leisurebob Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 When we returned home from being gone about 2 months, the Transit Connect would not start. I made reference to the Owners Manual and checked both keys. The result was the same. I had charged the battery for a short time with the Battery Tender. It showed the battery charge was near normal. I called the dealer and was asked that I report the problem through the Roadside Assistance system and have it taken to the dealer for checking. I did that and the Roadside Assistance program worked well. The Transit Connect was carried to the dealer on a rollback truck. Initial checking revealed the computer was not even on. They kept the Transit overnight after making a call to Ford technical assistance. Today the service representative called and said it was ready to be picked up. He said they had found out that the Transit and Focus computers are programmed to shut down if the vehicle had not been cranked in 50 days. The purpose is to save the battery and the computer memory. If this occurs, the computer can be restarted if the battery is disconnected for 2 minutes and then reconnected. They did this at the dealer and everything works as before. They are smarter and I am smarter. There was no mention of this in the Owners Manual. The shop work order refers to a document SSM21205 which presumably reveals this condition. For your information! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azdamay Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thanks for the heads up! I doubt mine will get a chance to sit for 50 days, but my company has many in the fleet and I can easily conceive of surplus vans sitting that long. Good to know for when it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Excellent tip and thank you very much for sharing. I'm going to make a note for my manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaJDouglass Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I have a 2011 TC deluxe wagon. I plug my cell phone, gps into the cigarette lighter and the extra electronic plug on dash.. Generally, I drive the TC most days and all has been fine. However, now that it is winter I have driven my Subaru with all-wheel drive and let TC sit. I went to drive it yesterday and battery was totally dead--AAA said it was down to 2 volts. I was going to local Ford anyway for service so they checked everything out. Turns out that those plugs are not ever off so if the vehicle isn't used for a while--mine was no more than a week--it will drain the battery. Haven't ever seen that information in the owners manual. So word to the wise. If you aren't going to use for a few days--unplug electronics. Donna Gig Harbor, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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