Ford - Focus :: 2004 - Battery Light Came On For 10 Minutes Then Went Off
Dec 7, 2013
I have a 2004 Ford Focus. I had the battery replaced in May. Two months ago, the battery light came on for 10 minutes than went off. A week later the dash lights dimmed and then rebrightened. Talking with people they thought the alternator was the issue. I had it replaced three weeks ago. I got it back from the mechanic and it worked for two days.
On day 3 it would click and the dash lights would flash but it would not crank. Mechanic jumped it and brought it to the shop and found nothing. Two days later the same problem. Took to another mechanic and they found the radio was draining power so they unplugged the fuse. Again, it worked for two days, then the same problem. They have had it for a week and have no clue what is wrong.
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2002 Ford Focus SE with 130k miles on it. For the past 4 months the battery light flashes randomly while driving. The flashing and frequency of flashing doesn't seem related to anything I can tell including temperature, length of time the car is running, speed or any variable. Seems like it should be an alternator, but that was replaced less than an year ago and it also has a new battery. The alternator always checks out fine at the mechanic and it will never flash for the mechanic. It went 1 month with no flashing and suddenly it will now flash maybe 20 times in a 5 mile drive. Yesterday it just died at a stoplight with no warning, but then after shutting everything off it started just fine and the battery light didn't turn on for the 2 miles to home.
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I have a 2003 ford focus wagon, automatic transmission, 140,000 miles. The battery light has been going on and off for 5 months, and the car has shut down several times. I've had the following replaced/repaired:
Spark plugs replaced. Two days later, car died.
Battery replaced. Two days later car died.
Alternator replaced. 4 days later car died on a vacation trip. Before it died, the battery light came on when I had to accelerate, and also when going down hills. Frequency increased and power shut off several times. If I waited 10-15 minutes, it would start up again. Finally would not start up - completely dead. Computer diagnostics first said the alternator was bad. Then, while still hooked up to computer, the bad alternator indicator disappeared and the alternator reported no problems. Technician ran the car for a few hours every day for a week and took it for test drives but light never came on.
When I got back from vacation, the new alternator was replaced with a ford alternator - the theory was that some 2003 ford focus computer chips have trouble recognizing alternators that aren't ford's.
All was good for about 4 months. Then battery light started going on and off again - sometimes 20-30 times in 40 minutes, sometimes only 5-6 times in that time span. Computer diagnostics found nothing - light never came on.
Car was vibrating. Had engine mounts replaced 4 days ago, hoping the electrical problem was caused by something vibrating against something else that connected to the alternator, and if the vibrations stopped, the battery light would stay off. First 35 miles - no battery light! Then it started coming on again, but not as much as before the engine mounts were replaced.
Battery light seems to only come on now:
1) Every time I start up and begin driving and I think the car shifts to higher gears;
2) whenever I go up hills - it has also come on a couple of times when going down a hill (just like before, when the alternator was replaced);
3) when I accelerate beyond 55 mpg.
I can get the light to go off if
1) I floor the gas pedal;
2) I pump the brakes;
3) I put the car in park.
Mechanics are stumped. I love my car, but every time I drive it now, I worry the entire time about the battery light and about the power shutting off.
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I have a a 2005 Focus, 199,000 miles. The battery light has been come on randomly. It doesn't seen to be related to any other event in the car. Things I've done to diagnose it...
I cleaned the battery cable connections before I started any diagnostics.
I have two code reader and no codes are being thrown.
I connected a multimeter to the battery while the car was idling in the driveway.
I got 13.8-14.1 volts as the car sat and ran. When the light came on no change on the meter.
I have a Scan Gauge that allows me to watch the voltage in real time. Four days and no change when the light came on. ~13.8-14.1 at idle and ~14.1-14.4 underway.
I have the Car Chip. I plugged it in drove for about 10 runs and the voltage trace was pretty flat on all runs, battery light on or off.
The only thing that is consistent is if the light is on and I rev the engine it goes out BUT they rpm when the light goes is inconsistent.
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My daughter called me and said her "battery light" came on. I didn't even know there were battery lights. The car still starts and runs fine. What could cause the "battery light" to come on?
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As I'm driving along, I get the battery light coming for a few minutes then going out. Is this a sign my alternator is on the fritz?
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My 2004 Focus passed its emissions test in Maryland in the late fall last year. Shortly thereafter, the check engine light came on. My mechanic put it on the computer and said it needed a new catalytic converter. It only had 86,000 miles on it. I watched and waited for a few months and had the fuel filter changed during a routine oil change. A couple of days after the fuel filter was replaced the check engine light went off and stayed off for 4 months, but it came back on a couple of days ago. I have been watching the mileage carefully and it has been steady at about 26 MPG for years.
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I drive a 2007 Ford Focus and when the fuel level gets to half a tank the car tries to die, and quite often does, when making a left turn. About 1% of the time it will do it when making a right hand turn. It will also sputter and die when running it on idle for a few min. It first started doign this at 1/4 tank but has gotten to where it will do it at 1/2 now.
