dead battery and a trickle charger

[S592R]

Ok, First decent weather day since the "blue" car got here and I was thinking about taking for a small shake down... just a few miles.


But the battery that had a full charge a week ago is now dead. No lights on, nothing really to drain the battery.


Has anyone had this problem or do I just have a battery with a dead cell?

What tickle charger is recommended and also has anyone gone to an aftermarket drycell battery in this car yet?

Thanks for any input... I'm just a bit frustrated with this heritage car...

 

[B O N Y]

Ok, First decent weather day since the "blue" car got here and I was thinking about taking for a small shake down... just a few miles.


But the battery that had a full charge a week ago is now dead. No lights on, nothing really to drain the battery.


Has anyone had this problem or do I just have a battery with a dead cell?

What tickle charger is recommended and also has anyone gone to an aftermarket drycell battery in this car yet?

Thanks for any input... I'm just a bit frustrated with this heritage car...

I leave my car in my alarmed garage with the alarm off. I have had the battery drained to the point that it would not turn over the car. I used a battery tender on all my batteries. I would not change the battery to another type. Sorry for your problem.

 

[S592R]

I leave my car in my alarmed garage with the alarm off. I have had the battery drained to the point that it would not turn over the car. I used a battery tender on all my batteries. I would not change the battery to another type. Sorry for your problem.

usually I do to but ... drained in a week????:ack Which brand of tender are you using??

 

[B O N Y]

usually I do to but ... drained in a week????:ack Which brand of tender are you using??

One from Griot's Garage, I think the same firm makes them for everyone...

 

[ladams1]

Battery charger comes with FGT

The FGT comes with a small unit that plugs into the lighter. it works so good i bought two more.

Lee

 

[S592R]

The FGT comes with a small unit that plugs into the lighter. it works so good i bought two more.

Lee

I have three Gt's ---- none of them have what your talking about.

Of course one came without valve stem caps too .... so many there was some five finger discount going on. Whats the part number?


Steve

 

[Empty Pockets]

But the battery that had a full charge a week ago is now dead. No lights on, nothing really to drain the battery.
Has anyone had this problem or do I just have a battery with a dead cell?

Steve:
You say it was the 1st time you were going to take the car out ... so, obviously YOU hadn't driven it B4 this attempt. Therefore - who SAID the battery was charged? The dealer? Ha! I was told the same story by MY dealer, and a week after MINE was delivered - same thing. 'Put the factory "trickle" on it for several days, and BINGO. I'm driving down the road.

Larry

 

[AJB]

battery tender

The one that comes with the car works well. Have used it now for 2 'winters'. It also has nice LONG leads on both sides of the tender, so you have plenty of wire to go in the side window to the power point. Has anyone found an 'aftermarket unit' with long-leads?
andy AJB 2006 0541. Blue/White.

 

[nota4re]

Steve,

Just to be technically correct, you want to look for a float charger, not a trickle charger. The disticntion is that a trickle charger charges all of the time and a float charge will cycle on and off as the battery requires. Over time, a trickle charger will ruin your battery if left on for an extended period whereas a float charger is intended to be left on all of the time.

There are many good float chargers available. I offer a kit customized to the GT based on Battery Tender's product. You can choose the customized kit or a generic kit - the generic kit allows you to charge through the cigarette lighter (adapter included). The customized kits allow you to mount a port to the outside of the car (near the tow hook) and you can easily connect/disconnect even with a car cover in place.

 

[MAD IN NC]

I have three Gt's ---- none of them have what your talking about.

Of course one came without valve stem caps too .... so many there was some five finger discount going on. Whats the part number?


Steve

Steve, I converted to Kendall's (nota4re) CooltechLLC.com Deltran float charger. Cord was long enough to plug in on the wall behind the GT and run it all the way up front in the garage to the hidden charger input in the grille

Seriously, check it out before you go after the stock trickle as over time they will cook the battery.

 

[ladams1]

I have three Gt's ---- none of them have what your talking about.

Of course one came without valve stem caps too .... so many there was some five finger discount going on. Whats the part number?


Steve

Steve,

No disrespect but they are easy to miss. If you bought your FGT's as used cars they may have disappeared.

