2004 LS won't hold charge-desperate

[itmakesmesmile]

Beautiful Light Tundra LS purchased 4/04. In shop 12/04 for battery problem. Started with steering wheel clicking up and down when key in ignition, then died. Dealer dropped new battery in it, good as new. Nope. Gave me about 16 months before started doing same thing, then started throwing weird codes about parking break, service parking break, check left tail light. Took in, could not verify. Five months later in on 9/6/06 found EATC module faulty, replaced, received back on 9/12/06. Back in on 9/14/06, replaced battery. Good to go? No. Back in 8/07, unable to find problem, dropped in heavy duty Ford battery. Bye, hope I don't see ya guys. Guess what? Yep, April 08, back in, replaced a valve and module. Yeah, right. Went in again June 24, 2008, test, test, test. They had it nine days, charged good, gave it back to me on July 3rd. Leaving dealership, fat, dumb and happy. Smile so big it hurts. I love this car. Twenty-two hours later, DEAD IN MY GARAGE!
Needless to say they have it again, and I contacted Ford Customer Care. They seem to think that because I don't drive it long distances, it cannot recharge the battery, so "I" am causing this issue. Does anyone in this great big world have this problem? And, if so what did you do? I love this car, it's beautiful. I don't want to get rid of it.

[shorod]

Have any of them checked the current draw on the battery when the car is off? Are there any aftermarket electronics installed like an alarm system or stereo system?

When I had my 2004, I drove it about 3 miles each direction to work, usually with the stereo quite loud. Maybe once every other week it would see a 30 mile highway trip. My wife's 2002 gets local "stay at home mom" trips to play with friends, go to the store, etc. Maybe 10 miles total of short trips, very seldom goes on the highway for more than a few miles. Neither of our cars had battery problems. A year or so ago I put a battery in my wife's LS, not unexpected for the original battery from 2002.

-Rod

[itmakesmesmile]

Hi Rod,

They have checked the battery, and they have found a low battery issue. They have put new batteries in it, and then the darn thing runs fine. This last time they said the battery was fine. We have not added any equipment to the car, however, it does have the navigation and upgraded sound system. Love that. I like you, drive my car about 10 minutes in the morning, may sit for 6 hours and 10 minutes home. I don't have a commute to speak of. As far as Ford Service goes, this car came out of warranty in April, but they are still sticking with us on this issue. We all know there is a problem, we just can't figure out what it is. When talking to the Ford Rep in Newport Beach, she said that because my mileage is low 27,000, I obviously don't drive the car in the manner it is designed, resulting in loss of battery charge which causes the battery to die. This almost worked until it died in my garage 22 hours after I got the car back. What could it be?