Dead Battery / Bad Starter

[Gobird]

Seems like I have a dead battery on the Bird. Hasn't been ran for almost a year now. But was on a battery tender over that time. I put a charger on it for now but doesn't look good. Have called the dealer and will have to order one if needed. Only around $150.00 I'll wait and see what the charger does.

Don't know when the last battery was replaced, have to have the Judge look up in our records.

[Frank Dreano]

Strange - maybe a defect ?
I've had boat batteries sit unused for the best part of a year on a battery maintainer and they were still good going on 9 years.

[Gobird]

Never had a problem before but never let the car sit for a year without running. In almost 20 years this will be my 6th battery.

[007Cruiser]

I’ve had good luck with the Motorcraft batteries. I’m only on my third but now I’ve probably jinxed myself.

[Gobird]

It's the battery. I got it charged up enough that when I hooked the battery back up to the car and tried to start it the alarm went off and the radio came on. These are signs of a dead battery/ bad battery in these cars. I'll order a new one tommorow or Thur.

[HKS]

It's the battery. I got it charged up enough that when I hooked the battery back up to the car and tried to start it the alarm went off and the radio came on. These are signs of a dead battery/ bad battery in these cars. I'll order a new one tommorow or Thur.

Spence,
I know you have a lot of miles on your Tbird.
So, how many batteries have you done in so far?
Hermann

[Gobird]

Don't know for sure but I would take a guess at around 4 / 5. I checked the recite for this one and I bought it in July 2020. I am getting some kind of pro-rating on it. Called this morning and ordered one from my dealer.

[Brad]

A few batteries ago I started putting the receipt in an envelope, writing the install and warranty date on the outside of the envelope and use packing tape to attach it to the top of the battery. Other FORD dealers sometimes require the receipt to honor the warranty.

[snowbird]

I am on my second battery in the '03 Bird . Put that one in a few years ago as I was going on a long trip just to be sure . Put the old battery on the shelf with a trickle charger ( rectifier ) and kept it charged . Last spring the battery went on our '66 bird ( + ten years old ). Put the old battery from the '03 in it and it fired the '66 bird right up . Still have it on the shelf after replacing the '66 battery . It just keeps going , and going, and going .

[2K2BIRD]

Our car has 172K miles. It is on its 3rd Motorcraft battery, which has a date code of 06/2015 (I don't know the exact date it was installed, but I know it was about that time). Both times I prophylactically replaced the 6-7 year old batteries prior to major trips to remote areas. Replaced the original battery prior to the trip to Desert Thunder II in Las Vegas in 2008 since we were going to be out in some remote areas both going to and returning from the event. The 2nd battery was changed prior to our Thunder Around the Lakes travel event since we were going to be several days in wilderness areas above Lake Superior. I have no idea how much longer either one of these batteries would have gone without failure, I just knew I didn't want to take a chance they would fail on the trips. If I were making a remote trip again any time soon, I would replace the one that is in there now. FYI - I don't use a trickle charger, I just drive the car periodically on nice days in the winter. If I can't drive it, I start the car up and let it run for about 20 minutes.

[Gobird]

OK, when we moved to Fl. 14 years ago the Bird sat in the garage for over a year because my battery tender was in a box somewhere in the garage and not on the bird. That was one battery. that was neglected. It was replaced after I found the tender. Not complaining about replacing the battery now. Just stating a fact. But this battery only lasted for 1 1/2 years. All new batteries were Motor craft Batteries. From day one.

[FUN X 3]

We're on our fourth battery. The last one we replaced died because similar to Gobird, I didn't keep up with starting/driving the car occasionally. These batteries will die if not used regularly. I try to either run the car or drive it every week or every other week. I really should get out more.

[Gobird]

Bad and good news.. Dealer checked the battery this morning. Battery is good so not the problem that's the bad news. I'll pick up the old battery in the morning and put it back in the car. Right now it looks like a flat bed ride to the Dealer.

[007Cruiser]

Do you know if the engine is getting fuel?

[merlot4]

A long shot, but could the dealer testing have been faulty -everyone makes mistakes.