We got up this morning and Belle's car was dead as a hammer. With all the electronics on a vehicle these days, when the battery goes tits-up, it's a disaster. We could't even use the fob to open the door, and the key is hidden i the fob. We finally Googled how to get into the car so I could get the hood open.
Then I had to find the battery. It's hidden under there, way back against the firewall. Can't even see the negative terminal. She took my car to work, and I began the process of taking the old battery out so that I could install a new one. Had to take the air box out to access the battery hold-down, then slid the battery forward enough to get to the positive terminal. Cussed a little, then slid the battery out enough to get to the negative terminal. Cussed a little more.
Went to the parts store, got a new battery. Came home and reversed the process, muttering mightily at the design engineers who can't put a battery where you can get to it. But it's done now, and the car starts o command. She'll have to re-set all her pre-sets, but that's on her.For the record, she drives a Ford Edge Titanium and it has ALL the bells and whistles.
I"m not one of those guys who tells his lady what to drive. I've hound that to be a bad idea. Belle makes good money (better than I make) and she pays her own car note. She likes bells ad whistles, and that's okay with me. But, Lawd, when it dies, it dies quick, fast, ad in a hurry.
6 comments:
Hmm, thanks for the heads up - I'll have to do that dance someday; I have a Ford Edge also, though only the SE model. At least mine has the key sticking out of the remote - it is old enough it requires the key to start.
On my old Ford Explorer, to replace the headlight I had to take off the air intake, then the battery cover, then take out the battery, to get to the headlight!
I've heard that some cars have the battery under the back seat or in the trunk - not where I'd think to look.
I am in a very similar position. My wife selects her own vehicle and carries the note on it. Her current selection is a Lincoln MKX. She was looking for a used Edge a while back and found the Lincoln version for less money.
Her battery died earlier this year. It would hold just enough charge for everything to almost "boot up." It was surprising how much work all of the startup gizmos put on the battery.
I feel your pain. Fortunately, my wife chose a Lincoln Navigator which is essentially a Ford F-150 mechanically speaking. We are contemplating downsizing to a smaller SUV. I will mark the Edge off the list of contenders.
Look at the Kia's, Daddy Hog. I bought a Kia minivan to keep the miles off the truck and love it. I'm at an age now where I can drive a minivan and keep my man card. It's a people hauler and a grocery getter and the little maintenance I've done on it was easy. And, the battery is right up front where it should be.
I’ll check the Kia out. I’ve not looked seriously at anything Korean since trying to work on my mother’s dearly departed ‘86 Hyundai. Those Koreans have a cruel sense of humor when it comes to oil filter placement. Before the Navigator, we had a Ford Windstar which was not horrible to work on but did have a tendency to eat coil packs which were on the backside of the transverse mounted V6 requiring removal of the windshield wipers and associated trim pieces to access the backside of the engine without resorting to contortionism.
I wonder if there's a way to put a small "keep alive" battery in the circuit somewhere that supplies just enough amperage to keep the electronics live so all the settings - which are increasing in number with each model year - from going to zero.
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