[Closed] weird car electrics - audio problem. ford

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=84671

Might give you a clue?

Check the battery connections are tight.

Not sure about the second problem but if the car was not used for a few weeks and the battery was too flat to start the car I would charge the battery up fully, using a slow charging cycle,other wise battery performance will deteriorate until it wont start the car again.

(The clock dials activating with one sweep is a Ford symptom of low battery voltage) 😉

The Altenator is not designed to charge a battery from flat,so you need to Mains charge and check the battery,levels,and cold cranking Ampage, and make sure the Altenator is charging (with tight clean connections)

The second problem sounds like a blown capaciter inside the power supply to the radio,(has it been jumppack started,or charged through the 12v power socket?)the best way might be to try another head unit..hth

I'll take a look thanks chaps

Sometimes a flat battery, combined with a jump start/bump start can upset electronics. Provided you've got the radio code, first thing I'd try is disconnect the battery for a couple minutes, then reconnect it.
That gives the modules a chance to all reboot, which may be enough to fix it.

Failing that, is the handsfree factory fit or aftermarker?

The Altenator is not designed to charge a battery from flat

I love urban myths, especially those paranoid to belief them.
Alternators are just big highly regulated battery chargers.
Only benefit from using a longer slower charge, is it may help to temporarily rejuvenate a battery, especially if the car is never driven for reasonable amounts of time.

Yeh whats I think has happened is when the battery has been flat it has lost the code on the radio and it kills the sound but you can faintly hear some sound at the speakers you will have to re enter the 4 digit code if you have it!!

Cheers I'll try find the code in my paperwork and disconnect the battery.. as always stw to the rescue 😉

Bugger no code in paperwork and god knows how's to remove this beast of a ford stereo lol

You need the Haynes manual and a set of special pins to pull the audio unit out. Mail me the serial number and I'll get you the code.

Rule of thumb on jump starts these days is always go for a 'soft start'. So connect to donor vehicle (or fit freshly charged battery) turn on sidelights for few minutes and then start the car.

And what 'MC' says above is correct.

Hth
Marko

Bugger no code in paperwork and god knows how's to remove this beast of a ford stereo lol

Hopefully it is not the same as my '03 Fiesta. You have to remove the whole front console, parts of the dash and unplug all the fans/heater/AC controls etc.

Biggest pain in the arse ever.

Hopefully its not the case though. Check here for guides:

http://www.fitaudio.com/?CategoryID=13

Thanks . Marko will do once I've got it out , prob not til tomorrow and hopefully its not a pain

Mc handsfree is aftermarket

Marko - Member
Rule of thumb on jump starts these days is always go for a 'soft start'. So connect to donor vehicle (or fit freshly charged battery) turn on sidelights for few minutes and then start the car.

That makes sense, but whats the significance of putting the sidelights on?

' . . . whats the significance of putting the sidelights on? '.

The theory/fact is that that the battery can have a 'surface charge' well above the nominal 12+ battery voltage and this can spike and corrupt the various modules on a modern car. So turning the sidelights on dissipates this and avoids the problem.

In fact it's best done through the drivers door window, as just opening the door can wake up a few control units.

Hth
Marko

Marko ygm thanks mate

Marko ygm thanks mate

It's not so much a surface charge that causes the problems, it's the battery not accepting charge.

If a battery is left flat, the plates sulphate, causing the battery to develop a high internal resistance, and reduce it's ability to stabilise the vehicle voltage. When you then jump start the car, the lack of stabilisation, causes electrical noise throughout the vehicle, which the modules aren't designed to cope with, and can cause erratic behaviour. Turning on the sidelights, provides a constant load to help stabilise the system.

The most noticeable vehicles I've seen this on, are transit 2000s, where if the battery has been left flat and you jump start it, and take the jump leads of quickly, the speedo will rise with the engine revs, until the battery starts to accept a charge, or you turn the lights on.

