Bad battery?

[ghunt81]

I bought a new battery for my truck back in September or so (the truck sat for months so the old one was dead and no idea how old it was).

I drove the truck for a week then parked it in my garage because I wanted to drive my Mustang while the weather was still nice. So, it sat in the garage with the battery hooked up for about 2 weeks but I never started it. I went to start it and the battery was dead.

I unhooked the battery and put it on the charger for awhile, I noticed it charged up to 75% but wouldn't go past that. I hooked the battery up, started the truck once just for a couple minutes, then shut it off and unhooked the battery.

So, last night (which was maybe a week later at most) I hooked the battery up and it still had a charge but not enough to actually start the truck.

Again I hooked it up to the charger, let it charge for awhile and this time it wouldn't go past 50%. I hooked it back up, started the truck and let it run for at least 15 minutes, then shut it off and unhooked the battery (hoping it charged the battery some).

I've heard that when a battery won't fully charge like that it's because it has a bad cell. Did I ruin the battery by having it run dead and should I take it back and try to exchange it on warranty? I'm just worried about what it will do this winter.

 

[RonD]

Yes, take it back.

And just as a heads up, make sure to disconnect at least one battery cable from vehicle when charging a battery in the vehicle, or if jump starting disconnect battery cable from other vehicle, just use its battery as the boost.
The newer charging systems and electronics react badly to external voltage.

And another heads up, I have read the later model Rangers need to use a different type of battery, I would check on that.

You need a volt meter to test the battery.
And to see if truck electrics may be draining it, battery will last for months and months between starts.

New battery will read 12.7 or 12.8volts fully charged, 100% amps available
When a battery gets 5 to 6 years old it will only have 12.2 or 12.3 volts fully charged and that represents 50% of original amps, and time for new battery, cold morning will get the dreaded "click, click, click".

To check for bad cell unhook battery from vehicle and put volt meter on it for a few minutes, if voltage is dropping then you have a bad cell.
Bad cell drains the battery whether it is hooked up or not.

If battery has removable cell tops, you can test each cell.
Put volt meter's black probe on Negative post and dip red probe into fluid on closest cell, you should read 2.1volts, then move red probe to next cell, should read 4.2volts, now the 3rd cell, 6.3volts, ect........
Each cell should add 2.1 volts to total voltage, bad cell will not, it will add some voltage but not full 2.1v


Once new battery is in start engine, test battery voltage now, should be above 14volts, after a few minutes of running, battery voltage should drop to 13.6volts and stay there.
Turn on all the lights and put heater fan on high, leave doors open, test voltage again, should be 13.6v.

2009 Ranger will have a battery saver relay, this is suppose to cut all power except clock and keyless entry after 20-30 minutes, very hard to test these, but could be your problem.
But newer battery with failed cell could be the problem as well so once that is fixed you can see if battery is still draining when it sits.

 

[enjr44]

Like above. If a battery is discharging when disconnected, the problem is inside the battery (can't be anywhere else, since it isn't connected to anything). A disconnected battery should hold a charge for months and months, like when it sits in the store and waits for someone to take it home.

 

[ghunt81]

What do you mean by different type of battery?

I did notice when I took the battery in (it was an old Napa Gold I believe?) to get the new one from Advance Auto Parts, the replacement battery they gave me was slightly smaller and had less CCA than the old one which I thought was odd. But it was the right item number according to their system.

 

[4x4junkie]

What do you mean by different type of battery?

All model year Rangers (RBVs) take a standard lead-acid type battery. Only the battery size may be different among some model years.

There are two main categories (sub-types) of lead-acid batteries: Flooded (your standard familiar battery with liquid electrolyte in it), and AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat, has the electrolyte 'absorbed' in fiberglass mats between the grids, often marketed as 'non-spillable', etc).
Both are lead-acid chemistry and will work in your Ranger.

(a less-common third type available has a gelled electrolyte (often called "Gel-Cell"), rarely are these seen in automotive applications, they are easily damaged if overcharged)


What you should do is look in your truck's manual and look for the battery size and/or part number it requires (probably a Motorcraft number), then cross-reference it directly at your local parts store.
Relying on a store computer's suggestion based on vehicle model is a good way to wind up with parts that don't fit or don't work like they should (as has been my experience on a multitude of occasions).

