Howdy chums….got the engine management light come on today, and a fault message saying “charging low, service now”, and the battery symbol….because of the sub-zero temps we are having of late, I suspect that I may only need a new battery…the current one has been in for about 6 years so has had a good innings.. there is no single or multiple clicks when I turn on the ignition, but the cranking sounds a little “laboured”…I got my fluke voltmeter on it and it is only banging out 11.6V….gonna take it to Halfords tomorrow to have them check it out…if it is the battery, and a new one is required, I don’t know whether I can stretch to the price of a Ford one that is currently installed, so I hope to get a suitable alternative.

all thoughts/help/advice much appreciated.🙂👍

From all those classic  symptoms it definitely looks like a new battery is in order. At six years old its had a good innings.

True mate…However, I am not looking forward to fitting a new battery outside is this weather, but needs must, I guess…I don’t think I will have to reset the radio etc, I did’nt the last time I had to disconnect the battery.

11.6V is a dead battery. Try Tanya Batteries on ebay:

Tayna Batteries | eBay Stores

Ordered a Bosch S5 from there and it turned up the next day, and the price was very good. Make sure you get the right type - EFB or AGM. Most Mondeos use EFB, but some of the higher spec ones use AGM - it's down to the extras that were fitted rather than the engine type.

No radio reset or code required - it's just a straight swap.

Cheers mate…this is the battery 

U are right, I looked at Tayna batteries and they had one at £88.90

5 hours ago, powerbow1415 said:

and a fault message saying “charging low, service now”, and the battery symbol….

You have an alternator fault. The battery is quite possibly still fine, just not getting charged.

I hope your wrong unofix…I dread to think how much a new or refurbished alternator is gonna cost, parts and labour …I will be selling the car within the next month or two and getting a kuga.🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Just called the RAC…started car this morning to take it down to Halfords to check batt’ & alt’…after about a minute, no dashboard display, heated windows etc…tried moving it off the drive, moved about a foot…it felt like the brakes where on…thinking logically about this. (I am no mechanic), but I assume that the alternator can only charge a working battery, if the battery is dead, the alt’ can’t charge it. Is that correct?🤔

Obviously no output from the alternator, but I think someone already said that.

Hi Kenm….If it is the alt’, does it need to be replaced or can it be fixed.

1 minute ago, powerbow1415 said:

Hi Kenm….If it is the alt’, does it need to be replaced or can it be fixed.

It can be fixed but places to do it are getting increasingly thin on the ground, I'm lucky as there's an auto garage a few miles from me that still repair them. (Maybe use google to check your area). You may be better off getting a used item off Ebay to get you going, especially if you are moving the car on...

If your thinking of selling the car then as StephenFord said ebay is your best bet or a be local breaker if you need it quick.

If it comes down to getting another alt’, there are a number of options of alt’ out there for this spec of mondeo. how would I know I have the right one?.

Hi guys…batt’ or alt’?, I needed both😵…Jamie from the RAC Fitted a VARTA battery, and thanks to Jamie, I was able to get it to an RAC approved mechanic tonight…told that it should be done tomorrow.

will know the bill for the alt’ tomorrow, not looking forward to it of course..but it must be done.

 

 

The garage is fitting a NEW Lucas alternator today. Fully fitted, £624.

2 hours ago, powerbow1415 said:

The garage is fitting a NEW Lucas alternator today. Fully fitted, £624.

Crikey!! This is the kind of price I'd be looking for especially on a car I was selling... (£60)

A professionally refurbished alternator with a 6 months warranty is only around £140 (service exchange) for your car. 

I decided to go for a new one, so when I sell it I can get a better price for it…the alternator cost me £359.00, the rest is labour and vat, but I ended up paying £611 not 624…the varta 096 AGM battery was £241 fitted, looked online, this EXACT battery is nearly £400, just for the battery.

 

Yikes! that's a lot of money, but hey, you are perfectly entitled to buy what you want. Shame it's failed really.

I paid £600 for Ford to replace the timing belt, water pump etc etc back in 2021, probably could have got it cheaper but  knowing that Ford parts were used made the difference to me.

1 hour ago, powerbow1415 said:

I decided to go for a new one, so when I sell it I can get a better price for it…the alternator cost me £359.00, the rest is labour and vat, but I ended up paying £611 not 624…the varta 096 AGM battery was £241 fitted, looked online, this EXACT battery is nearly £400, just for the battery.

 

I'm guessing you are young with a well paid job. Anyone like me who is old, been round the block a few times, and is on a very tight fixed budget, well, that would not have been my solution but as already said, it's your money, spend it how you like...

22 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I'm guessing you are young with a well paid job. Anyone like me who is old, been round the block a few times, and is on a very tight fixed budget, well, that would not have been my solution but as already said, it's your money, spend it how you like...

That depends wether you consider 60 to be young 🤔

consider if youve not already done so a battery for the automatic model if it will fit as they have a higher cranking power so better turn over

Hi Wino….thanks for the “young”, comment😆…I wish!….I am 59!….I have what I call my “car account” that I put cash into every month, (no fixed amount, just what I can afford that month), to pay for situations like this….been doing it for decades now…I find it very handy at times like this.🙂👍