Battery Trouble

[Auggie]

Well the wife went to the casino Thursday for a little bingo. Left the casino at around midnight and the SHO would not start. Casino crew tried to jump it but it would not even crank! No lights nothing. While she waited for the tow truck (Roadside Assistance) she noticed that the parking lights and taillights would flash on about every five seconds ?? Even though the battery was totally dead these lights would flash. Has anyone heard of this and where did the lights get the power from ? She took a limo home for $100. SHO was towed to the nearest Ford Dealership and I called them the next morning and let them know what was wrong with the car. They called back and said that the positive battery post looked like a snowball and the battery needed to be replaced. They called back and said they replaced the battery but the engine still would not crank and they would have to replace the positive battery cable and do a complete engine management test and the total cost would be $405. The dealership was 45 minutes from my house so I OKed the repair. The car runs just great and even seems better then before. I guess why I am telling this story is that the positive battery post is under the red plastic cover so I ignored it and paid the price. I suggest that everyone that reads this post go out and lift the hood and flip that red plastic cover and take a gander at that positive battery post. This goes for Ford product including Lincolns. P.S. I coated the positive battery post with Hi-Temp wheel bearing grease.

 

[SHOdded]

I would put dielectric grease on the battery post but anyway. Glad u got the situation resolved

 

[jtreber]

I would put dielectric grease on the battery post but anyway. Glad u got the situation resolved

I agree. regular grease can be an insulator.

 

[Auggie]

I did not apply the HT wheel bearing grease between the battery post and the cable. I just applied it on the top of the post and cable .

 

[geophb]

I agree. regular grease can be an insulator.

Dielectric grease is also an insulator.

 

[6500rpm]

My 13 is on the third Motorcraft battery, last had the usual green shit growing around the positive post. I see this on a fair number of Ford vehicles (and I only work on cars less than 1 1/2 years old). It's either a flaw with the way the battery's made, or possibly the weight/tension of all the stuff they hang off the positive battery post as it's the one that always seems to leak electrolyte.

 

[shaker281]

Thanks for contributing Auggie! All info is good info and this forum has some great people providing excellent info.