Battery charge and recommendation

[rwmorrisonjr]

The battery in my 2012 is not holding a charge. If I leave it parked for couple of days it dies and I need to put a charger on it. I installed a battery tender to keep the charge up while at home since I don't drive the Expy a lot but it still doesn't want to hold a charge. I took it to Advance for testing and they said the battery is good. I've done my own charge tests and parasitic drain tests. No identified draw over .5 amps after putting the car to sleep using FordTekMakULoco's procedure. Here's what I get after running three battery tests at home:

Testing with engine running (mimic's the Advance Auto test):


Test immediately after turning engine off:


Test after sitting for an hour:


Battery from Advance purchased Feb 2022:


The state of health immediately drops from 100% to 78% which leads me to think the battery's going bad. I've tested the alternator and the system's putting out 13.8v so that's good. I've charged it overnight with my 10a charger and I still get a "Good - Recharge" reading when I test it.

I'm taking a trip to FL in two weeks and don't want to get stranded with a bad battery. Any recommendations for replacement? I was leaning back to Advance for the prorated warranty but I'm thinking they kept the same bad Die Hard quality Sears was famous for in the 1970s!

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I was leaning back to Advance for the prorated warranty but I'm thinking they kept the same bad Die Hard quality Sears was famous for in the 1970s!

The Advance batteries branded as Die Hard are the same Advance batteries as before with different branding. They even have the same model numbers. A decade ago I would get 5+ years out of them, but these days I get 3 years. They perform well for those 3 years though.

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

The Advance batteries branded as Die Hard are the same Advance batteries as before with different branding. They even have the same model numbers. A decade ago I would get 5+ years out of them, but these days I get 3 years. They perform well for those 3 years though.

Mine has lasted 18 months. That’s not good enough for me.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

The battery in my 2012 is not holding a charge. If I leave it parked for couple of days it dies and I need to put a charger on it. I installed a battery tender to keep the charge up while at home since I don't drive the Expy a lot but it still doesn't want to hold a charge. I took it to Advance for testing and they said the battery is good. I've done my own charge tests and parasitic drain tests. No identified draw over .5 amps after putting the car to sleep using FordTekMakULoco's procedure. Here's what I get after running three battery tests at home:

Testing with engine running (mimic's the Advance Auto test):
View attachment 78921

Test immediately after turning engine off:
View attachment 78922

Test after sitting for an hour:
View attachment 78923

Battery from Advance purchased Feb 2022:
View attachment 78924

The state of health immediately drops from 100% to 78% which leads me to think the battery's going bad. I've tested the alternator and the system's putting out 13.8v so that's good. I've charged it overnight with my 10a charger and I still get a "Good - Recharge" reading when I test it.

I'm taking a trip to FL in two weeks and don't want to get stranded with a bad battery. Any recommendations for replacement? I was leaning back to Advance for the prorated warranty but I'm thinking they kept the same bad Die Hard quality Sears was famous for in the 1970s!

Buy an OEM Motorcraft battery and ensure your battery terminal connectors are clean (use a terminal cleaning brush).

 

[bloodhound]

Buy an OEM Motorcraft battery and ensure your battery terminal connectors are clean (use a terminal cleaning brush).

Motorcraft batteries and Diehard batteries (and many, many other brands) are all manufactured by Clarios LLC (formerly Johnson Controls). Sometimes you just get a bad battery.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Motorcraft batteries and Diehard batteries (and many, many other brands) are all manufactured by Clarios LLC (formerly Johnson Controls). Sometimes you just get a bad battery.

Just because one company manufacturers multiple lines of batteries does not mean that they are all the same.

Companies manufacture components, including batteries, for vehicle manufacturers to a specific design, fit and function.

The Motorcraft batteries are manufactured to Ford and Lincoln’s OE specification. They also include a nationwide limited warranty.

 

[Ryan L]

Does the 2012 come with an AGM battery? I ask because my 2016 Expy has FLA, non-AGM. I assumed the charging profiles are different, so have replaced with FLA when mine have a subpar SOC.

 

[GlennSullivan]

I just had a 21 month 850 motorcraft battery fail. Inadvertantly left radar detector on, next time I went to use it - about a week. Completely dead, tried to jump NG disconnected and charged, would not hold charge. It had 3 year no cost swap out warranty, I took it to the dealer I purchased from they did their own testing and handed me a new battery.

99WhiteC5Corvette thinks a full discharge kills these new batteries and based on this experience, I agree. This is the 2nd ”premium” Motorcraft battery that has suddenly failed on me in the last 12 months, with the other being just under 3 years old.

 

[Gary Waugh]

I bought my battery 4 years ago (die hard gold) with a 5 year warranty, it just died, despite having a year to go, the warranty paid $32 (on a $200 battery!!). The autozone guy said they no longer offer the 5 year warranty as most of the batteries fail before 5 years!! I got a new one with the standard 3 year warranty.
Everything you show/describe makes me think you have a defective battery, 18 months is not long, I suspect it has a manufacturing defect inside (rather than failing due to the chemicals (lead and acid) getting to old and breaking down..

