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Flat battery- charging advice


Guinness
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Hi all, 

We have a 2017 model Ford Edge which has had various battery saver messages popping up for a few weeks. I have booked it in for that, and also the air con recall, but the garage couldn’t get it in until 14th Feb. Yesterday, the car was dead. Dead dead, as in wouldn’t open remotely, and I had to get in with the key (that cover is really difficult to remove!). Anyway, I have access to a Ring RSC 16 charger, but I have never charged a battery. Do I have to remove the positive and negative clamps from the battery? I know the auto stop-start makes a difference, and the negative terminal is hard to get to. Would it be better to jump start it? Not in a major rush, so can charge it slowly on a low amperage, I’m just worried about damaging the car electrics if I don’t disconnect the battery. 

Thanks!

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It's safer to charge it than to jump start it.

You can charge it while in situ without disconnecting the battery.  Connect the leads before switching on the mains power so there shouldn't be any spikes.  

If you want to make 100% sure of no damage to sensitive electrics you can disconnect the battery first, but the majority of people don't bother.

 

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I’ve got a ctek charger that you can plug directly into the tow bar electrics- quite handy 

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It is possible that these Edges need a better charging system especially in cold weather. The vehicle can eat through the battery charge with its stop start system and all the electric gadgets such as heated steering wheel heated seats heated front screen. It does have a monitor system that stops the stop start system if battery below 50% and the front screen at below 80%, but aware of other limitations. So if doing short journey in cold weather battery gets a hammering. I have installed a charge port for a aptimate charger maintainer along with a battery  state meter. This seems to be helping as was fed up going to the car on frosty mornings and having to de-ice the front screen the old way as battery was below 80%

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Hi

I had major battery problems on my previous 2016 Galaxy Titanium X that had start/stop, heated front screen etc etc

I was advised by a Ford Dealer that if i needed to charge the battery i should use a charger that is AGM ( "Absorbed Glass Mat,")

I bought the one below from eBay

Maypole 4A LED Automatic 12V Car battery Charger For 12V Lead Acid & AGM MP7104

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Hi All

Though I have the heated front screen, etc. I suppose you could call me old fashioned or even a bit of a ***** as I enjoy scraping the snow/ice off all my windows. I also remove all the snow off my roof.
To date, I have not had any problems with my battery. Car still starts with no struggling.

Happy motoring

Dave



Sent from my SM-J600FN using Tapatalk

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Oh what joy, my word m a s o c h I s t used to possibly describe myself in this context was started out.



Sent from my SM-J600FN using Tapatalk

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Hello everyone, thanks for the advice. I tried the charger, but after leaving it alone for a few hours I came back to it and noticed a fault code on the charger. It said the battery was dead and unchargeable.  I then came across another problem.  I called Ford assist who told me that my AA membership had lapsed. They cover you for the first year and then for a year after each service. When the oil change service message came up on the screen about six months ago I phoned them, and they said that my car only needs servicing every two years. Nobody pointed out that that would mean that my AA cover finishes. I have never had a new car that doesn’t come with three years breakdown  warranty.  I now need to buy AA cover to last me until June which I can do on a monthly plan. Unfortunately however, as my car has already broken down I need to pay an extra £99 for them to come and try and start it.  I went into the local Ford  garage to ask if they could help but they said they couldn’t. The only thing I can do is phone Ford customer care once I have paid the AA to come and bring the car to them and see if they’ll pay anything. I’m really disappointed that my car has broken down as it is not two years old, and I have to pay to get the car to the garage to do work which is probably under warranty. So, a warning out there to all lower mileage Ford Edge drivers: you will have the first year covered, but not the second. It then seems you may have your third year covered for recovery as long as you go to a participating dealer. I can’t say I’m happy. 

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56 minutes ago, Guinness said:

When the oil change service message came up on the screen about six months ago I phoned them, and they said that my car only needs servicing every two years

Sorry to hear about your battery issues! The topic of the annual (12 month) Convenience Check (Free to £35ish depending on which dealer does it!!) has been discussed her many times .It gives you that 1 year renewal of the Ford assist cover between the 2 year service periods! Bit late to tell you now, but hope others benefit from the reminder. Hope you get thing sorted ok.

