What's killing the battery is the LED lights in the cargo area...The system is still running even after the lights goes out...The best and fastest way to make sure your battery isn't dead over night is to pull the fuse that's in Location #F32...its a #10 fuse..which is located under the steering just to the right..you can located this locations by using the owers Manuel..this will sure that your van battry will not die again..I would still my own lighting system in the cargo area and avoid using these lights due to a defect in the computer system that allow the drain on the battery even after the lights goes out...I hope this helps everyone solve their dead battery issues...So Pull that fuse and leave it out. 05/05/2020
Dead battery issues on all Ford Transit
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2,070 Posts
It might be worth your time to buy a small (sub 10 watt) solar panel and put it in the wind shield. A lot of vehicles have parasitic drain in the electrical system.
My grand kids have a habit of opening the doors of my daughter's SUV in the garage and turning on lights. Several incidents of discharged starter battery.
I found a trickle charge panel from powerfilm solar that works even in the lighting in her garage.
www.powerfilmsolar.com
My grand kids have a habit of opening the doors of my daughter's SUV in the garage and turning on lights. Several incidents of discharged starter battery.
I found a trickle charge panel from powerfilm solar that works even in the lighting in her garage.
7W Rollable Solar Panel (R-7)
The 7W Rollable is lightweight, flexible, IP67 rated, and incredibly durable. Designed to charge boat batteries or other 12V systems.
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5,757 Posts
Not many of us are having the battery go dead over night, In my case it takes 10 days of not using the van.
The computer stays On to power the Keyless entry Receiver and probably other things.
Ford ships the Transit in what is called Transport Mode to keep this from happening between the Factory and the Dealer, And while it is parked on the Dealers lot. Transport Mode does not turn Off until here is 50 miles on the odometer. (You can not turn it back on)
The computer stays On to power the Keyless entry Receiver and probably other things.
Ford ships the Transit in what is called Transport Mode to keep this from happening between the Factory and the Dealer, And while it is parked on the Dealers lot. Transport Mode does not turn Off until here is 50 miles on the odometer. (You can not turn it back on)
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436 Posts
I have noticed that the 2020 seems to constantly maintain fuel pressure. (I assume that is the noise I hear)
It will cycle the pump on for a few seconds a few times a day.
This isn't good for parasitic loss either.
I have a Renogy DC/MPPT charger on the van now with panels. When the house bank is full there is a trickle charge to the starter battery. Keeps the starter topped off effortlessly.
It will cycle the pump on for a few seconds a few times a day.
This isn't good for parasitic loss either.
I have a Renogy DC/MPPT charger on the van now with panels. When the house bank is full there is a trickle charge to the starter battery. Keeps the starter topped off effortlessly.
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2,829 Posts
I'm still trying to figure out the title. I didn't know all Transits had dead battery issues. I've had the doors open and closed all weekend long with all the LED's on for hours on end and the stereo going, and have never had a low battery issue let alone a dead battery.
I agree with Boboxx. There is something else going on here.
I agree with Boboxx. There is something else going on here.
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2,829 Posts
Could it be the pressure relief valve? I hear mine whining from time to time as pressure builds when parked in the sun.
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261 Posts
My Transit sits for three months in Wisconsin Winter and battery does not die. What DOES kill is (four times now) is leaving the doors open. I did that to work on it. Seems like 10-12 hou8rs will do it. Understand: no lights are on.... just the onboard computer at work (I think).
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10,387 Posts
I can concur with the logic of all of this. The few times when I'd parked at home without starting the van for 2-5 days and the battery was very weak or required jumpstart, I had been going in and out of the van several times a day, triggering the lights. I have since installed a cargo light control switch, and also pulled wire on the slider sensor so the timer doesn't get started at all. For family trips, I plug it back in, but for work and everyday use it stays unplugged.
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5,757 Posts
I am not the only one, There are several threads here full of people with the same problem. I have no cargo lights and my Transit sits locked unused. There has been some improvement after replacing the battery for the first time, Now I can now leave it parked unused for three weeks.
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I had the same problem on my van . The Headlights come on at night when temperatures outside are colder than 47 degrees . Had caught it on our security cameras 30 days at Sam Galloway Ford and they can’t fix it cause they only know how to guess to fix things so now it’s off to another Ford dealership hopefully they have real service techs that can use a meter and fix it .
If all else fails...
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I know you mentioned this is a last ditch solution, but I'll mention this just in case anybody doesn't know already. Unfortunately on my other modern vehicle, disconnecting the battery results in the clock and user settings being reset to default. I don't know anything about memory/storage to know why these settings can't be stored in a non-power-dependent way. Maybe different vehicles would behave in other ways.
Now on my dumb-as-a-brick F150, that would be a great solution. But then again, the fact that it's dumb as a brick means almost no parasitic drain. 🙃
A friend of mine bought a new 2018 transit that would act like it had a dead battery after repeatedly opening and closing the doors throughout the day.
This required daily jump starts.
We came to the conclusion that the computers must be running each time the doors opened.
The dealer replaced the batteries multiple times saying they were defective. They tested fine though.
He ended up selling the van because the problem was never correctly diagnosed/fixed by Ford and it was not dependable enough for his business.
This required daily jump starts.
We came to the conclusion that the computers must be running each time the doors opened.
The dealer replaced the batteries multiple times saying they were defective. They tested fine though.
He ended up selling the van because the problem was never correctly diagnosed/fixed by Ford and it was not dependable enough for his business.
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4,721 Posts
Too bad. The transit electrical system is designed for convenience with the average use in mind, allowing certain circuits to stay on when you open the doors, etc for a set time which is 30 minutes. Someone like your friend used his van different than most and probably only had the single battery, the van could have been set to have the power time out differently to suit his specific use. Fortunately, like many others we have no such issues with both our vans that have dual batteries.
I figured it could be worked out but he was very unhappy with the Ford warranty experience.
How do you get in to the computer for those adjustments?
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That is by using free Fosrcan software with an OBDII adapter. You can read up on using it though various threads on here and other Ford forums.
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