DunePearlEdge Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 I have an 07 edge with 58k miles. About a week ago, for the first time ever, starting was a little rough. It took a few seconds of cranking to get the car started. During this cranking time, the radio lost all power and reset the stations. I did have the lights on for about two minutes before this time before attempting to tart the car which may have an effect on the battery. I stopped by an AutoZone store that night and they connected a device to the battery. The battery voltage was only 11.6 volts. They said they didn't know if the battery needed replacement othe alternator. The battery appears to be original. Flash forward to yesterday night. The car had been sitting in the cold and hasn't been started for two days. I attempt to start the car and it sits there cranking and turning over but will not start. Each attempt feels weaker and weaker and the radio resets again each time. I charged the battery with my neighbors portable starter and the car started fine this morning. Does this sound like the battery or the alternator is going bad? Is there anyway to tell without completely removing the alternator and bringing it to a shop for testing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 I have an 07 edge with 58k miles. About a week ago, for the first time ever, starting was a little rough. It took a few seconds of cranking to get the car started. During this cranking time, the radio lost all power and reset the stations. I did have the lights on for about two minutes before this time before attempting to tart the car which may have an effect on the battery. I stopped by an AutoZone store that night and they connected a device to the battery. The battery voltage was only 11.6 volts. They said they didn't know if the battery needed replacement othe alternator. The battery appears to be original. Flash forward to yesterday night. The car had been sitting in the cold and hasn't been started for two days. I attempt to start the car and it sits there cranking and turning over but will not start. Each attempt feels weaker and weaker and the radio resets again each time. I charged the battery with my neighbors portable starter and the car started fine this morning. Does this sound like the battery or the alternator is going bad? Is there anyway to tell without completely removing the alternator and bringing it to a shop for testing? It's the battery. In the South we rarely get more than 3 years out of a battery. Yours is close to 5 years old. Replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunePearlEdge Posted January 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Thanks Akiby, what sticks out for you as the major reason it is the battery? For financial and time reasons I was hoping it is the battery. The AutoZone person stated he regularly sees Ford batteries go for 8 years before replacement which seemed suspect to me. He did however say that the alternator is not charging the battery enough and is the reason why it had low voltage which seemed a little more reasonable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Thanks Akiby, what sticks out for you as the major reason it is the battery? History and all of your symptoms. It's possible it's the alternator but I'd say the odds are 90/10 in favor of the battery. And the battery is cheaper and faster to replace. The alternator should also be very easy to test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railroad Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 You need to start using a different parts store. Doing a voltage check on the battery is not very useful. NAPA has a diag hook up that will show the voltage, drain while starting (amps), and alt voltage. Or you can put a voltage meter on the battery and see if it increases to 13.8 to 14 volts when the engine starts, indicating the alt is doing its job. All indications are for a battery though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonedge+ Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) At least yours was giving you a warning. Mine started one morning, took the youngest to daycare, came back out and absolutely nothing. No attempt to turn over, click or anything. That was nearly 2 years ago (so that would have been 3 years after purchase) so I ditto what akirby and railroad say. Edited January 10, 2012 by carbonedge+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOEHIO Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) When I had my 06 Explorer, I got just a little over 3 years when the battery went, and on my wife's 09 MKS, we got 37 months when the battery was a little slow starting one day, and the next day, it just wouldn't turn over. Jump started okay, Dealership replaced the battery free of charge, because Lincoln gives 4 years/50K bumper to bumper. I understand that the brand Interstate batteries are supposed to be one of the best. Might want to check them out. Joe Edited January 10, 2012 by JOEHIO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerjmr33 Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 When I had my 06 Explorer, I got just a little over 3 years when the battery went, and on my wife's 09 MKS, we got 37 months when the battery was a little slow starting one day, and the next day, it just wouldn't turn over. Jump started okay, Dealership replaced the battery free of charge, because Lincoln gives 4 years/50K bumper to bumper. I understand that the brand Interstate batteries are supposed to be one of the best. Might want to check them out. Joe I don't know why it's such a problem to tell the difference--there are battery testers that will test a discharged battery and give a result of capacity that is 99% accurate. Autozone usually has one available as do SAM's club auto departments and SEARS--- the test tales a cople of minutes and will isolate the problem--- When a battery falls below 80% of its rated capacity, it is time for a replacement--but only if you don't want to wake up to a surprise--- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunePearlEdge Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 I brought the car to an NTB store and they were able to perform a test in their service which produced a printout (what is this test called?) that stated the battery should be providing 540 cold cranking amps but is only providing 340 cold cranking amps. It looks like you all were correct; it is the battery, not the alternator, phew! Many of battery retailers sell a battery that is rated for 7xx cold cranking amps as opposed to 540 cold cranking amps of the factory battery. This is what I plan to go with. Is there any drawback to purchasing one of these “higher strength” batteries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 I brought the car to an NTB store and they were able to perform a test in their service which produced a printout (what is this test called?) that stated the battery should be providing 540 cold cranking amps but is only providing 340 cold cranking amps. It looks like you all were correct; it is the battery, not the alternator, phew! Many of battery retailers sell a battery that is rated for 7xx cold cranking amps as opposed to 540 cold cranking amps of the factory battery. This is what I plan to go with. Is there any drawback to purchasing one of these “higher strength” batteries? It never hurts to have more CCA (cold cranking amps) but if it goes bad then it won't really matter. If it's only a few bucks it won't hurt but I wouldn't spend a lot more. If you need more than 540 CCAs then something is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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