Flat Battery

Dusty1 · 20-12-2009, 02:12 PM

My partner took the Mondeo to check the mail, with our 15 month old daughter.
Gets out, all good, gets mail from PO Box and back into car. Doesn't start.
Turns it off, turns it on, still doesn't start.
Calls me, I tell her to do a global lock and then global unlock to see if that does it, it doesn't. I start to walk there, and advise her to call Ford Assistance. She does.
They turn up, and can't get the immobiliser off. Also advises that the battery is flat, and that we need a new one. He can't get the immobiliser off, so calls the RACV battery van to come and put a new battery in.
I call local Ford dealer, and the service person says, 'it's going to need to be towed here as the immobiliser has kicked in'. Yeah right, I think.
RACV battery van comes. They can't get the battery out of the engine bay. They poke and prod, but can't get it out. Out comes the 12 inch flat head screw driver for some extra help - 'I don't want you using that' I say, so they don't.
They say 'you need a tow' and sit in the van. They start to drive off, I ask them what's going on, and they tell me the tow truck will be here soon.
I take my daughter off home, and my partner decides to stay with the car.
Tray truck comes, Mondeo on back to local Ford dealer.
That was on Thursday at 0930, I had to take the spare keys to them to get them reprogrammed, and I got the car back on Friday at 1700.

And it cost me nearly $400 for the new battery and labour. Just what you need the week before Christmas.

I'd be advising anyone with a 2007 early 2008 model to get the battery looked to see if it needs to be replaced when you can.

warren77 · 20-12-2009, 03:21 PM

$400 for a new battery - OUCH! Obviously some labor in that.
I was worried after not driving my car for three weeks whilst being OS.
It started first go.

The wife's MX5 on the other hand, was dead flat. That was only $120 for a new battery.

wusyc · 20-12-2009, 08:16 PM

Hello Dusty1, sorry to hear about so much hassle on the dead battery. What was the major problem with taking the battery out?

NZ XR6 · 20-12-2009, 08:46 PM

Mondeos will have a European battery, which cost nearly $200 here. Your dealer probably charged you for the time it took them to figure out how to change the battery and reprogram the immobiliser!

Dusty1 · 21-12-2009, 08:58 AM

The total was $384.10, which is closer to $400 than $300.
Battery was $259.18 with a part no. FO23643, and labour was $90. Then add GST. I had to drop the spare keys off there to be re-coded, so I guess that was probably part of the $90 as well.
Because of all the covers, the RACV guys couldn't get the cover off and so they couldn't get the battery out. Perhaps another company - Marshall's for example - might have done it, but I wasn't in the situation to complain.

Warren, might be time to get yours checked out if it's a 2007 build.

GRT046 · 21-12-2009, 10:09 AM

Sorry to hear of your troubles Dusty and you have me worried as yours was on the same boat as mine so will get it looked at.
Our shopping car is an Astra also built in Europe and when I had the battery replaced for the second time also around 2 years apart the supplier (Battery World) removed the insulating covers as he said they are only good in cold climates. That replacement battery has lasted now for four years and is still going (touch wood) so there might be something in it.

wusyc · 21-12-2009, 10:36 AM

Although my car is a 2009 MB model but I think I will start to learn how to take covers off to prepare of a battery failure at some point. I drive rather short distances most of the time and that will kill the battery quicker than most people.

The best battery I have ever had was on my previous car. It was a Citroen C5. I drove the car for 6.5 years from new and the original battery was still in the car going strong when I traded it in.

warren77 · 21-12-2009, 11:10 AM

Dusty: mine is May 2008 Build. I do worry about the battery as mine tends to only do short trips most days - 17km to work, 17km back. Which would be why, the car has only done 17,500km in nearly 20months!

As I travel for work a lot, it can sit in the garage for up to two weeks without being driven.

AlanD · 21-12-2009, 02:45 PM

Hi Dusty,

Bad luck of another example of faulty design?

Flat battery and the immobiliser jams???

:

Does this mean that if you disconnect the battery there is a possibility that when reconnected the car will not start because of a jammed immobiliser?

The battery is nearly the last item to be fitted during a build, so having a battery go flat ought not be the cause and how about when you need to change the battery? Do you have to "piggy back" another smaller unit to take over supplying power while the normal one is disconnected?

Seems strange to me because the Territory has had it's battery disconnected for up to five weeks, and once reconnected things went back to normal starting with no hesitation. And I'd hope the Mondeo was the same.

Did the partner manage to get the doors to cycle after you asked for this to happen? Reason I ask is those solenoids tend to be a quite heavy load, so if this worked it points to a battery that is not flat. Although this said I have had a battery go open circuit on a cell in a distance of 300 metres.

And the battery type needed, so far as I can tell is a Century DIN65LMF which is a 580 CCC unit with a different dimensions to what we are used to.

Go here to see the page:

http://www.centurybatteries.com.au/a...ype=10&type=74

About $209 from one of the larger outlets, go here for the ad:

http://www.mmbalmainauto.com.au/batteries.html

But I suspect you could do better than this.