New battery will read 12.7 or 12.8volts fully charged, 100% amps available
When a battery gets 5 to 6 years old it will only have 12.2 or 12.3 volts fully charged and that represents 50% of original amps, and time for new battery, cold morning will get the dreaded "click, click, click".

To check for bad cell unhook battery from vehicle and put volt meter on it for a few minutes, if voltage is dropping then you have a bad cell.
Bad cell drains the battery whether it is hooked up or not.

A battery's age has no direct correlation to it's voltage (the eleven year old Delco Voyager I have currently reads 12.82V).
Voltage is nothing more than a rough measure of state of charge (a battery @ 12.2-12.3V whether new or old would be about 40-50% charged).

Also, a battery with a bad (shorted) cell will often read in the range of 10.0-10.8V after an attempt is made to charge it (lower if the charging attempt has caused the battery to gas out significantly). A battery with a weak (but not shorted) cell can still read well above 12V though (but would still be very likely to fail a load test). In this case a hydrometer can also easily reveal which cell is bad if your curious, but there's no reason to bother with testing cells otherwise, the battery as a whole is toast anyway.

Finally, a modern alternator only putting out 13.6V would indicate one of two things: It's loaded down by a deeply-discharged battery (and is currently charging it), or there's a problem with it (has a weak diode or regulator).
~14.4V has been the standard charge voltage set-point in vehicles for at least a couple decades now. When you first start the truck (especially on ice-cold mornings), it could go even past 15V, but will slowly settle back down as it warms up (if it stays above 15V when warm, then the regulator is faulty).


So if you want to check your charging system, check that it's above 14 volts, and stays above 14 with the headlights & blower on.

To test for a battery drain, connect a multimeter (set to DC Amps) in series with your battery connection (MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS TURNED OFF). You shouldn't see more than 50ma or so of current (that needed to maintain your vehicle's operating parameters and your radio's clock & station presets in memory).

If you see more than 100ma, then something indeed is draining it. best way to isolate the circuit causing the issue is to pull fuses one at a time until you see the drain drop down or go away. More often than not it'll be something aftermarket like an alarm system or a stereo amp.

 

[RonD]

It was the silver calcium batteries, which are still lead acid type just a different design.
Ford recommended these for their vehicles equipped with Smart Charging, which started in the late 1990's.
Ford said "regular" lead acid battery would not last as long, don't know this to be true, but that was what my comment was based on.

Voltage does show % of charge, 12.2v is 50% for a car battery, 12.8v 100%
If a battery was 13.2v when new, 2.2volts per cell, then it could be 12.8v after a few years, it would be 60-70% charge.
Most car battery's are just over 2.1v per cell, so 12.6-12.8v when new

So after battery has been charged, and allowed to sit for a few minutes if it shows 12.2v it is only holding 50% of the amps, and if engine starts first time then all is well, if it gets very cold out, engine may crank too slow to start and you won't get a 2nd chance.
Battery life is a bit longer now, some times 6 to 7 years for it to lose 1/2 its starting amps.
It is not year based but average battery life is 5 to 6 years so..........you can often tell how old a battery is by how well/much of a charge it can hold.

Lead acid battery's start to "boil"(vent) when voltage in the system is above 14.4volts for any length of time, with sealed batteries it is not as important as it was so it is common to get up to almost 15volts after engine starts, but only for a minute or two.
13.6volts is the "maintenance" charge, battery is not charging or discharging, so not "venting" or draining.
Basically if you check battery voltage with engine off, say it is 12.6v, then start engine it should go up 2 volts, so 14.6v
After a few minutes it should be at 1 volt above battery voltage 13.6v

This is at 70degF and testing at idle, voltage will go up .1-.4v at 2,500-3,000 rpm.

If it is cold, say 20degF you will see voltage increase across the board, by .5volts and even more if colder, battery simply needs higher voltage to charge and maintain the charge when it is cold, and venting is less when battery is cold

 

[ghunt81]

Unfortunately my truck has no manual to reference a battery part number.

