OEM battery dead, wont take a charge


H

Hans

Active member
Jul 16, 2008
41
Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Well, today my dads cousin came out who is a real car guy, so of course he had to see the gt. Go to open the door, nothing, so we grab the spare key and open it up, show him around, then begin the search for the battery. After finding it burried in the luggage compartment, we hook up a trickle charger to it, and the battery wont take a charge. left it on for a couple hours and checked back on it and still nothing. We store the car in a non heated environment, without a trickle charger, which I know we probably shouldnt, but were just running out of space! So, any suggestions? I think ive read on here about a factory battery charger, do we need that? I tried a search and was surprised i couldnt really find what I was looking for.

ps, How hard on the car is it to keep it uncovered, uncharged, in a garage that reaches -30C?
 
Usually if the optima battery goes dead, especially if it's a couple years old or older, it is toast. Time for new one....
 
I am no expert but have 2 Odyessey batteries that seem to work well with no issues. They are built like tanks.
 
Order the oem charger, it's $80; comes in pouch with 25ft cord

Order it fedex from Torrie; put it on and use from now on

Brought mine back after door wouldn't open
 
GT Batteey Charger

The BEST battery charger to use on the GT is a CTEC 7002!!! I use one on my GT and no problems. :thumbsup
 
The cars computer will run the battery dead without the trickle charger. I have 17 cars sitting here, I just unhook the battery and let them sit for 6 months at a time. When its time to drive them I just hook up the battery and they start right up. They are in a heated garage, but I think it would work for you as well.
 
I keep my GT in a unheated garage also. ( about the same temps as yours)
always on the factory trickle charger. Original battery was replaced when bought new because the dealer did not maintain it. This one is 5 years old now. No problems as long as it is maintained ( driving or on the charger):biggrin
 
I think if the battery is totally dead, the trickle charger isn't enough to bring it back. Try something like a 20 amp charger for a few hours. To be safe try taking the ground cabel off the battery before charging.
 
AMB said:
The BEST battery charger to use on the GT is a CTEC 7002!!! I use one on my GT and no problems. :thumbsup
Click to expand...

I also use a ctek charger. It is very reassuring to see the charge indicator lights.
 
Another vote for the CTEK. It has a specific setting for Odysseys. If I'm not in the driver's seat the charger is hooked up. If my gauges give me a problem it won't be because I neglected to keep the battery charged. That being said, ALL batteries will eventually fail and if you don't change them out before that happens (who does that?) the gauges may be in jeopardy if the the low voltage failure mode is real.
 
I think a key issue is whether any charger has that cigarette lighter adapter

People talk about always charging, but wimp out if they don't want hassle of clips, get wires out, adapter, etc

With cig, its in and done
 
I agree the cig lighter method of charging the battery is nice.
appears the the ctek has a cig adapter avail. The 3300 is similar to the factory unit and
the 7002 has a power supply mode that let's you change out a
battery without interrupting the power supply to the electronics
no resets required.
They also advertise the charge rate is correct for the stock battery.
 
Ha, i really like the the fact that you guys it a cigarette lighter.

IF anyone thinks they're going to put a high power charger on their battery, make sure it's OUT of the car. There are several old posts here about dealerships doing this and causing major acid damage/
 
My favorite charging technique is Kendall's "Deltran Battery Tender Junior" float charger. The connector is mounted behind one of the vertical bars in the cooling air intake and gets wired to each of the battery cables. Even has a cap to cover the connector on the car when traveling. It doesn't require a cord to lay on the car (either through a window or squeezed by weatherstripping, and the installation looks professionally OEM. Will not overcharge the battery either.

Go to www.CooltechLLC.com - he's one of our best sponsors and installation specialist (plus being a nice guy) :thumbsup

PS - late 2005 GT, 47,000 mi., still with original battery and stored from Nov 1 to May 15 each year.
 
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Bad news is that these batteries short out quickly if you don,t keep charged. You'll probably have to buy a new one and keep a trickle charger on it. I'm bad abou trickle charging too, and have gone through three batteries. On top of that, if the battery voltage goes, the IP gauges act up.

Chris theodore
 
I returned home yesterday. GT was left in garage. 3-1/2 months.

Darn the battery was dead. 2006 original Ford GT battery.

Disconnected negative from battery. Put on my 2 amp setting charger.

Charged overnight. Full charge indicated this morning.

GT started up on first twist of the key!

So I went on a 200 round trip to visit my daughter, Laura. Who is expected to deliver a baby girl "no later than" next Tuesday. She will be Laura's first and my first grandchild. The baby had been real busy. then Laura and I went for a ride in the GT. And the baby calmed down right away. Guess we've got another Car Gal coming to the family!


Cool day - 42 degrees - sunny and dry. Perfect for the GT. And the snow is in the mountains where it belongs. So it was Very Pretty up near EP's neck of the woods.

Thanks Big Blu!
 
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_1009_how_to_charge_a_agm_battery/index.html

Here is an article from last year that details how to charge an Optima battery. Many times a battery that seems toasted, isn't!!

Mike
 
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