Mt T-Bird was dead on the showroom floor December 2004. It goes dead if ignored for more than 3 days in garage. I have had it in to shop since first month of ownership and regularly since. I left it at the dealer for 10 days. Since they started it every day, it never failed. They have replaced a bunch of things, battery through a $500 part under convertible roof. They wanted to charge me for that despite also having Ford extended warranty. I keep a B&D jumoer battery. I have taken to putting the charger on it when I get home from trip for a good overnight charge. Doubt I should take to airport.
You have a drain on your battery. If one dealership can’t find it, get a second, third, or fourth opinion until you find someone with the skills to fix it. Better yet, contact your warranty company and ask them to recommend a shop.
I believe Whitey is correct, but I would not rule out a bad battery or charging system problem. I suggest you have them checked. Many auto part stores will check that for free. However in the end I suspect there is something using more than expected current when they car is turned off.
This Vehicle Is A 2004 Ford Thunderbird?
CSA
2005 premium edition. Beautiful to behold.
Has had new battery twice, drain tested several times…
many parts replaced
as long as I charge it when I get home from a trip, all is well.
It goes of extended warranty in Jan, I wonder if they’ll finally find the problem in feb or March
Google BATTERY DRAIN PROBLEM and make a list of all the culprits. See the problem? Point is no one here has an easy or quick fix for you. Unfortunately you have the most devious car problem one can imagine. Disconnect your battery after each use and live with that until resolved. Don’t spend any more $$ on the multiple choice replacement approach. You need to find someone who is a whiz at car electrical systems and has a complete diagram. It could be any one of motors for windows, seats, etc. etc.
Look in the Yellow Pages under “Auto Electric Service”. Make an appointment for a “Parasitic Load Test”. They will find the drain and fix it. Most decent shops can do this…
It goes of extended warranty in Jan,
Don’t go to the extended warranty. Keep with the OEM warranty. This is a lemon law issue and you will get better coverage under that. For information for your state’s requirements see one of the sites below. Keep records and protect your rights.
I have an '04 T’bird. My battery will still start the car after sitting for about 30 days. Longer than that and it will need a recharge or a jump to start. T’birds do seem to drain off current while sitting more than average. Your bird has either a larger drain than mine or you got an inferior battery as a replacement. The T’bird battery is in the trunk and it is a specialty battery. Perhaps your replacement was either a smaller battery that fits the space but isn’t the exact replacement, or the new battery was sitting around a long time and wasn’t fresh when installed. 3 days and “dead” is totally unacceptable. Their is a large current drain to cause this, the glove box light or trunk light are the most likely culprits but it could be something deeper.
As for your other issues, unfortunately the T’birds aren’t perfect. Mine has about 60K miles and I’ve all the ignition coils replaced, but it took several failures before Ford replaced all of them. My top has been fine, but now my AC/Heater is blowing all hot air no matter where the controls are set.
This is my fun car, so I deal with the issues and enjoy it as much as I can. If your T’bird is too much trouble for you, best to sell it and get something else.
Joseph
OEM Warranty?
Lemon Law?
On a vehicle that will be 5 years old next month, I fail to see how the Lemon Law would be applicable. Also, since the OP’s extended warranty will shortly be over, doesn’t that indicate that the OEM warranty is long expired?
The OP can ignore the suggestion to check the various lights. Even if a switch is stuck on, the battery saver circuit cuts all lighting power after about 30 minutes. I suspect that the OP has a defective electronics module somewhere that is randomly waking up and causing the drain. These problems can be very hard to find because the T-bird and it’s Lincoln LS twin (electronically speaking) are very complicated. All of the modules talk to each other, and the one drawing the current may not be the bad one (it may be doing it because of something that another [bad] module has said to it).
I suggest that the OP go to a Lincoln dealership, because more LS’s were sold, and they may have more experience troubleshooting this kind of problem.
Also, since the OP’s extended warranty will shortly be over, doesn’t that indicate that the OEM warranty is long expired?
The OP stated that this problem has occurred since he bought it…So it’s STILL under OEM warranty since the problem hasn’t been resolved.
"My top has been fine, but now my AC/Heater is blowing all hot air no matter where the controls are set. "
Your DCCV (Dual Coolant Control Valve) has failed. Unfortunately, this is a common failure.
Does it have remote start ?
I had a mystery battery drain for a year before I found it. It was a bad module on the remote start.
Battery is original equipment replacement, all done at dealer shop.
Load test done many times (though tricky, you have to turn off the trunk light)
Be aware, I was shown the battery on the showroom floor (see original post)
Last week it died even though it had been driven every day.
I take call, I have ONE car, I buy new and American so I can get it fixed in my small town.
I buy special because I HATE buying cars. I keep 'em. My Reatta was foolproof for 15 years.
Tbird has just crossed 15K on the odometer.