[06Stage3]

My 2006 Roush Stage 3 Battery discharges occasionally. Not a daily driver so sits covered most of the time. Does anyone know what may be causing this? I've thought of connecting a meter and measuring current when sitting and playing with fuses to see where discharge may be occuring....... Is a big problem when I want to go for a cruise only to find that I get only a "click"![/b]

[acehogg69]

Sounds like a phantom drain. Start checking like you said. Also check with some of the gurus here there is a way to use a fluke on the battery and see if there is a drain. It's been awhile since I have done any t/s.

[Texmjs]

I had the same issue, my baby stays setting most of the week and sometimes for weeks before she gets on the road. What I found to be my problem was simple my iPod transfer cable was draining the juice. I would suggest buying a simple wire set and starting her up every other day to help keeping her juiced.

Just like the dealers they all have the same issue keeping them juiced setting time!

How does it feel to own one of the better looking GT out there?

Peace,
Michael

[MaverickMLFD371]

there is an issue with the new mustangs. its a well known issue and ford is aware of it and they've done nothing about it.

if your car sits longer than a week - 2 weeks with the ALARM activated, your battery will be drained.

dont ask me why or how, thats just the issue and the only way to resolve it is to start it once a week and let it run with the alternator charging up the battery. ive been doing that ever since when it sits in the garage for a week or so and the battery is always charged.

[Luis_GT]

Well, Its a TSB... don't know what they do @ ford, but its a TSB, so there must be a fix

[stanglifemike]

Ive heard of this before but mine has been fine, its sat for over a week before. I guess just some of the cars are having this problem

[06Stage3]

Thanks for the feedback.... I've heard there is TSB posted for this.... Too bad not a source for TSB fixes.... Don't really want to go to dealer.... unless absolutley necessary. In meanwhile I guess best action is to start from time to time.....

[Emay]

The so called TSB does not correct the phantom drain problem. Some have found ways to slow it's affect though.

If it's garage stored don't engage the alarm. It pulls minimal juice, and in combination with any of the below items, one to two weeks of non use will net a flat lined battery.

Before turning off the car, physically power off the radio. Changer tends to cycle itself on it's own for no reason. Sometimes can be heard immediately after killing the ignition. Powering off ensures the mechanism doesn't do this.

Lastly, the ECU in these cars is on the learn. Even when the car is off, the ECU processes. On another forum, a fellow 05 owner had his car at the dealer for a weak. They were trying to figure out why there was a draw at the ECU when the car was not in use. Ultimately the service rep and tech were baffled. He ended up with a deep cycle optima battery at no charge. While it was not an end all fix, it significantly helped. Car could be left alone for better than 6 weeks with no use and still fire.

I quit researching the topic as it appeared Ford was throwing bs bandaids at the problem. I can live with a battery flat lining after a month of sitting, just not a week or less.

[06Stage3]

Yep...... Seems to be consistent with what I find...... Small inconvienence for so much fun!

[LV51FER]

One of the causes is not turning the radio off before the ignition. The amps in the doors don't power down and the battery is drained. A friend of mine had the problem but when he switched off the radio first, the problem went away. Seems to be a problem with the Shaker equipped cars which they may have resolved now (ha!)

[96GTRagTop]

lame, that's something that if i brought my car to a stereo shop and it happened, i'd chew the stupid idiot out who wired my car up. How hard is it to wire the windows to have power for a few min/until opened, then wire the amps to that. GM does it. Or atleast connect those things in the fuse box, cause it would be incorperated into the cars factory wiring.

Ford needs to stop being cheesy. Anyone notice how new rims just suck. Everything just looks plastic now. I haven't seen stock chromes but i could only imagine.

Later note I normally don't trust stereo stops to dismantle my interior or install my stereo.

[Grabber523]

I thought I was the only one...the shutting off the radio thing works...didn't know this was a common problem/fix...

[TheUNZippee!]

Mine has this problem as well when I store it for the winter. The dealer could do nothing about it, so i just put a trickle charger on it for the winter.

[impetus]

for those that park your car's for more than a week :lala, how bout a battery tender? [edit] i see UNZippee uses one. [/edit]

i wanna put in a light weight battery (Odyssey PC680). glad i found this thread

i always turn off all the accessories, but i've been known to listen to the radio after shut down.
those days will be gone with the new batt.

[07_427R]

I also use a nice battery tender on mine. Haven't had any issues with battery drain or discharge but i keep mine properly charged anyways.