I did take it back yesterday and they exchanged it...though I was a bit miffed that I had a Gold and they gave me a Silver in exchange (I guess they didn't have any Golds in stock). I should have just asked them to order in a Gold and I would come back but they were having a hard enough time ringing the exchange as it was.

 

[4x4junkie]

It was the silver calcium batteries, which are still lead acid type just a different design.

Hmm, guess I need to look those up, I haven't heard of them yet...
Regardless, any Ranger's charging algorithm is quite perfect for any standard "Maintenance-Free" type battery on the market (these have lead-calcium grids, flooded or AGM).

Voltage does show % of charge, 12.2v is 50% for a car battery, 12.8v 100%
If a battery was 13.2v when new, 2.2volts per cell, then it could be 12.8v after a few years, it would be 60-70% charge.
Most car battery's are just over 2.1v per cell, so 12.6-12.8v when new

So after battery has been charged, and allowed to sit for a few minutes if it shows 12.2v it is only holding 50% of the amps, and if engine starts first time then all is well, if it gets very cold out, engine may crank too slow to start and you won't get a 2nd chance.
Battery life is a bit longer now, some times 6 to 7 years for it to lose 1/2 its starting amps.
It is not year based but average battery life is 5 to 6 years so..........you can often tell how old a battery is by how well/much of a charge it can hold.

What you're describing is behavior of a partially sulfated battery.
Batteries can become sulfated at any age (even one year old) if chronically subjected to improper charging (undercharging in particular). With proper care, any battery will have an ability to accept a 100% charge (or something very close to it) for a very long time (as my Voyager obviously shows). So again, performance is not something you can really base on a battery's age with any reliability.

Lead acid battery's start to "boil"(vent) when voltage in the system is above 14.4volts for any length of time, with sealed batteries it is not as important as it was so it is common to get up to almost 15volts after engine starts, but only for a minute or two.
13.6volts is the "maintenance" charge, battery is not charging or discharging, so not "venting" or draining.

It's actually closer to 14.7-14.9V @ 25°C where a maintenance-free type battery begins to gas (it's a little less for low-maintenance antimony grids, but these are becoming less common).
I'm not yet aware of any vehicles that have a "maintenance charge" mode in their alternator charging systems (certainly no RBV has it), the alternator puts out to it's max current ability up until it reaches the voltage regulator set point, then the voltage is held at the set point from there on out until the engine is shut off.
Maintenance charging (a.k.a. "Float" charging) is usually only seen on stationary battery charging systems (also to include charging systems on many RV and marine applications).

Unfortunately my truck has no manual to reference a battery part number.

Yes it does...

http://www.fleet.ford.com/partsandservice/owner-manuals/

Motorcraft BXT-59 ('09)

I did take it back yesterday and they exchanged it...though I was a bit miffed that I had a Gold and they gave me a Silver in exchange (I guess they didn't have any Golds in stock). I should have just asked them to order in a Gold and I would come back but they were having a hard enough time ringing the exchange as it was.

I would've asked for the manager than let some incompetent flunky downgrade the part that you paid for... (he should've at least refunded you the cost difference between the Gold and Silver)

 

[ghunt81]

When I bought it the price difference between gold and silver was something like $5...which was why I got the Gold in the first place.

 

[redhurricane]

BCI group size will be the indicator of the case dimensions and capacity. It will also reference orientation of polarity and terminal design. A "group 59" battery, as your truck apparently takes is the same case size, amp/hour, and terminal orientation as every other "group 59". Each "brand" or manufacturer will claim their premium battery in silver/gold/platinum/unobtanium is better than that of the competition. But the SAE specs are still the same:

https://www.batteryweb.com/bci.cfm

Unless you have significant charging/electrical demand needs beyond the OEM features on the truck (like big amplifiers, HID or Halogen lighting, etc) there is no need to buy a larger CCA battery than what the original equipment was. The OEM alternator (if working properly) will only generate the charging amps that it is designed to do. Buying a larger battery to satisfy larger electrical demand won't solve anything if the alternator cannot produce enough amps to meet the need.


If the battery was hooked up in the truck and lost charge over two weeks, my first inclination is that you have a small electrical draw or short that caused the discharge. I would be investigating this. Dome light, or some other small electrical load over 2 weeks would be enough to kill even a new battery.