Is my battery dead or am I going insane?

x2 on the NOCO recommendation. Not cheap by any means but this gear is solid and comes highly recommended from just about every automotive expert I know and trust. I have a GEN5 and rotate batteries of the vehicles that sit over winter, I have a GB70 to help the 7.4L duallys start on single digit (deg F) mornings so I'm not putting undue stress on my starter, and the off road travel trailer came with a Genius 5x2 waterproof marine unit to maintain the house batteries. Good stuff. No affiliation... just promoting a product that has served me well.

 

Batteries die when and where they want ... vindictive bastard can go at a freeway rest stop 20 miles from a town at 2 AM Sunday. NOCO makes good sense.

Love the doubleup on the shelf legs.

Your shelves are too neat and tidy ... you need to put more junk on them and scatter it randomly.

 

Mot sure what you mean.
But yes, most batteries are in the engine bay.

 

One thing to keep in mind that if it is the battery that's at fault and you don't confirm what is going on soon, it's going to take the alternator with it. An easy way to help determine what's going on is the previous posters suggestion: disconnect the battery next time you are going to be away. It could be parasitic draw, but batteries can also get internal shorts which will also cause them to discharge and go dead.

 

Re: ^^Shelf Pic^^: Not bad, but mine have more junk piled on them, the heaviest stuff is on the top, and the shelves all sag a little.

...and it all tilts a little to the right. It's all good

 

it means

vehicles have batteries in different places
Trunk
Front seat
Right floor
Back seat

cheaper cars tend to be engine bay
Which is worse
because it’s exposed to change in temperature. Summer, winter, cold night, hot engine. Life of a battery is reduced by that in this location versus interior.

Shops have a bunch of expensive equipment to charge and test batteries. They take a long time to use and provide a detailed report. To find things like a dead cell.

Autozone probably doesn’t have that.

Theres nothing suspicious about a stock engine bay battery dying after 5yr.
Sometimes they’re dead upon first sale of the vehicle because it’s been sitting on the lot parked for a month.

 

Not sure if you're in a cold climate if you are just buy a new one. Once it hits 10 degrees it will be toast again. I've been there.

 

You said battery is 5 years old.

What you cannot see is cross-members like this. 2x4s screwed into sidewalls support the center flatwood. Without a picture I cannot diagnose your failu ... er ... "design issues"for the "tilt", but feel free to copy the remaining design elements that are visible. I put the heaviest below and lightest above to prevent dropping things on my skull ... thick as the bone is.

 

Hah!!! "It's not the construction, it's the Architect..." Thank you sir. Will do! A few years ago I just found the studs behind the sheet rock in back of my"masterpiece" and drove some lag screws through everything: "Just in case". ( ...that, and it was making the dog nervous with the occasional creaking noises.)

 

Simpson Strong-Ties at the corners (silver pieces tie 3 2x4s together), and lag screws into the wall were par of the design. I had to learn much engineering before I made this design ... many years of living.

What you will also enjoy ... I brought the 2x4x12ft home in my Corolla ... the studs sticking out of the passenger-front window like a jousting lance.

 

Re: "...and lag screws into the wall were par of the design. I had to learn much engineering before I made this design ... many years of living."

And so here I am all these years later, with a guilty-conscience all this time afraid that my buddies, who could build a life sized replica of the Lincoln Memorial with match sticks, would see them and tell the wife, only to find out years later that: "Lag screws driven through everything" is accepted SOP in compliance with international building codes; not to mention NASA. Learning stuff like this alone was worth joining TacomaWorld.

My thanks again to you sir.

 

This.^^^ It's cheap insurance. Buy a Walmart Super Start for short money and be on your way.

 

It's time for a new battery

 

Anyone know where the "low voltage battery" is located on the Fords? The owners manual just says "if the low voltage battery is low, take the vehicle to the Ford dealer." The low voltage battery keeps the clock and seat settings etc with the main battery out. I looked all over the vehicle, googled, YouTubed, asked a mechanic, but no luck finding the low voltage battery in the wife's Edge. It's working fine but just wondering for future knowledge that I will probably forget anyway...

 

It will be interesting to see if you come back in the next few days with a dead battery. I've replaced three year batteries that have been in the vehicle over seven years and were still working fine. I've also replaced seven year batteries that didn't last six months.

I think @TnShooter had the best advice, to drive the truck and disconnect the battery while parked for an extended period, and then reconnect to see what happens. And he also mentioned the possibility of a dead short.

But spending money before you check it out is also an option. Looks like that's your mindset, so good luck.

 

5. Pull short pin when vehicle is sitting for a few weeks.

 

Any sign of battery weakness, buy a new one. No need to spend big bucks on promise of longer life. I usually replace my car batteries every 3-4 years. Sams club replacement with a 3 year warranty or Walmart will do. I’m just a little over 3 years on mine now and I’ll watch a listen for that first symptom of a delay in crank, and then I’ll be off to the store to get a new one.

 

Take the battery to batteries plus they will load test the battery .this will check for amperage this is what u need to crank over the starter not voltage .

 

Did the new battery fix the issue?