PS Don't always believe the dealership, check on here for a second opinion!

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Hi thanks for that, but that’s the first I’m hearing of the convenience check....

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I wouldn't normally advocate complaining to Ford but this issue keeps coming up. Ford Dealers propagate the notion that some vehicles are on two year service intervals and the Roadside Assistance Cover is affected by this.

It really should be clearer.

H

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Just to update you all - and to add to the confusion....

The Edge is now at the garage. I joined the AA for £99 + £15 for recovery with home start (its more expensive on the phone than online - there is no way around it). I explained about the electrical issues I had been having, and that it had been booked in over a week ago before it died on me, but the earliest they could do it was 14th Feb. I mentioned the other things that needed doing (water in the tail light strip, a/c recall, and the oil service light resetting) and the service manager came onto reception, and the staff asked about the included recovery. I talked to him about how confusing it was about the recovery being included or not, and he said that you do get a years recovery if you have it serviced, but only if you ask for it! He didn't seem to know about the convenience check though. He then seemed interested in the oil service message. I explained that it came up, and though I had been told that the car had a 2 year service schedule when I bought it (new), I called their garage about 6 months ago to confirm this was the case. They told me it did not need doing, and that the service was indeed 2 years and that I could pop past to get the message reset. However, the service manager then told me that this was wrong, and the oil service should have been done then (about 3-4k miles ago), which would also mean I would have had cover (as long as I asked for it)....... I give up. I always service my cars as they need doing. When the warning came up, I contacted the Ford garage and they confirmed what I had been told before, that it was 2 years. Maybe I'm not intelligent enough to own a Ford, but it seems you need a degree in Fordology to understand the servicing and included (or not) breakdown cover. I still really like the car though - so as long as its fixed now (hopefully) I can get back to enjoying it. A bit of good news: I've just phoned the AA to cancel, and they are refunding the £15, so it was just the £99 - good on them.

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I would hope I passed the qualification point in Fordology years ago!

Against all professional advice here is what i would suggest.

Time or Mileage..................

If you do a lot of miles, as I do, get the car serviced at 18K mile intervals, small service, extended service, small service, extended service etc.

If you don't do the miles, get it serviced at least once a year on it's birthday, small, large etc.

Definitely, at two years or 36K, get the gearbox oil and filter changed on the PowerShift's. It's expensive but well worth it.

Two years between services is too long unless you are a technician and sometimes even if you are.

HTH

H

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Surely If its a 2 year service interval it’s a 2 year service interval! My oil message came on at about 17 months so I got it serviced then. I certainly won’t be taking it every year if the manufacturer says it doesn’t need it. 

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Whatever is your personal choice. I worry if a vehicle is driven by someone with no mechanical knowledge at all, two yearly inspections are not close enough together to spot potentially dangerous issues.

I still know folks who change the oil and filter twice a year, every 6,000 miles, as we did in the 80's. I also know some people who buy a car and never have it serviced at all.

My thoughts in the previous post are what I do.

H

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I wouldn't think any potentially dangerous issues would arise in first 2 years/18k miles. After that at 3 years and every year after the mot should detect potentially dangerous issues alongside the 2yr services

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On 2/1/2019 at 4:53 PM, Hamster said:

I would hope I passed the qualification point in Fordology years ago!

Against all professional advice here is what i would suggest.

Time or Mileage..................

If you do a lot of miles, as I do, get the car serviced at 18K mile intervals, small service, extended service, small service, extended service etc.

If you don't do the miles, get it serviced at least once a year on it's birthday, small, large etc.

Definitely, at two years or 36K, get the gearbox oil and filter changed on the PowerShift's. It's expensive but well worth it.

Two years between services is too long unless you are a technician and sometimes even if you are.

HTH

H

Why would you have to be a technician to take advantage of a two year service schedule? That makes no sense to me at all.

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Well it does to me. I've seen many an issue or a fault which if caught earlier would have been easier or less expensive to fix.

A quick off-the-top analogy might be a split CV Joint Boot, caught at three or six or even 12 months might just need a CV Boot. Leave it two years and you are looking at all the grease has washed out and you need a new CV Joint.

Its what i do and you don't have to agree with me.

As I said personal choice.