I assume you bought these cars new. The charger is very small. The ones I have found in about four Gt's are in the front trunk. They are maybe 2X4X4 inches in a box or a nylon zipper bag. They look like a blow up something since the car does not have a spare tire. You can literly carry it around in your pocket! They are easy to use and if you cannot find one your dealer can order them for you. They are expensive at $92 each.

I also use battery Tender. They are good but the FGT is easier.

Good luck on whatever you do.

Lee

 

[B O N Y]

Steve,

No disrespect but they are easy to miss. If you bought your FGT's as used cars they may have disappeared.

I assume you bought these cars new. The charger is very small. The ones I have found in about four Gt's are in the front trunk. They are maybe 2X4X4 inches in a box or a nylon zipper bag. They look like a blow up something since the car does not have a spare tire. You can literly carry it around in your pocket! They are easy to use and if you cannot find one your dealer can order them for you. They are expensive at $92 each.

I also use battery Tender. They are good but the FGT is easier.

Good luck on whatever you do.

Lee

There are many threads on this subject. If you battery is flat dead, you need a slow trickle charger to recharge it. Don't try a fast charger as you will ruin the battery. The charger that comes with the car is a floating charger and will not return a dead battery to life. A trickle charger can't be left on as a floating charger or battery tender. Leave a trickle charger on for to long and you will cook the battery.

 

[ladams1]

Parts number for trickle charger

I have three Gt's ---- none of them have what your talking about.

Of course one came without valve stem caps too .... so many there was some five finger discount going on. Whats the part number?


Steve

Steve, the part number for the FGT charger is 4G7Z-14B249-A

If that part number doesn't work I will look at the sales slip that is in the FGT. The car is stored offsite. Just let me know

Lee

 

[ladams1]

FGT charger

There are many threads on this subject. If you battery is flat dead, you need a slow trickle charger to recharge it. Don't try a fast charger as you will ruin the battery. The charger that comes with the car is a floating charger and will not return a dead battery to life. A trickle charger can't be left on as a floating charger or battery tender. Leave a trickle charger on for to long and you will cook the battery.

The FGT charger has a "C" rate of only 0.50 amps. As you say it is a very slow rate to charge a battery. I suspect it would take along time probably a week or two. The charger is only designed to keep the battery charged for periods of inactivity i.e. offset normal decay. it does a great job at that. The charger is a constant voltage/amperage charger and it is okay because of the very low charging rate.

As an earlier post said correctly the Battery Tender is a charger that steps down to a low trickle rate when the battery is fully charged. The "C" rate for the BT is 1.25 amps full charge rate then steps down to a lower amperage rate when the battery is fully charged. That will charge a dead battery in 2-3 days. The gentleman called it a floating rate charger. I always heard them referred to as "step down" charger. It does not matter these work great! I have 10, hell maybe 12 or so of these. The only issue and it is a small issue granted, is the FGT is instant plug and unplug. The BT you would have to use the key to open the trunk, open the trunk, leave it open, Unplug the protective cover, plug it in a small target Ugh. The FGT is plug in go get a beer.

Sorry to disagree it is not necessary to use a tickle charger to charge a dead battery. A charger amp rate say 2 or 4 amp-hrs is okay. Some garages will use 16 ah charges to get a customer going. A trickle charger will just take longer. High charge rate which is most likely what you meant are not good for a battery if done alot. 2-4 amp-hrs is fine.

Lee

 

[RADGT]

I have had problems with the battery since I got the car> Installed the
cooltech product which is a float charger from Deltran. Even thought light would eventually turn green meaning "float" mode the car would not turn over. I just pulled the battery and brought it to a local ford dealership and they tested it and it was a goner. Ordered a new one(warranty), I put it in yesterday and the car roared back to life. I would not have expected an Optima battery to die since the car problbly sat at a dealership for a year or so and then may have not been charged properly it beyond recovery. Where up front is the caherger that came with the car? Is it in the storage try that covers the battery?

