Battery dead within 3hrs

[NCG]

Ok,got a weird one.....

Started my mkz about 8am,everything worked normally.Parked in front of my house,walked outside and fob wouldnt start my car,thought batteries were dead.Replaced batteries,still nothing.Walked up to the car,realized nothing was working,no locks,no instrument lights,not even courtesy lighting.Fast forward to 8pm.Had car jumped,and everything went back to normal.Drove to the gas station,started up just fine.Drove it back home,put it in driveway,even turned it back on just to be safe.Everything was as always.Go back to the car at 11pm,and nothing again.The only thing that did light up was the PRNDS buttons on the dash,but nothing else,no interior lights,nothing but the transmission buttons.Please help

[Viking]

I also replied in your other post on this same subject, so I copied my reply here.

 

Well, the very first thing I would do would be to charge up the battery till it showed full, if it ever does - then load test it.  If the load test fails, you need a battery before you can go any further with this.  Also, if the battery will not charge up to full (12.6 volts) then you may need a new battery.  Either way, you need a good battery in the car to attempt diagnosis of anything else.

[bbf2530]

13 hours ago, NCG said:

Ok,got a weird one.....

Started my mkz about 8am,everything worked normally.Parked in front of my house,walked outside and fob wouldnt start my car,thought batteries were dead.Replaced batteries,still nothing.Walked up to the car,realized nothing was working,no locks,no instrument lights,not even courtesy lighting.Fast forward to 8pm.Had car jumped,and everything went back to normal.Drove to the gas station,started up just fine.Drove it back home,put it in driveway,even turned it back on just to be safe.Everything was as always.Go back to the car at 11pm,and nothing again.The only thing that did light up was the PRNDS buttons on the dash,but nothing else,no interior lights,nothing but the transmission buttons.Please help

 

Hi NCG. The symptoms you describe point to the most likely culprit being a failed/failing battery.

 

What model year/how old is the vehicle? How old is the battery? Is the vehicle still within the 4 year/50,000 mile New Vehicle Warranty? If yes, make a service appointment and have it fixed.

 

Either way, the first thing to do would be to have the battery load tested, as Viking stated.

 

Let us know how you make out and good luck.

[NCG]

Its a 2014.Only had 34,000 miles when i bought it in November of 2020.The battery isnt but 3yrs old.Havent had a single issue out of it untill now.

[NCG]

My father owns a mechanics shop.When we jumped the car,put a meter on it and everything checked out.The only thing weird i noticed was when i put the positive clamp onto the terminal of the other car,it threw a major spark,and the motor slowed down(like there was an immediate major pull off the battery.)

[bbf2530]

6 hours ago, NCG said:

My father owns a mechanics shop.When we jumped the car,put a meter on it and everything checked out.The only thing weird i noticed was when i put the positive clamp onto the terminal of the other car,it threw a major spark,and the motor slowed down(like there was an immediate major pull off the battery.)

 

Hi NCG. Obviously, blind Internet diagnosis has its limits, but here goes:

 

Okay, several things to point out. First...The fact that the battery "...isn't but 3 years old..." does not matter. Modern vehicles are extremely electronic/electrical/computer dependent. Nowadays, if we get 3-4 years out of a battery, we got our moneys worth.

It's not like the old days when it was expected to get 7 years or more out of battery. Yes, it will still sometimes happen, but it will be the exception now, no longer the rule.

 

Second...The fact that you "Havent had a single issue out of it until now" is exactly how battery issues sometimes happen. There is often absolutely no warning, until the day the car/battery is completely dead.

 

Third...An old fashioned battery meter will no longer give an accurate reading of battery health. The battery must be properly/professionally load tested. You can usually find a coupon for a free battery test in the "Service" area of the Lincoln and Ford Owners websites.

 

Since your vehicle will start with a jump, then run and seemingly charge, but then be dead again after sitting for several hours,  this leads one to believe the likely culprit is a failed battery. It seems it is no longer holding a charge.

 

So the two primary areas to look at are either a failing/failed battery, or your MKZ developed a sudden battery drain. The more likely cause will be a failed battery. There are other possibilities, but a professional battery load test would be the place to start.

 

If one of our tech members has more advice to offer, I am sure they will jump in to help.

 

Let us know how you make out and good.

Edited September 7, 2021 by bbf2530

[leftoverture]

1 hour ago, NCG said:

My father owns a mechanics shop.When we jumped the car,put a meter on it and everything checked out.The only thing weird i noticed was when i put the positive clamp onto the terminal of the other car,it threw a major spark,and the motor slowed down(like there was an immediate major pull off the battery.)

What do you mean "everything checked out"? Can you be more specific. If you jumped the car and had it running, then put a voltmeter on it, what did it read? With the engine running it should be about 14.4 volts, that is the charging voltage. Anything significantly less or if the voltage varied up and down, that is a charging problem. 

 

More than likely you have a bad battery, like others have said. Any auto parts store will load test it for you for free. 

[NCG]

It was reading at 14.4 after the jump....

Ive just never had a 5yr battery only last 3yrs.(prior to,i had an infiniti g37,got 200,000mls out of it without so much as a flat tire in 7yrs.When the battery died in it,it was night/day.)After hearing all the horror stories about lincoln have'n issues,im just probably expecting the worst.As of now,its sit'n in tye driveway with the positive disconnected.Gonna drive it to work tomorrow,and take it to wherever and have a test done.Thank you for your input,hopefully it is what you/others are say'n it is.I will let you know.

[leftoverture]

Well, you state the car has very low mileage and believe it or not, inactivity can be hard on a car battery, too. Just sitting there unused with accessories draining the battery, or a lot of short trips that never charge the battery fully, etc. I would be pretty certain if you put a new battery in and drive it regularly, you'll be just fine. 

[17MKZ3.0TT]

Had that happen with the OEM battery at around 3 years and under 20k miles, bad cell. Rpld. at no cost under warranty. I had to use a 40 amp booster cart to start the car one morning and found it dead again the next day. A small voltmeter plugged into the ACC socket showed around 10 volts and of course almost immediately after the jump start I was in the > 13V range. That just showed the charging system was strong and able to put out everything needed to function. Once shut off, the battery on it's own would head for dead.