Hi all,

I hope I'm posting in the right place. Apologies if I'm not! I have a 1999 Ford Expedition and it's having some issues. I haven't been driving it regularly (I usually turn it on once a month) and now it won't start. In the past, when this has happened, I could just jump it and it ran fine. I recently tried jumping it again, and it wouldn't work. Nothing turned on. I've noticed a clicking sound when I get inside the car, even when it's turned off and has been off for awhile. Any ideas what the clicking sound is? Could it be draining the battery?

My plan is to take the battery up to Advanced Autoparts to test it and buy a new battery if necessary. I'm a little worried that the clicking sound could mean it's something other than the battery though. I'm a novice with cars and car parts, so any help is much appreciated! Thank you!

 

That's a good plan to get the battery tested. If it test's good, I would then check the cables for corrosion. Low voltage will make things go crazy inside the vehicle, so I would not worry about the clicking too much.

If you are not running this vehicle, and only starting it and running it 15 min or so every month, that's not good for the battery. I believe every 3rd month I would put the vehicle on a trickle charger overnight if it's not too far away to run a extension cord to it.

 

I did get it tested, and they said it's completely dead. It's also 6 years old, so I'm assuming that helped it die. I'm not really sure how long batteries are supposed to last. I got a new battery, and the clicking went away and the car runs now (yay!). I will definitely start putting it on a trickle charger (it's pretty close to an outdoor plug). Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Six years isn't too bad. I'm picky about batteries and check the date codes on the battery when buying a new one. If it's made a few months ago that's OK. If it's sat on a shelf for a year, that's not. What I want is the freshest battery on the rack, just like a loaf of bread. Then, no matter what the guy tells you behind the counter, charge it up when you get it home. What, you don't have a charger? Everyone should have one, cheaper than a tow or a battery. While new batteries are supposed to be "charged", that means different things to different people. "Starts the truck" I guess. A low amp charge is usually required for several hours to get them in the green in my experience.

A new battery will also take several starts to reach full charging capacity too. Next, while batteries are expensive I do not believe it makes sense to wait until the dash goes Christmas Tree and leaves one potentially stranded. Modern electronics are sensitive to voltage fluctuations and especially high current draw and the battery is the heart of the electrical system. The charging system can be smoked by a defective battery, and how much does that cost?

The original Motorcraft tested fine for conductance on my Ranger but I'm thinking trying to eke out the last amp hour out if it is asking for trouble and 6 years is sort of the dividing line for batteries. So Iit was replaced it before any problems. On the REALLY modern stuff, a dead battery can mean a trip to a dealer because certain things won't work without help. On certain late model Cadillacs the air conditioning, for example. It's way beyond things like radio presets or shift points these days. So if you're doing the right thing and changing out a battery - make sure to either jump the old battery with a good one before swapping out or use a device sold for this purpose that usually plugs in the cigar lighter receptacle.

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