Stu

 

[ladams1]

FGT charger

I have had problems with the battery since I got the car> Installed the
cooltech product which is a float charger from Deltran. Even thought light would eventually turn green meaning "float" mode the car would not turn over. I just pulled the battery and brought it to a local ford dealership and they tested it and it was a goner. Ordered a new one(warranty), I put it in yesterday and the car roared back to life. I would not have expected an Optima battery to die since the car problbly sat at a dealership for a year or so and then may have not been charged properly it beyond recovery. Where up front is the caherger that came with the car? Is it in the storage try that covers the battery?

Stu

Stu,

Sorry to hear about your battery issue. Thank god it was under warranty.

To your question look at my post a little earlier on where to find the FGT charger. It is easy to miss and I have had four FGT freinds who did not know they had one.

Good luck.

Lee

 

[BlackICE]

I have the FGT charger, a Battery Tender Jr. (0.75 amps) and a regular 2/10/50 amp charger. I like the Battery Tenders status LED and that is what I use on all of my cars. The FGT charger doesn't give any status on the battery's condition. The regular charger is what I use if I have a drained battery, 2 amps mode if I have the time, 10 amps if I don't and 50 amps if I want to try and start the car now.

Any auto battery that has been fully discharged has been damage to some extent. Also driving a car with a battery at less than 100% charge will shorten its lifespan. The vibrations of the car will shake off lead sulfate from the battery's plates to the bottom of the battery. Once there it cannot be converted back into lead during a recharge cycle.

BlackICE

 

[Shadowman]

I have had problems with the battery since I got the car> Installed the
cooltech product which is a float charger from Deltran. Even thought light would eventually turn green meaning "float" mode the car would not turn over. I just pulled the battery and brought it to a local ford dealership and they tested it and it was a goner. Ordered a new one(warranty), I put it in yesterday and the car roared back to life. I would not have expected an Optima battery to die since the car problbly sat at a dealership for a year or so and then may have not been charged properly it beyond recovery. Where up front is the caherger that came with the car? Is it in the storage try that covers the battery?

Stu

Hi Stu

I too purchased CoolTech’s setup because he had put all the work into making the Detran charger’s integration for use specifically with the GT much easier.

I have several of the Detran chargers in the facility on cars and motorcycles and they have always been very good; in fact flawlessly making me aware of the real state of charge within the batteries. Over the years I have had times that the green light will not stop flashing or worst the red light will not go off and each time we have found that the service life of the battery is exhausted. I have never had a solid green light associated with a dead battery; your experience is news to me.

Now as for the OEM charger; having shared above that I purchased the Detran it sadly resides in the box as received because I also purchase a bra for the gal and the system as designed by CoolTech will not work with the bra as such I use the OEM charger. It appears to work fine but the key word is “appears” because as all know by now it has “no” indicator lights on it so I would call it the proverbial “crap-shoot” at best.

Over the next couple months I will either modify CoolTech’s quick connect/disconnect mounting system to work with the bra or simply install an accessory plug on it and use it in the same way as the OEM is used however having at the very least an idiot/indicator light to monitor.

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[ladams1]

Idiot light

I have the FGT charger, a Battery Tender Jr. (0.75 amps) and a regular 2/10/50 amp charger. I like the Battery Tenders status LED and that is what I use on all of my cars. The FGT charger doesn't give any status on the battery's condition. The regular charger is what I use if I have a drained battery, 2 amps mode if I have the time, 10 amps if I don't and 50 amps if I want to try and start the car now.

Any auto battery that has been fully discharged has been damage to some extent. Also driving a car with a battery at less than 100% charge will shorten its lifespan. The vibrations of the car will shake off lead sulfate from the battery's plates to the bottom of the battery. Once there it cannot be converted back into lead during a recharge cycle.

BlackICE

good point I wish it had a light. But having said that it seems to work.

Lee

 

[dan]

I would not be surprised if someone prior to you slammed a heavy jump pack on the battery to start it when dead. I have optima batteries in 11 cars. In the winter I pull the ground wire, in the spring I put it back and off I go. The one time I had a battery go dead I put a booster pack on it and the battery was never the same. I brought it back to the dealer and explained what happened. He replaced it under warrenty but warned me against doing it again. They are great batteries but are a little delicate. Life is short, enjoy the ride.