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I have a 2015 TC Passenger XLT long wheel base, 2.5L, starting to get the "signs" of a weakening battery as the weather started getting cold. Changed the battery today, which turned into 10x more trouble than it should have been. Went by the Interstate distributor, they looked it up and I bought a carry out battery, an MTP48. Guess what? Doesn't fit! Literally, a full half inch too tall to go under the hold down bracket. I went looking through several x-refs on line and got different fitments from all of them. The original Motorcraft battery label said, "BXT96R" so went to get a group 96R battery, which are hard to find. Compared mine with it on the counter and the guy says, "that isn't a 96R", which is much smaller, and tried a couple and voila, it's a European T6. There was another label under the Motorcraft label, so I peeled it up, and there was a "Made in Germany T6 Ford" label underneath. The Duralast Gold was the identical battery, right down to the handles and the same exact case molding and made in Germany. Go figure. Getting the freaking battery rear cover in turned into an enormous hassle. I got the battery out easy enough, finding a video online. Have to remove the air cleaner, take the cable retainers out and remove the front wall of the battery box. The rear cover of the box snaps off, with a lot of trouble. Got the right size battery in, and the rear upper box cover turned into a huge hassle. Not enough room to clear the brake master cylinder and get the snaps engage. Wound up taking the bracket off and the battery out, snapping the cover into place and easing the battery in, connected the negative cable as I went. (yeah, I know, it goes on last for safety - but ain't possible). Put it all back together, smooth starting and didn't lose any settings or anything else, despite having the battery out for a couple of hours.

Adding an audio amplifier, power inverter or other high current loads requires connecting heavy gauge cable directly to the battery. The Gen 2 TC’s battery is tucked under the front cowling and is enclosed in a covered box so making this connection difficult. Plus, having a big cable bolted to the battery with a big in-line fuse looks amateurish. There is a professional, safe and easy alternative. The front wall of the battery box holds the high current battery junction box (BJB). This is where all the power is distributed to other fuse blocks and modules in the TC. Remove the air filter housing. The BJB is attached to the front panel of the battery box. This panel lifts up and out to access the battery. Disconnect the (+) terminal and carefully pry open the BJB cover (5 tabs). You will have to cut some cable ties holding the cable on the front of the BJB. Here is the front of the BJB (air filter housing has been removed) This is the inside of the BJB. I have already added a cable on the bottom post of the unused slot on the right. The BJB has 10 circuits from 40A to 150A. The last slot on the right is used for glow plug power (60 amp) for a diesel motor. This slot will be available in all TCs in the United States. Connect your new power cable to the bottom terminal of this or any other open slot. Install the proper size MIDI style Littlefuse brand fuse. Attach with 5mm nylon locking insert nuts. I used #4 AWG cable and this fit with some trimming of the plastic housing. The #4 lug had to be shaved to fit the narrow slot. #4 AWG was overkill in my application. Remove the battery and battery box. Run the cable into the cab using the plastic square knock-out located on the firewall on the left (driver’s) side behind a perforated cutout in the padding/insulation. You can see the knock out under the master cylinder. I routed the cable under the center console. The console is easy to access by removing 4 screws. You do not need to remove any dash panels if you use an electrical fish tape or other stiff wire to pull the new cable under the short section of carpet and padding between the dash and console. The fish tape will poke out under the carpet near the accelerator pedal. Route the cable to your load. Plastic knock-out on the driver side firewall Important notes: Use the proper size and type of cable. I bought power cable designed for automotive audio amps. This is much different from cable used in homes and buildings (THHN for example). Automotive cable has many more strands of wire and is much more flexible…and expensive. Many of the cheaper offerings will be copper clad aluminum and the gauge may not be true. Use pure copper if you can afford it. My cable was sold by Kicker. What size cable? Note that the OEM cables in the BJB are #8 or #10 AWG but they are fused at 50 to 80A. This amperage does not comply with the NEC and does not need to. Do a Google search and you will find that you can safely use # 8 cable for automotive, 12 volt loads of 70 or 80A depending on the length of the run. The #4 AWG cable I used can handle well over 150A. If you are going to run large loads continuously, like power tools or large air compressors, you need to use an external generator. The TC is not a power plant and you should only connect large loads that are on intermittently, like a coffee maker or espresso machine. The standard alternator outputs 88 amps at 1800 rpm (150 amp max), so running the engine may not be enough power for large loads.

Has anyone replaced their under-hood battery with a high quality AGM battery? When I look online for 2016/2017 Transit Connect batteries it doesn't seem like anyone lists them, maybe the size is weird? I have an ARB Portable Fridge Freezer I'd like to run for short trips and I'd feel better with an AGM battery. At this point I don't want to add another battery, just upgrade the under-hood battery. If anyone has, what make and model? Thanks, Tom

Any help would be appreciated

Hello everyone! I'm a cab driver in Portland, OR. I joined this site because my 2016 Transit Connect LWB 2.5L wheelchair van is already on the 4th battery and this one is a dud only a few months after getting it. What I've been told is that the additional equipment in the cab drains the battery enough that it wears it out much faster. This includes a taximeter, credit card payment system, top lights, wheelchair restraint strap retractors, and an android tablet charging cable. Before I only noticed this in the colder months so replaced the battery in November/December, but this time around I started coming out to a dead battery after a couple days off in April. The guys at the shop said they install Motorcraft batteries because the draw makes Interstate batteries explode. Has anyone solved this kind of a problem with a different brand like the Duracell batteries they sell at Batteries + Bulbs? I've asked about a stronger alternator, but that didn't seem to be an option (though if I need to replace mine I will look into that more thoroughly). And a second battery has been suggested, but I have nowhere to put one. (I don't even have a spare tire due to the wheelchair bay, which also moved the gas tank.) Since I will have to replace the battery eventually anyway I just want to try what has worked best for people in a similar situation to mine. Thank you in advance for any suggestions! ~Justin

I just noticed that my van still has the original battery after 9 years. It's dated Nov of 2010. I noticed the other 2010-2013 Transit Connects I looked at had Ford batteries. Can these batteries be expected to last unusually long, or should I start looking for a replacement before my next road trip?

I'm thinking of doing a secondary battery for an AC inverter in the rear of the van. I'm going to install a voltage sensing relay so the secondary (rear) battery can also be charged will the engine is running. This will help to prevent the main (starting) battery from drowning. My problem is that I'm not sure from where to pass the leads from the main battery to the rear. Any help please?

Good Day All, How should we charge our batteries on a Transit Connect? I normally attach a charger lead to the positive battery terminal and then a lead to the frame some where and then plug in the battery charger. The owner's manual does not cover charging so I am hesitant to hook up a charger to the battery for fear of harming all this computer control stuff I know nothing about. What do you say?