Birthday Present from Little Red

[nj susan]

OK, today is my birthday-not saying how many years, but happy to still be here. Mike decided that since the weather has been awful here in NJ and Red hasn't been out in about a month that he would start her up.

WRONG!!! New battery installed by Ford in March 2010. We probably put on less than 5,000 and she is dead. I had all kinds of issues with the dealer trying to put one over on me, and now the damn thing is dead.

Gonna wait until some of this slop melts, then get a AAA jump start and replace the battery again. Should have never taken out the 8 year old battery.

Thanks for allowing me to vent. When is spring arriving???

[merlot4]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

Easy Susan, easy! I don't know what your dealer was trying to do, but batteries can die for a variety of reasons. Any chance you could have left a vanity light, or the like, on? After your AAA visit I hope that all is well again and that you can take Red for a spin! Since AAA isn't always where you where you are, perhaps it might be a wise investment to get a small charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I hope the rest of your day was better!

[keithwand]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

You prob. need to invest in a battery tender if the car is not run for a month at a time.

I keep mine "plugged" in all the time.

[MintTbird]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

When u lock the doors. Don't do it 2x. It arms the alarm and sucks the battery

[Carmino]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

Put a battery tender on it .

[Ol'Dave]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

When u lock the doors. Don't do it 2x. It arms the alarm and sucks the battery

ABSOLUTELY......... especially if not using for a tad.

[KerryW]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

Hopefully you can have the battery tested and all it needs is to be charged. I also keep a battery tender on my bird during the long winter months. That seems to do the trick.

[nj susan]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

Thanks all. I've always had winter down time, and this never happened before even with an 8 year old battery. The alarm on my car will go off if I leave a vanity light on-did that once, so I don't think that is the problem.

Right now, the roads are a sloppy mess, so I won't be taking care of this problem for a few weeks.

And yes, the rest of my birthday was much better :-)

[CVCashmere]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

Hi Susan

Always nice to see another Joisey Bird! I start mine up once per week for a few minutes even if it does not leave the driveway.

Thanks

OK, today is my birthday-not saying how many years, but happy to still be here. Mike decided that since the weather has been awful here in NJ and Red hasn't been out in about a month that he would start her up.

WRONG!!! New battery installed by Ford in March 2010. We probably put on less than 5,000 and she is dead. I had all kinds of issues with the dealer trying to put one over on me, and now the damn thing is dead.

Gonna wait until some of this slop melts, then get a AAA jump start and replace the battery again. Should have never taken out the 8 year old battery.

Thanks for allowing me to vent. When is spring arriving???

[007Cruiser]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

Susan.... I would bet that it just needs a charge. Good luck with it. Hope to see you again at the NJ show.

[jerrym3]

Re: Birthday Present from Little Red

CVCASHMERE

It's best to run her for more than a few minutes. Make sure she reaches operating temperature.

Here in NJ, I've been driving mine every now and then as long as the roads aren't snow covered. If the salt left on the road rusts her out with very minimal exposure, well, that's life.

(My brother-in-law uses his as a daily driver, and you know what that means this winter in NJ.)

Also, due to health issues, I let my Bird sit for a long while three years ago in the garage with the car locked. Original battery went stone dead.

Had it jumped, charged, and it's still in the car.

But, my 2004 LS battery had to be replaced. When the battery went, it went very quick.