Hi folks, I have owned this car for 6 years. Intermittently, the battery light has come on. Usually I pull over, turn it off, turn it back on and it goes out and doesn't come back for another 6-8 weeks. Last night, it came on (only about 4 days since the last time). Turned it off and on, but it persisted. Just managed to get it home before the dashboard became a christmas tree.

Checked the voltage this morning - 12.21. Not good. One thing I noticed, when I was pulling back into the garage, there was a significant whining noise from the engine when revved. I suspect the alternator may be at fault, however the 6 year old Lion brand battery (dealer fitted it when I bought the car, I would have bought a better one personally) probably isn't helping. Neither will the cold weather.

Could the (presumably) alternator noise be because it's working hard to charge a knackered battery?

Also, what is the correct battery type for my car? The handbook doesn't list it, neither does the Haynes manual, and I daren't trust Euros to get it right for me. I would take the old one out but I suspect it's not the right type in the first place hence the battery light issues throughout my ownership. I think it might be a smart charge alternator, there are 3 cables coming from the positive terminal, but not sure.

Thanks in advance

16 minutes ago, jr795 said:

the 6 year old Lion brand battery..........

has reached the end of it's useful life.

You need a new alternator (12 years old) and a a battery (6 years old).

See below for full details of the battery I would recommend for your car.

9 minutes ago, unofix said:

has reached the end of it's useful life.

You need a new alternator (12 years old) and a a battery (6 years old).

See below for full details of the battery I would recommend for your car.

Thanks for this - probably a stupid question but can a battery be too 'powerful' for a car? I ask as all of the ones on Euros are 440 CCA/44Ah, that one is 520 CCA/52Ah. I don't mind spending the extra for quality, just want to make sure it's all good

On 11/20/2024 at 11:48 AM, jr795 said:

probably a stupid question but can a battery be too 'powerful' for a car?

Absolutely not. The larger the battery capacity then the more power is available for starting.

3 hours ago, unofix said:

Absoltly not. The larger the battery capacity then the more power is available for starting.

Thanks. Just to check, no need to mess around with any coding or anything on these cars? No start stop or anything so I assume not. I know a few people with newer German cars that have had issues putting the wrong type in and needing to code it

Ford don't use any type of coding on their batteries.

The only thing that will need to be done is to reset the BMS unit if your car is fitted with one. It's very easy to do and no tools required, just watch the video:

On 3/29/2023 at 8:14 PM, unofix said:

How to reset the BMS method 2                                                                         Search Tag: BMS2

 

 

14 minutes ago, unofix said:

Ford don't use any type of coding on their batteries.

The only thing that will need to be done is to reset the BMS unit if your car is fitted with one. It's very easy to do and no tools required, just watch the video:

 

Thanks for all your help 🙂

On 11/20/2024 at 4:19 PM, unofix said:

Ford don't use any type of coding on their batteries.

The only thing that will need to be done is to reset the BMS unit if your car is fitted with one. It's very easy to do and no tools required, just watch the video:

 

Hi, I've bought the battery you recommended, one question, do I need to remove this little red plug? One side of the battery has it, the other does not. This is consistent with the product photos online:

Yes, it needs to be removed before being charged.  It's a vent that gets plugged just for transportation purposes.

20 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Yes, it needs to be removed before being charged.  It's a vent that gets plugged just for transportation purposes.

Thanks, do I need to remove it if it's just going straight on the car? It's already charged

1 minute ago, jr795 said:

Thanks, do I need to remove it if it's just going straight on the car? It's already charged

Yes, because the car will charge it from the alternator.

(It's also a good idea to fully charge a 'new' battery off the car before fitting.  Sometimes they sit on a shelf for months before dispatch.  That's not essential if you don't have a battery charger though).

Just changed the battery, alternator is charging fine well above 14.1 volts even with the blower/lights/stereo on, so I might have gotten away with it, will keep an eye on it.

New battery is sitting nicely at 12.9 volts (checked it just after driving) so all is good. Thanks for the help folks 🙂.

 

As a side note, the old battery was only 40Ah/340CCA, which would appear to be the bare minimum that will work with the car. I wonder if that was the reason for the intermittent battery light I've been experiencing for the last 6 years 🤔