House Battery - Should they last more than a year? - Page 3

**daveb** · 08-13-2012, 11:05 PM

An good AGM can hold its charge for a month or more, just make sure no load is applied to it. There will be a slight draw from the CO detector but it will handle it with no problems. You can also purchase a small low amp maintenance charger and charge through one of the 12v ports in the living area.

Every Ford dealer is different. If you call the service manager maybe you can talk em into supplying you a battery until you can get it in for their test. At least you won't have to purchase one. If you tell them the problem and that it can do more damage by driving it, maybe they will work with ya. Can they send you a tech to your place?

ecmccarthy · 08-13-2012, 11:13 PM

I feel much better about the house battery, thanks. I took the detector fuse out so that should help. There's no way a tech would come up here, I'm in Yosemite 1.5 hours from the dealer. I'll get it there this week.

FYI I tested the battery I took out and it read around 9.6 V. I then tested the other one still on the van, though disconnected, it read 10.5. Hopefully these are the problem

**daveb** · 08-13-2012, 11:42 PM

Wouldn't Sonora be closer? At least Freedom Ford of Fresno is closed...crooks. Good luck. You might put those batteries on a 10A charge just to see what happens.

ecmccarthy · 08-13-2012, 11:53 PM

No, I'm on the south end. I'll try the 10A charge, but even if they charge up, how do I tell if they hold it? Just test every so often after charged?

**daveb** · 08-14-2012, 12:01 PM

Some shops and most auto part stores have load testers and will check them for free. Ford can do the same.

ecmccarthy · 08-17-2012, 10:18 PM

So I got both batteries off and took it to Lithia Ford in Fresno. I explained what was happening, and that the one got hot and sizzled when I tried to charge it while off of the van, and without even blinking, the service guy said he would just replace BOTH under warranty. He said he didn't even need to test them. I was floored. I would have liked to know how they tested, but I didn't want to push it. So now I have two brand new batteries. I will clean everything up, reinstall and let you know what happens. My next check will be the alternator, just to make sure it's working right. I'd hate to fry the new bats.

Question: If the alternator was bad and not regulating right, wouldn't it overcharge and fry both start batteries, not just one? Can I reasonably rule out an alternator problem by this logic and be pretty confident it was a bad battery(s)?

Also, the guy at the dealership quoted me over $900 for new battery cables for this van. I litterally laughed out loud. Seems insane! Any experience with replacing these?

woodbee · 08-18-2012, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecmccarthy

So I got both batteries off and took it to Lithia Ford in Fresno. I explained what was happening, and that the one got hot and sizzled when I tried to charge it while off of the van, and without even blinking, the service guy said he would just replace BOTH under warranty. He said he didn't even need to test them. I was floored. I would have liked to know how they tested, but I didn't want to push it. So now I have two brand new batteries. I will clean everything up, reinstall and let you know what happens. My next check will be the alternator, just to make sure it's working right. I'd hate to fry the new bats.

Question: If the alternator was bad and not regulating right, wouldn't it overcharge and fry both start batteries, not just one? Can I reasonably rule out an alternator problem by this logic and be pretty confident it was a bad battery(s)?

Also, the guy at the dealership quoted me over $900 for new battery cables for this van. I litterally laughed out loud. Seems insane! Any experience with replacing these?

ecmccarthy,

Good for you to get that kind of service from your Ford dealer. It took my local Ford dealer 3 days before I got my SMB back with two new batteries for the same problem you had. They kept checking the starting batteries without separating them. Finally I took a printed quote from the forum that daveb had written in responded to my problem. A couple hours later they called me up and told me to come pick up my SMB with two new starting batteries.

Woody

**daveb** · 08-18-2012, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecmccarthy

So I got both batteries off and took it to Lithia Ford in Fresno. I explained what was happening, and that the one got hot and sizzled when I tried to charge it while off of the van, and without even blinking, the service guy said he would just replace BOTH under warranty. He said he didn't even need to test them. I was floored. I would have liked to know how they tested, but I didn't want to push it. So now I have two brand new batteries. I will clean everything up, reinstall and let you know what happens. My next check will be the alternator, just to make sure it's working right. I'd hate to fry the new bats.

Question: If the alternator was bad and not regulating right, wouldn't it overcharge and fry both start batteries, not just one? Can I reasonably rule out an alternator problem by this logic and be pretty confident it was a bad battery(s)?

Also, the guy at the dealership quoted me over $900 for new battery cables for this van. I litterally laughed out loud. Seems insane! Any experience with replacing these?

That's good to hear. Sounds like they are a good dealership and I'm glad that there is one in the area if I ever need to be towed in. As to your question about the alternator, yes a bad alternator can oversharge but I would think you'd get a dash code. Still it might be worth having them test the system if it's under warranty. Glad things worked out for ya.