H

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19 hours ago, Hamster said:

Well it does to me. I've seen many an issue or a fault which if caught earlier would have been easier or less expensive to fix.

A quick off-the-top analogy might be a split CV Joint Boot, caught at three or six or even 12 months might just need a CV Boot. Leave it two years and you are looking at all the grease has washed out and you need a new CV Joint.

Its what i do and you don't have to agree with me.

As I said personal choice.

H

OK. A new car after two years is very unlikely to need a new CV boot so the service will pick that up. If it doesn't then after 3 years it will have an MoT, and every year after that, the boot will be at least an advisory if starting to deteriorate, usually a fail. Good bit of upselling on your part though. 🙂  (It's also what I did for a while. Although i'm now retired, I'm not yet gaga.)

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I'm not sure what you did 'for a while' but I'm lucky enough not to work for a franchise, independent or even in retail.

I'm not customer facing, thank God, and have never had to 'upsell' anything.

Some people would though describe me (and colleagues) as completely GaGa. 

H

 

 

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On 2/4/2019 at 12:57 PM, Hamster said:

I'm not sure what you did 'for a while' but I'm lucky enough not to work for a franchise, independent or even in retail.

I'm not customer facing, thank God, and have never had to 'upsell' anything.

Some people would though describe me (and colleagues) as completely GaGa. 

H

 

 

It's quite simple to work out what I did for a while. You need to read your post and then mine. I assumed you meant you worked in the motor trade, I'm not so sure now though having read your latest.

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I think there are merits in both sides of the @Hamster / @kelvin1950 opinion exchange.  I’m ex Police (Traffic), was an authorised vehicle examiner / prohibition officer and have a general interest in all things mechanical.  I do various checks of the 3 cars in our household when carrying out routine cleaning and maintenance.  Some things I wouldn’t touch as technology has moved on rather a lot since I was trained, but if I detected a minor issue with any of our cars, I would get it looked at / repaired sooner rather than later.  A minor niggle today, could be a major expense if left for a few months.

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I have had a flat battery twice now in the last 3 weeks , realised the 2nd time that the boot doesnt always shut completely and the light remains on. The cover on the drivers door handle is a nightmare to get off and as soon as i connected my charger the lights all flashed (presumably because i had opened the door) and blew the fuse in my charger ! so two calls to the AA for a flat battery , which being an electrical engineer is quite embarrassing :)

  

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I thought I should also add that I had exactly the same problem with the battery in that after having left the car over the weekend - a cold one at that, when I came to start it on Monday it was totally dead. Anyhow I thought no problem I will call out roadside assistance, however it had lapsed, despite the car only being bought only 16 months ago. Apparently according to my nearest Ford dealer ( the one I bought the car from has ceased trading) I have to ask to have it renewed and they have been told by Ford it must not be offered!! This should have happened at the 12 month free inspection at the beginning of October 2018. So once the car was finally recovered to my local garage with the flat battery, another problem turned up in that a check on the computer revealed that the car was almost 27 months old at this point, having spent the best part of 10 months sat outside at a storage facility in Canada! So to sum up it has been a rather expensive February:

1. Paid £90 to have full recovery insurance through my insurer - at least it includes European recovery!

2. Paid £224 for a new Ford battery as when tested it looked like there was an intermittent problem with one or more of the cells and I wasn't about to risk it failing again.Perhaps 10 months stored in Canada didn't help the battery situation! I have also had the rear discs changed under warranty in October last year as they were badly scored, the comment at the time from the dealer being that this was due to incorrect storage - whatever this means!!

3. Had a first service done at 11000 miles, including oil change as by this stage the oil had been in the engine for 27 months - very miss-leading on the part of Ford to infer it has a two year service interval when as a purchaser with what I would describe as reasonable level of common sense(!) would rightly conclude - in the absence of the dealer saying "by the way we thought we should tell you that your new car is in fact nearly 11 months old" - that the two year clock started from the day I bought it. Anyhow service parts cost £97 plus £150 for labour including the battery testing and replacement. 

On balance I still like the car, though I am far less enamoured with Ford, particularly their customer service who really didn't even show any sympathy or concern at my situation and who's closing comment was you will just need to contact the AA and pay for cover!

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