Faulty Battery, Computer (Pcm / Ecu) Relay, Starter Or Anti-Theft???

[KiwiKid]

Hello all!

Of course, I'm new here, and I've been asking all over the net about my issue. I've been getting lots of great hints, ideas and advice, but figure that too much information in this case is better than not enough.

In short, my family's car is a New Zealand registered 2008 base model Ford Mondeo Sedan. It is a European Ford from Belgium I believe? The vehicle is powered by a 2.0L 'Duratec-HE' engine.

The problem is when we turn the key to start the car, there is no cranking at all, just clicking. There is an 'Immobilser Active' warning, strange flickering and whining in the cabin, and strange noises coming from under the hood.

We not long completed a road trip of around 900kms return, and the car didn't miss a beat! Yet the very next day. she spat the dummy and wouldn't crank. All I can say is thank goodness it decided to wait till it was home parked in the garage to stop, rather than 5 or 6 hours away from home!!!

Anyway, I have put 3 clips on YouTube to show what's happening. They will take around 2-3 minutes to view.

1.

2.

3.

Is this going to be an expensive fix? I'm praying not!

Anyway, thanks for viewing / reading and thanks for sharing your thoughts!

William.

[mintalkin]

its showing all the signs of a battery or alternator problem so i would get these checked first.

[btmaldon]

Sure does sound like you battery has died. Ive had in on a Mondy where there was no previous indication that the battery was on its last legs. I had just completed a long run. Stopped for a few minutes, and it wouldn't crank. Put a new battery in and no problem.

[KiwiKid]

Cheers Bruce and Mintalkin - turns out your hunches were right on the money!!! Put in a new battery today and bang - she kicked over, first time!!

Have to say it's been an interesting learning curve. I actually removed the old battery to charge it overnight for around 16 hours, and despite this, the guy at one of my local battery shops tested it and told me that it was barely holding 9.5-ish volts of overall charge, at which point he rightly stated that there was no point in persevering with it!

This Mondeo is from 2008 and we are its second owners, so with this in mind, it is good to think that our battery lasted just 3 months short of 5 years, going on the (fairly safe assumption) that this was an original factory-fitted battery!!

Anyway, the car is going in for its next service on Friday, so our Ford techs will have to take a look around to make sure once and for all that there's no residual funny business going on because of the old battery issue. My only slight concern is what view Ford will take regarding the battery I choose for the car?

The information for my new battery is here:

http://www.supercharge.com.au/product_detail.php?seq=40

It has a 3 year warranty!! The battery itself is a calcium battery, but not 'Silver Calcium.' Does that matter? I believe that in most other areas, the battery I bought meets or exceeds Ford specifications as far as starter batteries are concerned.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your wisdom!!

William.

[mintalkin]

it should really be a silver calcium battery so it can handle the high voltage of the smart charge system which can at times put 18 volts into the battery.

[BigD]

it should really be a silver calcium battery so it can handle the high voltage of the smart charge system which can at times put 18 volts into the battery.

Yea, hate to be the (2nd) bearer of bad news but that battery is no good for a Mondeo charging system. You need a Calcium Silver one, otherwise you'll be back to a dead battery in no time.

[edit] I (partially) take that back. Looking at the picture suggested it was a standard lead-acid, which would definitely be no good!

[KiwiKid]

Hi again,

Elsewhere I've been told to look at Bosch and Varta, but in all honesty, these brands are rarely found at your local car battery place in New Zealand (unless they're re-badged as something else here?). As you can imagine, European made cars are pretty much the exception to the rule on Kiwi roads, so we are not well served in our market as far as batteries for European vehicles is concerned. Because we drive mostly Japanese imports, and because of our proximity to Asia, our batteries are mostly Asian made and sourced (e.g. 'Century Yuasa'). In the case of Super Charge, these are from the Philippines, but have a 3 year full replacement warranty, which can be done direct with the retailer as opposed to being 'Return to Base' I think, so I assume they are reputable!!

I tell you all this, because after talking to the guy at the battery shop, then after we'd checked in the Super Charge product catalogue, believe it or not, the battery I've linked for you (the one I bought!!) is listed in their materials as a battery suitable for Mondeos!!! Of course, the battery guy (who didn't seem over-the-top or full of himself) was sure it would be okay. And yep, BigD, this is a Calcium battery, just unfortunately the shop had no Silver Calciums.

Anyway, the car is off for a service on Friday, so if the Ford techs tell us to ditch the Super Charge, then ditching it is what we shall do I suppose, though I'm terrified to think what they'll charge for one of their batteries!!!

One last question, then I can leave you all alone .... would there be any reason why a low battery warning didn't come up on the information display inside the car before the thing died??? I find that one quite strange, and a little annoying given what happened!!!

[mintalkin]

you do not usually get a low battery warning, the only warning you will get is a non charge from the alternator witch will show up as a red light on the dash.