Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Unpleasant surprise from new Ford automobile
3/26/11 | Self

Posted on 03/26/2011 7:49:43 AM PDT by chickadee

Yesterday, I decided to take my relatively new car out for a spin. Due to a combination of ugly winter weather and health issues, I hadn't driven the car in a couple of months and wanted to give it a spin to keep its "juices" flowing.

I got in the car and tried to start it. Nothing. All the symbols lit up and went nuts, but no sound of cranking.

Fortunately, Ford gives new owners 5 years of Roadside Assistance. Ford's service responded quickly and professionally. The technician came prepared with a "box" to start the car in my garage. It wouldn't start. He had discovered a loose battery connection, which he tightened, but still "no go". He was familiar with the vehicle and tried one or two adjustments before deciding that the car was in lockout mode.

After consulting the manual, he determined that the car's computer was not recognizing the key. He presumed the loss of coding was due to the "dead" battery. He said the dealership would need to repower the battery and reinstall the codes before the car would start.

I contacted the dealership and they said to arrange with Roadside Assistance to have it brought to them and they would reinstall the codes.

Longish story short - it turned out that the battery was not dead - not even low. Ford has a program built into it that if a car is not started in 50 days, it goes into lockdown mode to conserve the battery. To protect the battery from itself and its constant computer analysis.

Once the dealership discovered that the battery was fine, they contacted Ford who explained the above to them (even the techs were unaware of the 50 day thing.) The cure was simple, disconnect the negative lead for 30 seconds, reconnect and all was well.

Meanwhile, two service calls to the house and the car had been loaded on a flatbed and towed across town.

Wow. Ain't technology great?


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: computer; ford; lockout
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-115 last
To: Felis_irritable

bought the wife a brand new dodge...no owners manual..everything on disc now...


101 posted on 03/26/2011 10:36:36 AM PDT by OL Hickory (Jesus and the American soldier-1 died for your soul/1 died for your freedom)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: chickadee
And, if you read all the way through - the battery was not dead. It wasn’t even low.

Just some professional advice. All batteries sulfate, including AGM. Some may even appear to be fully charged, but will not be able to ultimately provide the "cranking amps" when needed. The best thing to do is to run the car at least weekly or install a battery minder.

I am surprised they did not include a relay to reset the software. It would be one more moving part, but better than running up the mileage on the flatbeds.

This is off topic, but useful to know. When cars have been tested during EMP studies they found that a surprising many were not affected. Some that were could be started by resetting the software. That simply means they disconnected the battery and reconnected it. On a unhappy note, many cars could not be restarted without extensive parts replacements.
102 posted on 03/26/2011 11:16:28 AM PDT by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the occupation media. There are Wars and Rumors of War.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: OL Hickory
bought the wife a brand new dodge...no owners manual..everything on disc now...

For our last few cars we got both, disc and printed. I still like to have the printed one in the glovebox, you never know.

103 posted on 03/26/2011 11:18:59 AM PDT by Felis_irritable
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 101 | View Replies]

To: PA Engineer

Thanks for your post. I learn something new every day on FR.


104 posted on 03/26/2011 11:24:41 AM PDT by chickadee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]

To: missnry
SOFTWARE! I hate those guys in software. They think they can just do anything they want with code.

You're putting the blame in the wrong place. I can virtually guarantee you that the programmers didn't dream this idea up on their own and implement it just because they could.

Whether the decision was right or wrong, this "feature" would have only been put into the code because it was specifically called out in the functional requirements document for the software.

105 posted on 03/26/2011 11:34:06 AM PDT by Bob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: chickadee

Yep. I hate most new cars, all the excessive electronic ‘bonus’ stuff is just plain annoying. I like my manual. The only problem I do have is rolling the passenger side window up and down.. wish that one was electric. But otherwise, a ‘95 Mustang is good for me :)


106 posted on 03/26/2011 1:01:59 PM PDT by Svartalfiar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: chickadee

The original U.S. Prius had a car battery that was so small, if you left the car sit more than 2 weeks, the drain from the security system would kill the battery, and you’d need a jump-start.

This even though there was a fully-charged 21kw battery source right in the car — which needed the 12-volt battery to start the computer that ran the inverter to use the big battery.

On the plus side, you can jumpstart that car with a 12-volt drill battery. All you need to do is boot the compiter, and then the 12volt power comes from the big battery.

Apparently, nobody in Japan would leave a car sit for 2 weeks, but it’s quite common here in the U.S.. Someone started selling an after-market power switch for the battery.


107 posted on 03/26/2011 1:02:10 PM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MosesKnows

Yuck, this creep cheats on his wife and acts like he doesn’t.


108 posted on 03/26/2011 3:20:25 PM PDT by SouthDixie (The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and lie about your age.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: chickadee
The cure was simple, disconnect the negative lead for 30 seconds, reconnect and all was well.

Sound like the South Park ep where the Internet died

109 posted on 03/26/2011 4:05:08 PM PDT by Oztrich Boy (Radioactive plume to hit USA. President Obama and family fly to Brazil)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gussiefinknottle
Glad to read that even Gussie Fink-Nottle is disapproving of the Newt. :)

I'm tempted to compare the Empress to one or two prominent ladies of the left, but better not.

110 posted on 03/26/2011 11:20:17 PM PDT by SupplySider
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: gussiefinknottle

Sounds just like my ‘99 Grand Marquis - bought it at the end of 2005 and so far, never a breakdown. And upkeep is surprisingly low.


111 posted on 03/28/2011 5:34:41 PM PDT by Oceander (The phrase "good enough for government work" is not meant as a compliment)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Oceander

then that is a very good deal!!!!


112 posted on 03/28/2011 5:52:02 PM PDT by gussiefinknottle (woof!woof!woof!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 111 | View Replies]

To: gussiefinknottle

Thank you; however, I have to say that it is par for the course for the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis line from Ford. Not to say there aren’t some bumps - they tinkered with the suspension in the 1999 redesign, which made the ride a little harsher than it needed to be - but these things are seriously old-school technology and since the basic vehicle is designed and built to be used and abused as taxis and police cruisers, they stand up quite well to piddling little civilian usage.


113 posted on 03/28/2011 8:59:02 PM PDT by Oceander (The phrase "good enough for government work" is not meant as a compliment)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 112 | View Replies]

To: Utah Binger

Late reply, but yes, it does....

My 97 Taurus had a fault in its climate control system once that caused it to go into a safe mode. Turns out that it does a self-calibration, and if it fails during the calibration for any reason, it goes to a safe mode to prevent damage.

I was wondering why it was only blowing hot air, then I found out a simple reboot sequence to send it through the calibration again.... passed with flying colors and never had a problem again.


114 posted on 05/09/2011 10:05:35 AM PDT by eraser2005
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Utah Binger

I was just about to say - is the car’s computer Windows-based?


115 posted on 09/27/2011 1:43:03 PM PDT by TheBattman (They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-115 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson