Ford F150 contains a 12-volt battery under the hood to power your vehicle’s engine and other electrical components. Sometimes these become dead because of the bad charging system and their constant working.
Ford F150 dead batteries symptoms include non-functional windshield wipers, unresponsive infotainment screen, issue in shifting gears, swollen batteries, rotten egg smell, and check engine light. Moreover, you can see that AC won’t turn on, faulty powered doors and hood, blinking dashboard lights, and visible corrosion.
On average, Ford F150 batteries can last for 4 to 5 years. However, you can make them last longer by properly maintaining and servicing these components.
Windshield wipers do not function
Windshield wipers are located on the front windshield to remove the dust, rainwater, and debris from the glass material and increase the front view.
The small electric motors power the wipers, which move on glass material to clean the water and snow during the rainy and snowy seasons. Sometimes these can get stuck and do not clear the windshield screen when you press their knob.
The issue comes because electric motors cannot get supply from the batteries, hindering their functioning. In addition, you can see scratches on glass material when these move slowly because of the low voltage of electric motors.
Front mirror visibility decreases, and the risk of accidents increases when you cannot clean the water from them.
The infotainment screen is not working
Infotainment or touch screen is located on the dashboard of your Ford F150 to entertain the passenger during long trips. The screens do not respond when you connect your phones with them because of no power from the batteries.
The screens illuminate when they get power from the electric source. The radio, GPS, ad stereo system also becomes dead, and you cannot enjoy the trips.
I also faced the same issue while driving and replaced the fuse, but the issue remained the same. In addition, the USB ports also stop functioning, representing that the batteries do not provide sufficient power to these systems.
Sometimes the screen also turns off when you are reversing your truck, and you cannot see the rearview on them.
The issue in shifting gear
The transmission system components take power from the engine to move wheels at different speeds. Dead batteries can also mess up the transmission system and cause an issue in shifting gears.
You cannot shift the gears smoothly to change the speed of your Ford F150 trucks. The engine cannot provide sufficient power to propel the wheels at different speeds.
In addition, transmission is also connected to a computerized system for gear shifting. These also become dead when there is no voltage supply, affecting the transmission components.
I feel a delay in gears shifting because of the low voltage supply to the computer system and the wheels.
Rotten egg smell and swelling of batteries
There is no smell in Ford F150 when batteries are working fine. Many people complain that they feel a rotten egg smell when they open the hood of their truck.
You can feel the rotten egg smell from the batteries that become bad because of acid leakages. Sulfuric acid is present inside and does not cause any damaging effects.
It is necessary because it triggers the chemical reaction after mixing with electrolytes. The issue comes when the sulfuric acid comes outside because of leakages.
The leaked sulfuric acid produces a rotten egg smell in the hood. You can identify the bad batteries from their increased size and cracked material.
These become dead when you overcharge them frequently. The overcharging increases the concentration of heat and hydrogen gas and expands them.
Check engine light flashes
The dead batteries cause the check engine or battery light to flash on the screen. It is the warning light to make the drivers aware of the problem.
You should not ignore the blinking of these warning lights because they can cause significant damage and increase repair costs.
The engine light comes on when these do not get enough power to generate power and supply it to various truck components for their functioning.
Ac won’t turn on
AC is a significant component of the Ford F150, and you cannot drive in the summer without the cooling system. The hot air from the outside makes the interior cabin hot, and you cannot drive more because of the high temperature.
AC is the electric component in your truck and takes power from the batteries. The air conditioning system contains compressors for cooling purposes.
The compressor clutch engages the power supply and allows refrigerant circulation throughout the system to absorb the heat from the moving air.
The compressor’s clutch won’t engage when there is no power supply. In addition, the ac does not work, and you can only hear the clicking sound when you turn on their buttons.
These can also blow the hot air because of no clutch engagement.
No ignition
You cannot start a truck when its batteries die, and there is no power supply. After moving the ignition key, I feel the clicking sound, but my vehicle won’t start.
The issue comes because the dead components do not power the ignition system. As a result, the ignition system cannot supply the power to the spark plugs to ignite the air and fuel mixture.
The engine cannot get power because of the poor burning of the air and fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. The engine of your vehicle starts and then immediately shuts off because of no fuel supply.
Moreover, the fuel pumps cannot work and supply fuel to the combustion chamber.
The issue with powered doors and hood
The powered doors in your trucks use the electric motor to engage and disengage the locking mechanism and latch.
The batteries power these electric motors to lock and unlock the doors. However, you cannot lock and unlock the doors when electric motors do not engage the latching mechanism.
The hood and tailgate also contain the latch for their locking; you cannot lock and unlock them. In addition, you cannot use the key fob to latch and unlatch their locking mechanism.
Dimming of dashboard lights
Dashboard lights in your Ford F150 illuminate when you turn on the ignition system. The batteries provide the power to turn on these lights.
Sometimes these do not come on the cluster screen when you turn on your vehicle. For example, the dashboard lights do not turn on when there is no power supply.
These cluster screen lights also become dim because of the low voltage supply. You can also see the flickering of lights because of fluctuations in the current supply.
The flickering of dashboard lights represents the battery in your Ford is dying, and replacing them before they become completely dead is necessary.
Visible corrosions
The visible corrosion signs represent the dead batteries of your Ford F150 trucks. Open the hood of your pickup to inspect them when you face an issue with electric components.
You can see corrosion on their terminals which comes from the leakage of sulfuric acid. The corroded terminals decrease the life of these components because of partial charging and more draining.
In addition, the current cannot pass through the corroded terminals. These can rust when you do not maintain them regularly and overcharge them.
Replacing them with new ones is necessary when you see corrosion on their terminals.
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