I just went ouside and got the front shroud off in 30 seconds and I think it might take me 2 or 3 minutes to extract the battery. Our car is Jan 2008 build, so it should be similar to yours and Warrens.

I'm now really concerned about this immobiliser/Key recode business

: We live in the Dandenong Ranges and really can't afford to have a problematical car on our hands over the next three/four months (Bushfires you know)

Cheers

brucel · 21-12-2009, 04:16 PM

Hi Dusty

Sorry to hear about your flat battery. My TDCI is an Aug07 build and I have been wondering how long the battery would last. I checked my battery today and around 60-70% charge compared to new with no load. Previously I tried to remove the battery cover without success. Asked the Ford service staff what size the battery was and all I could get from them was 12V - not very useful!
The NRMA used a 12V gel battery to supply supplemental power for immobiliser/key code when changing batteries on previous vehicles.

Superoo · 21-12-2009, 06:43 PM

Thanks for the heads up - mine is a late 07 so might have to check it out now and possibly replace early.

bathurst77 · 21-12-2009, 08:22 PM

My friend hada VERY similar experioence with his Mondeo Diesel.

Left it ina multilevel carpark. came back battery flat.
Tried jumpering - no go.Ford Assist got NRMA out. they couldnt start it.
We had to push it down the spiral ramps into the street so it could be flat trayed to ford dealer.
The pushed and prodded for 3 hours before replacing the battery and clearing "errors" on the BCM or something.

Not a good look at all.

NZ XR6 · 22-12-2009, 03:51 AM

I've just had a quick look at the UK Mondeo forum and there are quite a few threads about batteries going flat if the car is left for some time, but haven't seen anything about immobiliser problems.

I think I'll have a look at the battery over the holidays and see how to remove it with the car parked facing down the drive so that a towie can back up to it!

Dusty1 · 22-12-2009, 09:16 AM

I wasn't in the situation to dial around for a new battery, as we (like most people) need the car. We've only got the one, and if it wasn't for my sister in law visiting we would have had no car at all. Not good.
AlanD, the only thing the dealer told me (and I believe they don't know all about the car) is that the immobiliser kicks in to stop the battery being replaced and then, I assume, driven off by Mr C. Riminal. I asked her to lock and unlock the car with the remote to see if that undid the immobiliser, and when she couldn't get the car open again, with windows up and child in baby seat, I wasn't going to ask her to do much more than get the little one out. The only way she could get the car open was to use the key in the lock (remember doing that?).
The RACV guy did say that they have had a 'couple' of other Mondoe's with battery failure and immobilisers kick in.
The RACV guy and Ford Service both told me the battery was flat. If I was in a fitter state I would have looked at the multi-metre but I didn't.
Bathurst77, we park in a multilevel car park 3 days a week, and I wouldn't like what happened to your mate.
Like GST046, Brucel (those covers do look tricky), and Superoo ours were early imports, and will likely be the first in a series of failures.
It's not a cheap exercise, and I admit I did have a look at the GSE Turbo and Territory Ghia as replacements when my lease is up, and I could easily replace the battery on those myself.

whoisit · 22-12-2009, 11:27 AM

Dusty Sorry it happened mate.. Well I have a 08 Zetec .. so far so good. fingers crossed.. G6E Turbo ?.. Now you are talking.. My next car ;)..

obione980 · 22-12-2009, 11:00 PM

I've just bought a new Mondeo TDCI. I am very unhappy at the thought of
(a) My battery going flat within 2 years of purchase.
and
(b) ESPECIALLY Having immobiliser problems should that happen!!

NZ XR6 · 23-12-2009, 12:09 AM

Dusty, your problem definitely sounds like a fault with the car electronics. You should be able to replace the battery and have it start afterwards. I'd suggest that you take a Calm Pill and get on the phone to Ford about this.

The immobiliser will arm automatically without 12V power - this is what they are meant to do. But it should disarm again once a charged battery is fitted and you put the key in the ignition. It sounds like the ECU lost its codes when the battery went flat, which shouldn't happen.

PS If I had to rely on a vehicle to get me away from a bushfire, I'd probably own something like an old Hilux diesel!

Dusty1 · 23-12-2009, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NZ XR6

Dusty, your problem definitely sounds like a fault with the car electronics. You should be able to replace the battery and have it start afterwards. I'd suggest that you take a Calm Pill and get on the phone to Ford about this.

The immobiliser will arm automatically without 12V power - this is what they are meant to do. But it should disarm again once a charged battery is fitted and you put the key in the ignition. It sounds like the ECU lost its codes when the battery went flat, which shouldn't happen.

PS If I had to rely on a vehicle to get me away from a bushfire, I'd probably own something like an old Hilux diesel!

Very calm here. No need for chemical inducements. Just putting the thread up to tell others of what happened. I am not an expert on car electronics so have to rely on what I was told. If I am wrong then the info I got was wrong.

Perhaps the ECU did lose codes, as they told me they had to re-code things. Who knows, they could be telling me fibs, and I'll never know. The $90 labour charge didn't specify what it was for, so I reckon it would have taken about 30 minutes to do the whole job.

