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I purchased my Hybrid 12 months ago and it has 9000 'almost trouble free' miles on it. Like many, I've been plagued with the 12 volt issue deep sleep issue for the last 7-8 months which generally manifests itself with no interior lights. The truck has never failed to start or left me stranded. The last straw was Sunday when my wife and adult daughter went to get in the truck at night and asked me why Mavericks don't have interior lights.... LOL
When the deep sleep issues start, checking the pins under the hood generally show about 11.4V and I've recharged the battery (with a high quality charger) many times, but the problem always returns. What's interesting is that my original battery would charge right back up generally within a hour....
I just hated the thought of dealing with the dealership, I know the truck would sit there for a week, probably come back with door dings and scuffs, the dealer would try to blame it on something else, etc., etc... so I decided to swap batteries at my cost, know the swap was done correctly and at least rule a bad battery out of the equation. I was also worried about getting a new, bad Motorcraft battery which would only compound the issue.
So, I spent the $220 on a new Diehard Gold with a manufacture date of last month and installed it. It's specs are exactly the same as the original Motorcraft, has the same exact provision for the vent tube, and was a perfect fit. I put it on the charger for 5 minutes to get it to 100% and swapped it.
Changing the battery on this truck is a little bit of a PITA, trying to hold the cables back, bent over, getting the hold down bracket and bolt in position and bolt started, etc... The only tool needed is a 10mm socket and a long extension (for both the hold down bolt and the cable clamp nuts). WHEN you drop the hold down bolt next to the battery (and you will, LOL) it will slide out of site and you'll need to get something to fish it back out.
When finished, I opened the door and the light came on. LOL. I went through the Battery Sensor Reset procedure with the high beam lights and brake pedal, locked the doors and exited and will let it sit overnight per the manual. I'll take a better close-up pic of the battery tomorrow, but it's shown with my Nicad emergency charger (never used thankfully)
I checked the 12V cable under the hood months ago and never felt any play or movement, however I did not cut back the insulation to check for a cold solder joint on the terminal. If nothing else, this should rule out a battery issue.
More to come
.
.
When the deep sleep issues start, checking the pins under the hood generally show about 11.4V and I've recharged the battery (with a high quality charger) many times, but the problem always returns. What's interesting is that my original battery would charge right back up generally within a hour....
I just hated the thought of dealing with the dealership, I know the truck would sit there for a week, probably come back with door dings and scuffs, the dealer would try to blame it on something else, etc., etc... so I decided to swap batteries at my cost, know the swap was done correctly and at least rule a bad battery out of the equation. I was also worried about getting a new, bad Motorcraft battery which would only compound the issue.
So, I spent the $220 on a new Diehard Gold with a manufacture date of last month and installed it. It's specs are exactly the same as the original Motorcraft, has the same exact provision for the vent tube, and was a perfect fit. I put it on the charger for 5 minutes to get it to 100% and swapped it.
Changing the battery on this truck is a little bit of a PITA, trying to hold the cables back, bent over, getting the hold down bracket and bolt in position and bolt started, etc... The only tool needed is a 10mm socket and a long extension (for both the hold down bolt and the cable clamp nuts). WHEN you drop the hold down bolt next to the battery (and you will, LOL) it will slide out of site and you'll need to get something to fish it back out.
When finished, I opened the door and the light came on. LOL. I went through the Battery Sensor Reset procedure with the high beam lights and brake pedal, locked the doors and exited and will let it sit overnight per the manual. I'll take a better close-up pic of the battery tomorrow, but it's shown with my Nicad emergency charger (never used thankfully)
I checked the 12V cable under the hood months ago and never felt any play or movement, however I did not cut back the insulation to check for a cold solder joint on the terminal. If nothing else, this should rule out a battery issue.
More to come
.
.
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