i was at the ford dealer today looking at the 08 Focus they had a really nice looking one there i need the MPG and 35mpg is sounding good, and they guys were checking out my truck they loved it! i started it up and everything shoed them my hid's and strobes and all the good stuff.

when i went to go leave i went to start my truck and it was dead my interior lights were working and when i go to start it would just shut off all the dash lights??

so the guy brought a jump pack out and we started it and it was fine. i was like WTF now i got a damp problem at the ford place i was thinking on trading it right there lol.

when i got home i shut it off and tried to start it right away and it was dead again same as before.

what could do this ???

the Alt? and i got a new Red Top like 6 months ago

 

Take the alternator out and get it tested.

 

Go to autozone they will check your alternator and your battery for free. Sounds like an alt problem to me, but you could also try mixing baking soda with a little water to make a paste and clean your battery terminals. That was the problem I was having.

 

ya i tried that the seccond time that happed at the gf's house lol

it drives fine when its jumped. could that still be the alt? whould it shut off if it was not producing the power?

 

correct me if im wrong and i probably am. your spark comes from the coil not the battery. So if your alt is dead it would have nothing to do with your truck running.

 

I had that same problem and it was the battery.

 

+ 1 on the battery.

 

yea but if nothing is charging and the battery is dying the ecu still has to have power

 

its the battery or corosion on the battery terminals, only 2 things that can be, simple as that. clean those and have the battery tested

 

+2 on the battery, I'd take the truck down and get 'em tested

 

i will do that in the AM first thing.

i hope its not the battery the Optima red top is not even a year old!! i wont buy another one with my own $$ if it is. atleast they have the replacement warranty

 

I would def check have the battery tested. A bad cell can cause the problem you're having.

 

ok i'm awake now and i hope i wont be having an expencive day lol i'm bringing the battery down in about 1 hr.

ill let you guys know how it turns out.

 

Good luck

 

hopefully it's only the battery. but if the alternator isn't working neither will the battery.so....

 

HAHA!!! I FIXED IT!!!!.

i took off the terminals and they did not look bad so i got a wire brush and scrubbed them and then the leads to, put it back on and all set!!.

started right up

 

If it was the altenator it would have drained your battery after 15-20 mins of driving. If its fine when its running then its the battery or battery terminals.

 

Yea bad connection on terminals for sure.

I upgraded my terminals to the heavy duty ones cus the ones that come stock are a piece of ca ca.

 

Nice!

Schwing!!!

 

hey monnsterguy, i am having the same problem with my truck, i have a red top, my redtop is only 4 months old... i cleaned the terminals last time i put it in... i'm having bad luck with redtops, 3 in only this year alone... i've had 5 of them in it... the first one lasted 3 years, 2nd one 1.5 years, 3rd one 3 months, 4th one 1 month, and the 5th one 4 months... its starting to get a little old

 

Sounds like you have an other problem other than the battery. If they keep dying like that, I would start looking for what is killing them, such as an over charging alternator, or maybe a short or constant drain in the system. When you keep killing batteries like that, You really can't just blame it on the battery. Even if they were cheapo batteries, that would sound a bit suspicious.

 

^Agreed, something is causing a drain. Hell the stock motorcraft battery on my 2000 lasted a little over 6 years!

 

the alt is fine, its at 14V when running... this morning i checked the scangauge, and it was reading 9.5V

 

i had the same thing happen to before i was looking at a upgrade from the car i was driving. Then i came back to that car and it wouldn't start. My problem was the battery. The car was under warranty so i got a new battery for free. Real crazy how that works its like the car get mad at you and screws up :)

 

I just dealt with this problem two day ago. Got the drivetrain back in the truck everything runs good 4 2 days the no start, strong solenoid click. My fix ended up being the connection of the heavy gauge wires at the fender wall solenoid. Cleaned those with a wire brush and good to go.