I know its a lot of money, but I would buy a new battery, if after a few days you don't see the issue with the new battery, then you have proof the old battery was defective an go beat up the shop you bought it from to refund the cost. If the new battery has the same symptoms, then try to return the new battery and get a full refund then find out what in the car is killing the battery!!
Alternatively, do you have a friend with a car that uses a similar battery? Swap batteries with them for a few days and see if you still have the same issue, or if your friend starts having an issue!!

 

[chuck s]

No surprise the battery repeatedly dies.

0.5 amp parasitic draw will suck 85 amphours from the battery in a week. Which is more than the 68 amphours listed on the label of the battery in the photo.

The power outlets in the expedition are hot all the time so anything plugged in there ain't helping. Unless you unplug everything and find any other power draws a new battery won't last long either as this battery really only has about 50 useful amphours before it won't start the car. (Rule of thumb for useful amphours is RC/2.4 or in this case 120/2.4 = 50.)

-- Chuck

 

[reklaw]

I had put an AGM battery in my Explorer and it died 6 months after the 3 year warranty expired. This was from Advance Auto and I don't remember it being an Die Hard battery back then. While the battery was good until it died, when I replaced it I decided the price wasn't worth it for the AGM. I did purchase a new deep cycle battery from batteries+ for my camper back in 2020 and that is holding up well so far so maybe check out batteries+ They might even do a test to give you a second opinion.

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Replaced the AGM with a new Motorcraft Max flooded cell (regular) 850 CCA/1000CA battery manufactured 8/23. Initial test had 86% battery health and ~3 ohm resistance; both numbers are better than the AGM's 78% health and 4.5 ohm resistance.

Battery's not plugged into a tender to let it sit for 1-2 days before testing again. I'll post the results later this week.

Only accessory I have wired hot is a QuadLock wireless charging head that pulls 1.5a. I'm looking for a USB-3 hardwiring kit to move it to a switched circuit.

 

[GlennSullivan]

My new thinking is
A) don’t leave any devices plugged in when the vehicle is not running, even if they are turned off.

B) When the vehicle is not going to be used for any period of time - week or longer, keep it on a battery tender.

10 years ago, we only owned battery tenders for our seasonal vehicles, now we own one for every vehicle we have.

 

[chuck s]

1.5a

Yikes! That's your battery killer! I'm surprised it lasts more than two days.

-- Chuck

 

[EngineerMike]

Small looking parasitic draws kill a battery quickly. I have 2ea 950cca batteries in my motorhome and 1.6A parasitic draw puts them in trouble state in 3-5 days

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Testing it now, even with the charger plugged in and working its only pulling .25a on my clamp meter. Waiting an hour for the truck to go to sleep then will test it again.

Either way, I'm still going to wire it to a switched circuit for peace of mind.

 

[chuck s]

its only pulling .25a

"Only" 42 amp hours/week on a battery with probably only 50 useful amphours available is better. Don't forget the radio memory and remote locking systems are pulling current 24/7 as well.

Ford not switching the outlets with the ignition is criminal as far as I'm concerned.

Years ago a girl friend (not the Girl Friend) had a battery problem similar to this. Turned out the light in her car trunk was on all the time.

-- Chuck

 

[GaryH]

I took a one year old Diehard back that I bought from Advance Auto because it wasn't holding a charge. It was out of the vehicle. They tested the battery, said it was good, just needed recharging. I tried to explain to the tattooed lady that I had charged it out of the vehicle 3 days prior. She wasn't having any of that. Good Battery she said. I took it down the road to O'Reilleys. They tested it. Bad battery. AA just didn't want to honor the warranty. Lost my business for eternity. BTW, it wasn't the Expedition battery. Different vehicle.

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Just tested it after the truck's gone to sleep, consistent .07-.09a draw. Placed phone on the charging head, jumped to .12a, dropped back down after phone was removed.

Going to let it sit until Wednesday since I have another car to drive, will test it again then.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Just because one company manufacturers multiple lines of batteries does not mean that they are all the same.

Companies manufacture components, including batteries, for vehicle manufacturers to a specific design, fit and function.

The Motorcraft batteries are manufactured to Ford and Lincoln’s OE specification. They also include a nationwide limited warranty.

It's a group 65 battery. There isn't some special recipe for Ford. Either way, both the Motorcraft BXT Tested Tough MAX and Advance Auto DieHard Gold have a 3-year warranty. Ford will give you a nightmare of a time trying to get a replacement just like they do with 95% of the warranty repairs that walk through the door. Advance will replace it straight away, no hassle. I've been down the replacement road with each of them several times.