I might call Ford CSC about this, but I've had experience with them before, and it took a long time to get it resolved.

NZ XR6 · 24-12-2009, 03:19 AM

Dusty, I was just anticipating what you might need to deal with Ford CSC by phone!

Dusty1 · 24-12-2009, 12:37 PM

I called them anyway NZ XR6.

He said he was going to pass it onto the product team, which I think is a euphemism for the delete key.

Superoo · 04-01-2010, 09:24 AM

These batteries must be built with super time tolerances......just got a call from the wife on her way to taking our eldest to the doctor....battery dead. Now she can't even unlock the bloody thing and it's sitting in our gararge waiting for the RACV to hopefully do a better job than they could manage for Dusty.....

If this results in a tow and recoding then I'm going to reaquaint myself with Ford CSC again. Keep you updated.

Dusty1 · 04-01-2010, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superoo

These batteries must be built with super time tolerances......just got a call from the wife on her way to taking our eldest to the doctor....battery dead. Now she can't even unlock the bloody thing and it's sitting in our gararge waiting for the RACV to hopefully do a better job than they could manage for Dusty.....

If this results in a tow and recoding then I'm going to reaquaint myself with Ford CSC again. Keep you updated.

Sounds familiar, make sure they don't pull out the 12 inch screw driver. My partner used the key to unlock the doors - old skool but effective.

Good luck with it.

wusyc · 04-01-2010, 10:11 AM

Hi Superoo, sorry to hear that. Please let us know how you go with it.

The other day, I spent a bit of time looking at the battery. It is placed in an awkward place that half of the battery is under the metal frame of the car. This makes it hard to get it out.

I can get the front/top plastic cover off no problem. One power lead can easily be removed. The other power lead is under the metal frame and it is quite hard to get to.

Superoo · 04-01-2010, 10:50 AM

Well what do you know...battery replaced and apparently all good (fingers crossed).
Maybe I lucked out with a RACV guy who had come across similar situations before. $210 dollars lighter but I was expecting at least that to be honest. Didn't even get two years out of the original battery (picked it up on 8/1/08). Interesting to see if this becomes a typical lifespan for Mondeo batteries.

Thanks Dusty - we did end up using the key to get into it.

warren77 · 04-01-2010, 11:20 AM

I had a battery in my Liberty RX drop a Cell at just over two years. Dealer replaced it for free saying that it should not of done that.

Having come from owning two Subi's for 7 years, Subi dealers are much friendlier to deal with than my (limited) experience of Ford dealers.

Dusty1 · 04-01-2010, 11:33 AM

Well done Superoo. You must have had the battery guy who knew how to replace the battery.

Did you have to get codes re-set? Sounds to me that I got a bit of a touch up from the dealer, but I'll put that down to experience.

I picked mine up on 4/1/08, so it looks like a year and a bit is the battery life span.

wusyc · 04-01-2010, 01:50 PM

I am very happy for you, Superoo. That makes me feel a little better.

Based on you guys' experience, looks like Mondeo's battery doesn't really last that long. Perhaps, it is also to do with the power system design of Mondeo? It makes me think that I may want to proactively change the battery when mine gets to the 2-year mark.

me_two · 04-01-2010, 05:11 PM

My Wife has a 2008 Mondeo.picked it up in Feb 08. the Battery died in Nov 09
Called ford it's out off warrenty (12months). Called RACQ they replaced the battery(3years waranty.Car started stait away. Had no problems after that.

GRT046 · 06-07-2010, 11:11 AM

Had my first experience with a flat battery Friday.

Went to start the car Friday morning and nothing. Instrumentation haywire with dash indacitations that hazard lights were operating although not switched on.
Called RACQ Roadside assistance who arrived promptly but he spent a lot of time scratching his head and mumbling about foreign cars. Tried to jump start but no action. He then called his technical help for assistance but returned to say car would need toing to a Ford dealer.
That also happened promptly and the car was transported to my local dealer around 1100 after I advised them it was coming their way and giving them the symptoms.
As I hadn't had any advice from the dealer called them at 1650 to ask on status and was told the battery was OK but completely flat and they had put it on charge. I advised if there was any doubt on its condition to change the battery as that was my preference.

Dealer called on the Monday 1500 to say that the battery had not come up and had been replaced and all was OK
He advised that it was a dud battery and should have been able to be replaced on site by any competent service agent like Marshalls. When I asked why the car wouldnt start when a jump battery was connected he advised that the dud battery would draw the current and the car wouldnt get enough voltage to start which didnt gel to me!!!

Damage was battery $286 and total bill $347.05

Four days off the road for a simple battery replacement ........ rediculous.

warren77 · 06-07-2010, 01:11 PM

GRT046

A couple of questions:
1) How old is your car?
2) If the dealer has admitted it is a dud battery, could you not get it under warranty?

My car is now over two years old.
I get the "low battery" warning if have the radio on for more than about 30 minutes.
Thinking I am due for a new battery sooner rather than later.
Thinking it would be best to be proactive on this, rather than reactive.

Anyone know what the battery model number / type is?
Experience with an aftermarket battery, as opposed to the standard Ford one?