Battery trouble after car has been off for extended time

Asked by Ben Oct 16, 2018 at 11:57 AM about the 2008 Ford Fusion SE V6

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Okay to sum it up briefly my battery will hold a charge and
start the car unless I turn the car off for 30 minutes or more
with the battery still connected. If I disconnect the positive
cable from the battery terminal and then turn the car off it
stays charged up and will start up again after

1 Answer

27,650

Your battery is draining. Check amp draw. I use 50 ma as a generic spec, that is .050 not even a tenth of an amp. If much higher, there is a problem. Check for lights left on in the vehicle, interior--trunk--under the hood. The best time to check is in the dark. It might drain back through faulty generator? Pull/replace fuses one at a time, when you pull the fuse on the problem circuit, the drain returns to normal, then you check everything on that fuse circuit. Any applicable trouble codes? In my area some of the national brand auto stores will check codes for free.

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