I installed a brand new battery a month ago. I drive it on the weekends only, and today I was trying to unlock my car and it wouldn't respond. I tried the spare key and same result. I unlocked the car manually, and nothing internally seems to work. Lights are on auto, car was properly shut off, what could cause the battery to die when it's new?

Any idea how I can open the trunk to recharge the battery? If trunk is not an option, can it be recharged from the front (hood area)? Anything special I need to do to ensure it doesn't drain again?

Thanks!

 

Use the terminals under the hood on the right side of the car. I have been doing that for years with my battery maintainer.

Once the battery is charged open the trunk and disconnect the battery negative terminal for about 30 seconds and reconnect. You should be good to go after that.

 

. Charging from the front is fine. Try disconnecting the battery for 30+ seconds to reset after you fully recharge. It sounds like you may have had a OBD reader leave a connection open and draining your battery. Also beat to leave it on a battery maintainer if you won’t be driving for a few days.

 

In the last month, did anyone plug anything into your ODBII port?

 

Thanks, i'll try that method soon.

On June 2nd, ODB read was done. A few weeks later, I performed a hard reset by disconnecting the terminals from the back of the battery because I suspected that the ECU wasn't functioning properly (minimal pops/crackles). After disconnecting it for a few hours, the issue was resolved. Wouldn't that hard reset take care of ODB issue mentioned here? Anything else that could cause the drain?

 

It should have taken care of it. When I reset mine, I had it disconnected for only about a minute.

 

Easy way to check is look at the hazard light switch - if it's still illuminated 10-15 minutes after locking the car, you have a problem with module(s) not shutting down properly.

 

Disconnecting the battery would clear the OBD issue. (You can always confirm by whether the emergency flasher light goes out within 15 minutes, or so.)

Did you FULLY recharge the battery - like a good, long run on a CTEK? Mine stays in regular circulation. There's always something that's not being driven for a week or two, and these modern cars are picky about power.

 

Any particular hazard light?

 

I tried jump starting it by using two different vehicles and no luck. The electronics come on, I was able to open the trunk, but as soon as I start, it flickers and shuts down. Rinse, repeat and same thing. Should I try jump starting it from the back now that the boot is on? Am I doing anything wrong?

 

You need to fully charge the battery

 

No, the switch that activates them. It's back illuminated. The light extinguishes (or should!) about 10-15 minutes after locking the car.

 

Its the hazard light switch on the dash with the triangle on it. If that stays lit more than 15 minutes after locking the car up the OBD issue hasn't been addressed.

 

As for jump starting the car, sounds like i'll have to take out the battery and take it to the shop for full charge =/

 

Don't close the trunk lid when the battery's out! Put something over the latch to prevent it closing - you'll have a job getting it open if it shuts, you won't be able to power up via the under-hood terminals without a battery to complete the circuit..

 

I am not sure if it is installed in your F-Type or not but the one terminal on that Interstate battery in the photos has some corrosion on it. Make sure both battery terminals are clean and tight.

A solution of baking soda and water will get rid of the corrosion on the battery terminal.

 

Thanks will have both of my other vehicles checked out and cleaned for corrosion if any.

 

Swapped for a new battery under warranty and just installed it. Went thru the PCM training as noted on other threads and noticed the following:
1) Window would go auto down with 1 touch, but not up. Figured out how to fix that setting and it's working fine both ways.
2) When locking the car, the driver side view mirror folded, and passenger side did not. How do I set the power folds?
3) Hazard light went off in 2 minutes. Tried it twice, and without fail in 2 minutes it goes off.
4) Dynamic Mode - the valve's didn't open, had to un-do dynamic and re-engage dynamic and valves opened instantly. Not sure why this happened.
5) Dynamic + Sport - Worked fine the first time (high RPM's, pops/crackles). Took it out of sport, and few minutes later re-engaged sport at low speeds. When I got the opportunity to accelerate a little, it didn't feel it was in low gear and noticed RPM was low. Un-did sport mode and re-did sport mode at that same speed and suddenly RPM went high (with gears going low). Assuming the car is still learning here.


By the way, how much does this battery weigh? I wasn't mentally prepared to lift something that heavy lol. The battery installed in June was Duralast ProPower AGM brand and what I got as a swap was Duralast Platinum AGM. I was told both are same with ProPower used by commercial shops and Platinum by sold retail shops. Hopefully I didn't get anything inferior.

 

The window reset is a known thing, as you figured out, but I haven't heard about anyone needing to reset the mirrors. Try folding/unfolding them a couple of times by pressing both buttons on the mirror controls at the same time.

 

Even a new battery needs to be charged to full. If you don't have a CTEK or other battery maintainer, invest in one ASAP.