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2004 Ford Focus, 2 Liter Zetec engine.0. Situation: Car initially running well but want to improve mileage, so I installed premium plugs.1. Ran roughly on test run, so headed home. Check Engine light came on before fully warmed up.2. Found and corrected loose plug wire.3. Engine now purrs like a kitten, but Check Engine light stays on.
What should I do now?
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I have a '12 Focus and for no apparent reason the A/C will turn off and warm air enters the car for 1-3 minutes and then returns to normal cold A/C air. It doesn't matter if it's on "max A/C" which will circulate the air inside the car or just the coldest setting on the A/C, high fan, low fan, it just happens. What usually happens is that I'm driving 40 or 45, then have to slow down (stoplight, etc.) and speed up again, during the slow down is when the A/C turns off and warm air enters the car. As soon as I'm driving 45 again for a minute it usually kicks back to cold air. OR, while driving on the freeway at 60 - 70mph after about 15-20 minutes it all of a sudden stops cooling and I get warm air in the car. It's been checked by 2 different dealers already 4 times and they never found anything wrong with the A/C System. It did have an actual leak a few weeks ago and that got repaired but it still has this mysterious behavior.
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2004 f350 w 125000 miles.
I had diagnostic done at Autozone and no problems from check or OBD. The battery light has been coming on for a few minutes then going off at random intervals. Today I was towing trailer and quads, around 3500 lbs, to go riding and it was on most of the time running on interstate and highways.
Seems like the serpentine belt doesn't have as much tension as I would expect. Is there an easy way to change the serpentine? That looks to be a real pita.
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A week ago before I left for h20 my battery light came on, i drove for 10 mins and it went off. I also had a battery test and alternator test at that time and everything showed up ok. I drove 800 miles all good. Last night the battery light came on again, I was far from home so just tried making it back but the car dies on me. Before it died the traction and abs light turned on, the lights dimmed, when I gassed it the lights would get a tiny bit brighter. Also my gauges got stuck at the rpm i was driving at and 70 mph, even though i came to a stop already.
When i tried to gas the car it was backfiring, sometimes i couldn't even give it gas. Only way to start the car was to jump it, then i can drive a little before the car died again.
I drove with my battery box off the highway because highway patrol said i have to and got towed how from there last night. The ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY WERE CHANGED a year and a half ago apx 12000 miles, all oem equipment for the alternator. The serpentine belt and tensioner on top have also been changed and serviced.
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I just did a brake job on my 2002 2.7l and 10 minutes after driving both the e brake and battery indicator light came on not the abs. It is not throwing any dtc codes also. Did I do something wrong or is it a coincidence meaning my alternator is crapping out? I replaced all pads and front rotors and sucked out some dirty fluid and added clean fluid. It brakes properly and I do not believe I got air in the system.
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Last night during the East Coast's snow storm, I left my 2004 Prius warming for 10 minutes in park. I have a newborn and wanted the car warm for her. When I got back outside to leave, the Prius had died. The check engine light was on, but that was on before because I need to get the oil changed.
I went to jump start it, but when I opened the hood, I could hear that the engine seemed to still be running - it sounded like the belts were still going. So I was nervous to jump start it with the engine still seemingly on. I waited 30 minutes and that noise stopped.
When I tried to jump start it, I couldn't get the fuse box cover off after an hour of trying at 10PM, in the snow and rain. So I gave up and will try again later today.
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A month ago I bought a 2007 Prius with 140,000 km. I notice that the state of charge drops into the 'red' bars within about 20 minutes of the car switched on, in Park with no accessories running. A mechanic connected his diagnostic computer and saw 2 cells are low. However, the mechanic informs me there is no value in replacing those cells as others are likely to go down, thereafter. Is there anything I can do to avoid having to replace the entire traction battery?
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2004 Car has 106,800 miles and for the last several weeks, when I'm stuck in traffic, like trying to get into the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel, the battery seems to go from 7 blue bars to two pink bars within five to seven minutes. Used to be that it took 3 five-minute bars of traffic, running fully electric at 100 mpg, to then go down to 2 pink, when the ICE would run and charge the battery. Today the battery indicators went down to 2 pink after sitting in traffic with the AC on and stayed there for the remainder of the time we sat in traffic - another 45 minutes or so.
The ICE would run at idle sometimes, but didn't seem to bring the battery back up unless we were really moving. A couple of times I held the brake with my left foot, revved the engine with my right, and that seemed to bring the battery up a couple bars. After we finally got going on the highway, the battery recovered. I got no warning lights, no triangles. But I'm wondering if these are symptoms of the battery failing. Time to get it tested at the dealership?
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A week ago while on an errand my car wouldn't start when I returned to it. Dash panel lights/radio/seat belt chime all worked, however. Luckily the shopping center security had a jump box so after a couple of attempts the car started. Got it home, but then it would restart. Have a tester/charger, hooked it up, showed ok and fully charged. Still wouldn't start. Took battery out to shop to get another test to double check next day---battery was putting out 626 CCA when its rated 590 (a Motorcraft battery I'm sure came with car---I'm 2nd owner). Obviously tested good. Put battery back in car. IT STARTED. Drove on another errand and didn't switch off until returning home. After switching off would not restart.
