we leave the keys under the sun visor, and make sure doors are shut or park lights stay on
mokaubach,
Dec 4, 12:38pm
Yes it is a factory Ford tow kit and from what you are saying, it's all the more reason that the conversion lead should come with the tow kit along with this advice. To be frank, it just fits with the VERY ordinary experience suffered waiting for the vehicle with nil proactive communication or updatesfrom Ford. Ford as a corporate have a lot to learn about customer care. If my ECU had failed (I towed unknowingly several times without the lead I had no knowledge of) I would have raised merry hell over their lack of advice.
farmer_jen,
Dec 4, 4:44pm
It is assuring to know we are not the only ones then. Yes knew about the towing issue only after hooking up a friends' trailer in the dark and saw straight away there was a problem. Would have been nice to know from the dealer beforehand about it! We have a conversion lead in the ute at all times now. Yes we do take the keys out. Yes all the lights are out. I even was told it was my fault the battery was going flat during calving as I wasn't driving it enough! That it should be driven at least every 3 days. What a load of bollocks. I can go an easy 2 months without going in to town over calving. Our original problem started after we had the windscreen changed due to a crack. The tech nicked a wire and taped it up, didn't tell anyone and then we suddenly were getting flat batteries. Long story short they eventually found the issue, but that was a few months ago, then suddenly it's started again. They have FINALLY changed the battery so I hope we get it back soon. It's been there for quite some time this time as we told them we don't want it back til it's fixed!
mokaubach,
Dec 4, 5:33pm
x1
3 Days!, what are these people on!, they must think we are stupid. Half the problem is that vehicles have just got too sophisticated these days, it's a diesel truck for Gods sake, not a Lamborghini .
unbeatabull,
Dec 4, 6:19pm
Are you talking about the new Ranger!
Are you locking the vehicle everytime you jump out! The computer systems, dash, radio etc all stay "alive" as well as the lights until the vehicle is actually locked. Had a few farmers who would just leave vehicle unlocked out in the paddock or out back all night and have this problem.
clark20,
Dec 4, 6:39pm
This sounds similar to the VE Commodore problem in its first year (2006), until they reprogrammed the BCM
splinter67,
Dec 4, 6:43pm
Yes in complete agreement with you there
the-lada-dude,
Dec 4, 6:50pm
well, thats just gotta be shit engineering on fords part., fancy the battery going flat if you don't lock it !mind you that could also be cleaver engineering, i f you don't lock it the bat goes flat, which makes it hard to steal anyway.
supernova2,
Dec 5, 12:21am
Thats a design fault IMHO.If I were a farmer I'd be taking the vehicle back and stating "its not fit for purpose" therefore fixit.
mokaubach,
Dec 5, 4:28am
Mines gone flat where its locked or not, it doesn't seem to matter.
meathead_timaru,
Dec 5, 5:08am
Doesn't work like that. The CGA covers things not normally acquired for business use. A ute doesn't fit that description. And even if it did, it's being used for the purpose of business - which also excludes it from being covered by the CGA.
fordcrzy,
Dec 5, 5:37am
x1
there have been several reports of battery faults in australia. the fix is fit a larger capacity battery both in CCA and storage capacity.i think the standard battery is about 500CCA which aint enough. all the ford forum people who had flat battery problems sorted it with a bigger battery. replacement ford batteries and BCM units did not fix the problem.
supernova2,
Dec 5, 5:50am
Who said anything about the CGA.I'm saying I bought this to do a job and the dealer knew what that job was.He sold it to me knowing that the battery will go flat if I dont lock it but didnt bothedr to tell me that little gem .He has failed to perform his side of the contract therefore he fixes it.plain and simply really.
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