Firestarter, does the radio appear to be working normally?
If it is, it could be the handsfree kit causing the problem, as if it's done through the vehicle speakers, it'll be using a speaker bypass loom at the back of the radio, which is just a case of unplugging, and reconnecting the speakers straight back into the radio.
If the handsfree is done through it's own speaker, but still mutes the radio, disconnect the extra wire which will of been added into the radio power connector to rule the handsfree out.

Well that's Buggered it 🙁 took stereo out then refit with code still no work, disconnected battery same again disconnected hands free kit completely still no work so presume its head unit

But now since disconnecting battery temp says 61deg and remote won't work to cycle temp,volume,radio

Bugger 🙁

Just to confirm I didn't jump it but battery was a bit low other week but this is from when the starter motor was sticking and the dials flicked full when it clicked trying to start

Re the remote it works the stereo controls but not the on dash display for temp mpg milage to empty cycle , infact they have gone from the dash only temp remains

I think you should live up to your forum name and claim on the insurance. Check you have 3rd Party, Fire & Theft though.

Your not wrong trouble is I live so close to station it would be me called to put it out lol

Mpg and stuff working I was pressing wrong thing lol so it seems to be the head unit I have another non ford but It's 30 for connector then if it worked I'd still have to buy a surround best get looking for a new ford unit 🙁

Just to confirm I didn't jump it but battery was a bit low other week but this is from when the starter motor was sticking and the dials flicked full when it clicked trying to start

Starter wouldn't be stuck, it was just because the battery didn't have enough power in it to crank the engine. Dash would of performed a power on reset, because the voltage went that low while trying to crank the engine, which is entirely normal.

Ah right I figured it was starter as I rolled it a bit in fifth and it fired straight up.

batteries. Relying on the alternator to
charge a heavily discharged battery can overload the alternator and cause
damage. In such cases, use a battery charger on a long cycle

Extracted from Bosch website....Urban Myth? 😉

Alternators are just big highly regulated battery chargers

...now thats an urban myth 😉

Extracted from Bosch website....Urban Myth?

Note the use of the word 'can' in what you quoted. If you were to run most alternators near full load at idle, you'll overheat them, which has nothing to do with you implying failing to put the battery on a long slow charge would cause it to deteriorate. Simply driving the car normally is enough to ensure the alternator spins fast enough to ensure adequate cooling.
However, in reality, you've really got to be pushing an alternator to the limits to achieve overheating. I know vans that are reguarly jump started and left idling while having to charge the vehicle battery, and a semi-traction battery from flat, yet the alternators still last 150k, despite the fact you really don't want to be touching them after 5 minutes of idling.

...now thats an urban myth

Care to misquote something to explain that one aswell?
They're maybe not as regulated as an electronic battery charger, but they're far more regulated than your typical unregulated battery charger.

I dont want to get into an argument here as the forums not about that,My point is that its bad practice to rely on an Altenator to charge up a battery,until you have prooven the quality of the battery itself, and confirmed the charging circuit is working properly.

If the Car has had a flat battery for a period of time,and then jump started, the battery performance will deteriorate, unless it is fully charged using a long cycle from a mains charger,this low input charge will maintain the cold cranking amps to start the vehicle in arduous conditions,for example Diesel engines in cold weather.

Alternators are just big highly regulated battery chargers

The function of a Altenator is to "top up" ampage to the battery while the engine is running, and nothing more

#resists replying again# 😉

firestarter

I have a ford cd radio you can have free of charge,the codes on the back of it,I have sent you an email.. 🙂

the battery performance [s]will[/s] [b]may[/b] deteriorate

Fixed that for you 😉

The function of a Altenator is to "top up" ampage to the battery while the engine is running, and nothing more

In 15 years, I've never heard that one, let along top up ampage to a battery.
Textbook definition is to power the vehicle electrical system and recharge the battery.

BTW, you don't happen to work for one of the many organisations who have highly calibrated battery testers that manage to fail 90% of batteries they test, yet pass every test we can throw at them once they're back in the workshop?

Ygm back gav thanks fella 😉