Battery Tender

[longjonsilver]

I just bought the battery tender from Ford (https://accessories.ford.com/ford-performance-5-0-smart-battery-charger-maintainer) and I've had it hooked up for over a week now. I came back a week later and still no charge on the battery. It was completely dead when I hooked it up and even now with it charging, nothing really happens. Does anyone have experience with this product to know enough if this cannot charge a fully dead battery?

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[RLE55]

The Ford battery tender looks very much like one made by CTEK which is a very good and reliable tender. I noticed the Ford one has the recondition step, and if after going thru that your battery is still dead, then it may be the battery and not the tender.

 

[DCS]

I just bought the battery tender from Ford (https://accessories.ford.com/ford-performance-5-0-smart-battery-charger-maintainer) and I've had it hooked up for over a week now. I came back a week later and still no charge on the battery. It was completely dead when I hooked it up and even now with it charging, nothing really happens. Does anyone have experience with this product to know enough if this cannot charge a fully dead battery?

When you connect the charger up to the battery, does it have any indication it is charging? A dead battery may not take a "normal" charge. Some chargers can charge a totally dead battery in a "repair" mode. I have no experience with this. Just read about it.

 

[roadpilot]

I just bought the battery tender from Ford (https://accessories.ford.com/ford-performance-5-0-smart-battery-charger-maintainer) and I've had it hooked up for over a week now. I came back a week later and still no charge on the battery. It was completely dead when I hooked it up and even now with it charging, nothing really happens. Does anyone have experience with this product to know enough if this cannot charge a fully dead battery?

Many/most will NOT charge a battery when it's below a certain voltage.

I posted a recommendation for a charger that WILL not only do that, but also includes a 'power supply mode' - great for when you need the ignition on but the engine not running for long periods of time, such as when you are programing modules using FDRS.

Here's a link to that post: (3) Car's first hiccup: POWERTRAIN MALFUCTION/REDUCED POWER | Page 4 | Mustang7G - 2024+ S650 Mustang Forum (Dark Horse, GT, EcoBoost, GT500, GT350, Mach 1)

 

[longjonsilver]

When you connect the charger up to the battery, does it have any indication it is charging? A dead battery may not take a "normal" charge. Some chargers can charge a totally dead battery in a "repair" mode. I have no experience with this. Just read about it.

I hooked a different charger up to it and turned it to the 50 amp to see if I could get the car to turnvoer, but it won't start at all. I'll probably leave that charger on there for awhile to see if I can get the battery to get a little charge and see what happens. I get the 12v low battery warning, so I wonder if the battery isn't shot. Will see

 

[GripTime]

I hooked a different charger up to it and turned it to the 50 amp to see if I could get the car to turnvoer, but it won't start at all. I'll probably leave that charger on there for awhile to see if I can get the battery to get a little charge and see what happens. I get the 12v low battery warning, so I wonder if the battery isn't shot. Will see

The Ford Charger/Maintainer seems to be misleading. IMO it's not really a "charger" it is just a tender. Battery chargers can usually supply up to 14AMPs. However @roadpilot above is correct in his post.

Do you have a voltage meter to measure the voltage of the battery? Even if that 50AMP boost start is able to start the battery it's likely to still be dead the next time you try and start it. Believe me, I have experience with exactly this! Check the voltage if you can.

 

[longjonsilver]

The battery I had in my car ended up being bad, so I had to replace it. The dealer wouldn't cover the warranty of a new battery unless I had towed my car into the dealership so they could test it in the car and take pictures in order for Ford to warranty it. Instead of the hassle, I just paid the $230 out of pocket to buy a new Ford battery. Everything seems to be fine now and I hooked up my battery tender to it. Wish warranty work wasn't so difficult as they could have easily tested the battery after I took it out but claim that it could be from a different car

 

[jimgt2k24]

Find a better stealership.

The battery I had in my car ended up being bad, so I had to replace it. The dealer wouldn't cover the warranty of a new battery unless I had towed my car into the dealership so they could test it in the car and take pictures in order for Ford to warranty it. Instead of the hassle, I just paid the $230 out of pocket to buy a new Ford battery. Everything seems to be fine now and I hooked up my battery tender to it. Wish warranty work wasn't so difficult as they could have easily tested the battery after I took it out but claim that it could be from a different car

 

[roadpilot]

Find a better stealership.

In their defense, the dealership won't get reimbursed for the repair unless they can document that the battery is defective (and it or the car wasn't damaged by the customer).

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