Silverbullitt
GT Owner
Yeah dad it was a while back.
My real dad designed Dennis the Menace Park. I heard they refurbed it.
Battery Woes...
- Thread starter BigsGT
- Start date
Yeah dad it was a while back.
My real dad designed Dennis the Menace Park. I heard they refurbed it.
Friend from Canada?? From Toronto area by any chance? :thumbsup There are not that many GT owners up here.
fjpikul
GT Owner
RedGT
GT Owner
I have had several Optima's die in my Jeeps and couldn't get them to hold a charge after being severely discharged. I found this link and have brought two of them back using this technique.
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4767/pictureuj6.jpg
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4767/pictureuj6.jpg
Red that is an interesting technique but I don't have a spare battery, and the dealer already siad they'd swap it out.
Frank my GF has told me about those, but she says she hasn't used her's since she met me.
06fordGT this guy is from Western Canucka and had never seen a GT before, much less owned one.
Chris, I believe it was me that told you they'd redone the park. Your dad did a great job and provided a quality play area for all the illegal's kids living here! :lol
Frank my GF has told me about those, but she says she hasn't used her's since she met me.
06fordGT this guy is from Western Canucka and had never seen a GT before, much less owned one.
Chris, I believe it was me that told you they'd redone the park. Your dad did a great job and provided a quality play area for all the illegal's kids living here! :lol
Label?
Do the replacement Optimas from a dealer have the Ford GT label on them? It might be important years from now for cars entered in future Concours. Maybe we should keep the old batteries....
Do the replacement Optimas from a dealer have the Ford GT label on them? It might be important years from now for cars entered in future Concours. Maybe we should keep the old batteries....
I didn't notice that mine had such a logo? I'll look this afternoon when I take it out. Good point if it's true, and I'll get them to replace it with the OEM.
fjpikul
GT Owner
I've yet to pull the battery as I'm skeered about lining up the bracket with the battery upon reinstall. There's a long bolt holding that bracket in place and I loosened it, then tightened it back up since I can't fit my fat hands down into that area. I figured I'd let the tech at the dealership do it under my watchful eye.
Looking all over my OEM battery (from what I can see installed) I see no FGT logo...
Looking all over my OEM battery (from what I can see installed) I see no FGT logo...
Jeez Bigs, with your mechanical ability, you'd better throw the trunk liner back in before you hurt yourself. :willy
Stick to simple mechanical tasks that you know you can handle.....lopening & closing drawers, shapening pencils, inserting keys into locks, etc, etc, etc.....
You do remember how to put the liner back in, right? :lol :cheers :tongue
May be funny to you, but I'm not embarassed in the least. I know my limitations and I'm very comfortable with my strengths. :biggrin
Now I need someone to post up how to line the battery back up with the bracket once I take it out.
Now I need someone to post up how to line the battery back up with the bracket once I take it out.
http://batterytender.com
Check out "Battery Tender Plus" Made by Deltron Corp in Florida. The best 12 volt "float charger" by far. I use 10 of them and have never had a problem. Look for the 12 Volt model.
Check out "Battery Tender Plus" Made by Deltron Corp in Florida. The best 12 volt "float charger" by far. I use 10 of them and have never had a problem. Look for the 12 Volt model.
Update: Final Chapter (I hope)...
I was going to take the car to the dealer so they could test the battery insitu, but this time the battery wouldn't even take a charge enough to start, so I loosened the bolt only to find that it simply raises the bracket like an elevator, so my earlier worries about lining it back up upon reinstall were unfounded. (I wish someone would've told me!). Anyway bracket came up easy, battery came out easy and I took it to the dealer.
The service manager wasn't in but the service writer dude knew me as I spend waaay too much time at that dealership (buying trucks, not getting things fixed). I tell him they should have a ticket as I'd talked to the SM about the issue and he said to bring the battery in. The service writer, not sure if the battery can be tested outside the vehicle (tester needs to read computer info I guess) asks his buddy who has no idea who I am if this can be done and the clown says 'not if he expects the warranty to cover it'. Gotta say I had to restrain myself and I walked away to get the tech whom I know and whom I know halfway knows his stuff. He comes over and takes the battery, walks away and says 'I'll call you when the test is complete.' The 2 service writers were staring at each other with confused looks.
