I have an '07 F150 XLT w/ the 5.4L engine and the towing package. It has around 5k miles on it and I've had a dead battery 3 times. The first time it was just sitting for under a half hour with the lights on while I was wiring a trailer. The last two times I just didn't drive it for 2-3 days and got in to dancing gauges and a dead battery. The only accessory I'm using is a radar detector. I've had cars that could sit weeks without draining the battery (even w/ a radar detector), so it's embarassing that my big F-150 can't handle 3 days. I hardly ever drive it on trips under 25 miles or so either.

Anybody had similar troubles? Should I take it to the dealer to have them replace the battery (or alternator), or is the OEM battery just that weak?

 

take it to the dealer. maybe you have a short in something cause a power drain or maybe just a bad battery. let them figure it out. my 04 and i am still on the orig. battery

 

do you drive it every day or does it sit a lot and how much and often? It takes longer to fully charge a battery than most think, up to 6 hrs if dead and that even depends on the charge rate.

 

I use it to commute nearly 60 miles roundtrip every weekday. I didn't use it this weekend at all and the battery drained. I plan on wiring my radar detector in to an accessory wire eventually, but that shouldn't drain a battery in 2-3 days.

 

Have it checked it shouldn't do that. I have had several factory batteries that needed replaced for not holding a charge.

 

Take it back to the dealer and have them check the battery; sounds like a dead cell is causing the battery to fail. Don't take no for an answer!

 

Yep If it's still under warranty make em fix it. That is one of the nice things about new trucks.

 

I had a radar detector hardwired in my Mustang and if it sat in the driveway for a few days it would drain the battery. After that first drain the battery looses it's ability to hold a charge as well. However, your dealer will probably just give you a new battery. Definitily wire that detector up to a switched 12volt source.

 

I had that happen to me once after I bought a new battery. It lasted a few days and would not hold its charge. I just brought it back and had it replaced.

 

Took it to the dealer and they wouldn't do a thing. They said they tested it and it seemed fine. I guess I'll have to get a better battery on my own.

As far as wiring the radar detector in to a switched accessory wire, has anybody messed with this much? There's a wire leading to a device behind the rearview mirror (I'm assuming this is for the compass?). Has anybody used that or something else that's easy for a 12V source?

 

pink/black or lt. green/yellow should be the switched colors in the radio plug. then ground it. grab it there or off the cig. lighter is usually easiest. if you dont want to cut your radar cig. adapter plug go to your local autoparts store and get yourself a cigarette lighter adapter. this will allow you to plug the radar power into it and give you 2 leads coming off of it, '+' and '-'.

 

mine a 04 lariat crew, was having the same issue at random, dancing guages, slow start. went to the dealer 3 times, put it through all the tests, kepted it for days at a time, battery never failed the test, couldn't find nothing, said I wasn't driving it enogh but after I called the manger thay deciterd to throw parts at it, and behold a new battery fixed it, haven't had an issue since

 

I have had the same experience.
My rig is a 2006 F150, 5.4L, Lariat with 2900 miles on it. Almost since it was new it has needed a 'recharge' after sitting for several days.

Yesterday I went to drive it out of my garage and it was dead again. So, I hooked up my trickle charger and noticed that there was a low pitched, chirping noise coming from behind the extended cab. (I have a canopy and it sounds like it is coming from a space between the canopy and the rear of the cab). I called the dealer and he said I could just let it try and recharge and that the 'chirping' (which he could hear through the phone) wouldn't do any harm.

2 hours later the chirping was gone, the battery was still dead and my trickle charger was dead. So, I removed the battery cables from the battery and plugged in a 12 volt charger directly onto the battery posts. After about 3 hours it started ok (but it did make a weird growling noise for the 1st 5 seconds after starting).

When I shut it off I noticed that the head lights couldn't be turned off ???? When I put the selector on the "O" they just went dim.

So, I am charging it over night and will take it to the dealer tomorrow morning... assuming it starts.

This is very disappointing considering that with only 2,900 miles, I haven't started it very many times. But the dealer says it is a covered repair so I will just invest my time and get it fixed.... I hope....

 

Synergy46,
I am having the exact same problem with my 04 XLT, Did you ever figure out what was causing it?

 

Yeah... let me know what you guys figure out. I'm pretty much certain my problem is the battery, but the dealership won't give me a new one and I don't feel like buying a new battery for a brand new truck. I may see if I can fully charge the battery and solve the problem (maybe it isn't recharging fully). Still, I've never had that problem in any other vehicle I've had. You think they'd engineer the truck to tolerate a dead battery (no dancing gauges or grinding) if they put such a POS battery in at the factory.