Back in December, the battery in the '13 Edge crapped out on me and was replaced under warranty at Auto Zone. This morning, I go to leave for work and get the dreaded clicking sound when your battery is dead. I jump it and things start just fine. I drive an hour to work without any issues and get a message on the MFT screen when I arrive saying to shut off ignition or start vehicle. I tried starting it and the battery had just enough juice to start, but went back to the clicking when I tried again.

So, I'm wondering if it's just bad luck with a battery or if I have another issue that's the root cause. I drove it yesterday to the store and back without any issue or signs pointing to a potential problem. I'm going to AZ near work at lunch to have everything tested, but don't always trust them since one told me the battery in my old Frontier was fine (about 6 months old) even after I would lose all power (go completely dark...no lights, no PS, etc) while I was actually driving, then decide to come back on after sitting for about 15 minutes. Went to another AZ and they said battery was bad, replaced it, and didn't have an issue for over 2 years.

Need to put a DVOM on the terminals while the car is running to make sure the alternator is strong.

Sounds like to me either you have a weak or failing alternator or a dead cell in the battery.

Thanks. They tested both in December and said it was the battery, so I'm hoping it's just bad luck with it than the alternator. If it was the alternator, wouldn't I be getting some kind of code or warning lights?

aTm2004 said:

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Thanks. They tested both in December and said it was the battery, so I'm hoping it's just bad luck with it than the alternator. If it was the alternator, wouldn't I be getting some kind of code or warning lights?

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If it wasnt charging at all, you'd have a battery light, but if the output was weak or had dead spots at a certain RPM range, it may not throw the light.

I suggest you have AZ check the battery again, and if you have one, put a trickle charger on it tonight to top it off.

As I mentioned before, never vehicles dont like jump starting as much as older ones did. How far was your drive this morning? If it was a low speed commute with lots of idling, your alternator may not have been able to charge it up. If you drove 60mph for 30 mins, then it should be topped off.

How do your terminals look? Clean and tight? No corrosion or anything? Cables dont look frayed at the clamp crimps etc?

1agswitchin4lanes said:

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aTm2004 said:

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Thanks. They tested both in December and said it was the battery, so I'm hoping it's just bad luck with it than the alternator. If it was the alternator, wouldn't I be getting some kind of code or warning lights?

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If it wasnt charging at all, you'd have a battery light, but if the output was weak or had dead spots at a certain RPM range, it may not throw the light.

I suggest you have AZ check the battery again, and if you have one, put a trickle charger on it tonight to top it off.

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I'm going to go by AZ at lunch to have them take a look at it. The previous battery did get charged over night and worked fine for a week or so before I took it in to be replaced.

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As I mentioned before, never vehicles dont like jump starting as much as older ones did. How far was your drive this morning? If it was a low speed commute with lots of idling, your alternator may not have been able to charge it up. If you drove 60mph for 30 mins, then it should be topped off.

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My drive was from Kingwood to the Energy Corridor, so about an hour at highway speeds...thank God for light traffic this morning. As I stated, when I got to work this morning, it started but you could tell the battery was weak, and it went back to clicking when I tried again.

When I jumped it this morning, it went from clicking to starting right up like nothing was wrong in about the time it took me to walk from my wife's car to it to crank.

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How do your terminals look? Clean and tight? No corrosion or anything? Cables dont look frayed at the clamp crimps etc?

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Checked the cables and all look good. Terminals were tight and no corrosion.

Where are you in the EC? I live in the Katy area.

Eldridge & Briar Forest. Going to get a jump at lunch at take it to the AZ at Memorial/Dairy Ashford.

OK Holla atcha boy

I'll be up there about a quarter after 11 if you're in the area.

Yep, bad battery. They tested the alternator as well and said it was working fine..again, I don't trust them that much, so may take it somewhere in my neck of the woods and have it tested. Just strange that I didn't even get 2 months out of it.

Co-worker had an edge of similar age with a parasitic drain and any time it sat more than a week it'd need a jump. Do some googling on parasitic battery draw and your model to see if there's any common easy to fix problem.

aTm2004 said:

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Yep, bad battery. They tested the alternator as well and said it was working fine..again, I don't trust them that much, so may take it somewhere in my neck of the woods and have it tested. Just strange that I didn't even get 2 months out of it.

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Are you buying the red or gold battery?