Tried disconnecting and reconnecting battery cables thinking it was a connection problem of some kind---several attempts over last few days. Has yet to start back, and now the car's electronic display is giving a "Low Battery" message, even after I left on the charger (slow charge, 2 amps) ALL DAY, with charger telling me battery is good and fully charged!! I know it has a starter relay that I've found and unplugged and plugged back in (but haven't replaced yet---$9 from Ford). This does not seem like an alternator problem to me. Besides that and relay, the only thing I can think of is starter is bad. (Also had someone recommend to me trying to start with the car in N---auto trans; also no dice).
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Last week, I brought my 2002 Ford Focus (automatic transmission) to the mechanic to have an oil change and to have the motor mounts and cabin air filter replaced. Before I brought the car in, it was fairly loud at idle--which had been going on for a couple of years and which I attributed to the worn motor mounts--but had otherwise been running fine.
When I went to pick it up after the repairs, the car would not start. The mechanic ran some tests and told me that the alternator was overcharging the battery. The battery could no longer hold a charge, so both the alternator and the battery needed to be replaced, which the mechanic did.
I thought at first that everything was OK after the battery and alternator replacement. Because I almost always turn my car off immediately after putting it in park, I didn't realize what was happening and that it was a problem... but in retrospect, I realize that ever since I got the car back from this second set of repairs, the battery light has flashed on during the split second between when I shift to park and when I turn the ignition off.
Yesterday, I took my car back to the mechanic because it stalled when I was in the parking lot at work. (I realize now that it must have happened just after I shifted gears, probably into park.) Since that was the first time it had actually properly stalled--rather than just a quick battery light flash just before I turned the car off--I had not yet made the connection between the stalling and the shifting to park, so all I told the mechanic is that it stalled on me when I was slowing to a stop. I'm pretty sure the first time it stalled was the first time I let it idle for more than a half-second in park before turning off the ignition.
He kept my car for a full day and ran a lot of tests on it. He was unable to make the car stall during multiple test drives (though, to be fair, I hadn't told him that the trigger for making it stall was shifting to park because I didn't realize it myself yet). There were no engine codes, the check engine light was never on, the fuel pressure is OK, and the throttle body position sensor, the idle air control valve, the ignition system, and the fuel system were giving no abnormal readings. When I asked, he told me that they did perform an idle-relearn procedure after replacing the battery and alternator. He returned the car to me and told me to come back if it stalled again.
Tonight, when I got the car home, it started to die immediately when I put it into park (the headlights dimmed and the battery light came on). I was able to reproduce this a second time as well. Fortunately, it does start back up just fine.
I plan to take the car in for repairs again, but I'm wondering if I should go back to the same mechanic. My questions are:
1) What is likely to be causing the problem?
2) Is it something that is likely to have been caused by incompetence when installing the new battery and alternator or doing other repairs, or could it be a coincidence (I was willing to believe the first coincidence of the battery and alternator dying while the car was at the repair shop, but I'm having difficulty believing a second coincidence)?
3) Whether or not the problem is likely to be the mechanic's fault, is it something that a thorough check on their part should have discovered?
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The past couple of months my ABS light has been coming on randomly. It comes on after several minutes (or hours sometimes) of driving then stays on. I wrote it off as a bad sensor but now, even when under light braking, if I hit even a small bump in the road, I can feel the ABS activating in the pedal. Seems like more than a sensor to me. I know I have a front wheel bearing going out but how would that be related? 2007 F150 5.4 2wd
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My question is about the AC in my 2003 Ford Focus hatchback. On settings 1-3, the green AC light will come on, but no air comes out of any of the vents. On these settings, no air comes out at all whether or not the AC button is pressed. Air will come out of the vents on setting 4, but this causes the AC light to go out. I don't think it's a problem with the actual cooling, because if I leave the AC on in settings 1-3, and then turn the setting up to 4, for a brief time cold air will blow out of the vents before it turns into fan air. It's as if the cold air has been building up and gets released on setting 4. However, after doing this I think I could detect a slight burning smell. Is it possible there is a clog somewhere?
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04 Kia Optima (116,000miles) will drive ok for 20 min. or so (last time 10 miles) I'll hit a bump, stop, turn a corner, or drive on hills (basically any condition) and it suddenly acts up after a small jerk (engine light comes and goes and I cannot get anyone to read codes correctly). I have to drive with my foot on the gas at stops if it gets really bad and it wont come down from above 40mph unless I break and feels like it wants to stall when trying to accelerate again after stops and difficult to sometimes get past 30/40mph, Once shut off, It has trouble starting, but will start.
I have had the PO335Crank shaft position sensor replaced three times, (last time by dealer) New battery, new spark plugs, the throttle body was cleaned, and high octane gas cleaner in the tank as well. Every time I take it in (6 or 7 times, different places), they say "it's not acting up right now so we don't know" .... I am curious about broken flexpipe..
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