A few hours later the tech calls and says 'yep the battery is toast' and they found a new one that will be in the next day. He said they were backordered for a long time so he felt lucky we found one. I got the replacement battery and now I'm back in business! And yes both my old battery and the replacement have the 'Specifically Engineered for the Ford GT' on them. I couldn't see the logo on my battery while it was in the car as the carry handle was covering it up.
Also since the battery was bad it wouldn't have mattered if I'd had it on the tender or not. I drive my car several times a week so that shouldn't be an issue. I thought it was strange that it went dead after only a few weeks of non-use. Turns out it was! I am using a tender on the Viper though, since it sadly sits most of the time.
The end...
I was going to take the car to the dealer so they could test the battery insitu, but this time the battery wouldn't even take a charge enough to start, so I loosened the bolt only to find that it simply raises the bracket like an elevator, so my earlier worries about lining it back up upon reinstall were unfounded. (I wish someone would've told me!). Anyway bracket came up easy, battery came out easy and I took it to the dealer.
The service manager wasn't in but the service writer dude knew me as I spend waaay too much time at that dealership (buying trucks, not getting things fixed). I tell him they should have a ticket as I'd talked to the SM about the issue and he said to bring the battery in. The service writer, not sure if the battery can be tested outside the vehicle (tester needs to read computer info I guess) asks his buddy who has no idea who I am if this can be done and the clown says 'not if he expects the warranty to cover it'. Gotta say I had to restrain myself and I walked away to get the tech whom I know and whom I know halfway knows his stuff. He comes over and takes the battery, walks away and says 'I'll call you when the test is complete.' The 2 service writers were staring at each other with confused looks.
A few hours later the tech calls and says 'yep the battery is toast' and they found a new one that will be in the next day. He said they were backordered for a long time so he felt lucky we found one. I got the replacement battery and now I'm back in business! And yes both my old battery and the replacement have the 'Specifically Engineered for the Ford GT' on them. I couldn't see the logo on my battery while it was in the car as the carry handle was covering it up.
Also since the battery was bad it wouldn't have mattered if I'd had it on the tender or not. I drive my car several times a week so that shouldn't be an issue. I thought it was strange that it went dead after only a few weeks of non-use. Turns out it was! I am using a tender on the Viper though, since it sadly sits most of the time.
The end...
Last edited:
Kingman
GT Owner
Bigs...I see that you have rectified this problem.
In case you need to address any further battery issues and want to get the battery out...and then back in, I recommend the following:
After pulling the battery, tie a small string around the top of the long bolt. Place the battery back into it's cubby, then use the string to fish out the long bolt that will surely have fallen down while situating the battery. You can easily finger tighten the bolt thereafter. Just make sure that the knot you use to secure the string to the bolt isn't too tight...otherwise that will be the focus of your next few choice words. :thumbsup
That's a good solution, however for anyone that searches the site for battery threads and info, bear in mind that the long bolt doesn't come out but just turns to elevate the bracket. No worries about the bolt coming out and falling.
When my car was new I was stranded at a local gas station. Everyone was admiring the car but it was a bumber that it wouldn't start. I was hoping none of my Chevy or Mopar buddies came by. It was towed home and when they got it home it was fine. When it made it to the dealer the next day everything was dead again. They noticed when moving the ground cable it came back to life. They sanded the ground cable connection and it has been fine ever sense. I figured there was others with the same problem I experienced.
Yup. There have been many posts on the battery/ground/charging subject.
For the most part, the key to avoiding battery pblms is to just keep the trickle charger on the rig when parked. The loose ground thing by comparison is kinda rare actually.
Sorry to keep bumping my own thread but the saga continues. After I installed the new battery I followed the owners manual for letting the computer relearn the fuel management program etc. Everything went fine except it seems I blew a fuse for the audio system and the volt meter was acting squirrely. I got some more fuses and was going to put them in Sunday.
I went to fire up the GT Sunday and couldn't get in, the fob and the key won't open the door. Even in the service manual it says if the battery loses the charge you can use the key in the keyhole to open the door but not this time. Going home with a voltmeter to check my 'new' battery.
By the way before I installed the new battery I cleaned the ground connection.
I went to fire up the GT Sunday and couldn't get in, the fob and the key won't open the door. Even in the service manual it says if the battery loses the charge you can use the key in the keyhole to open the door but not this time. Going home with a voltmeter to check my 'new' battery.
By the way before I installed the new battery I cleaned the ground connection.