Hard Starting 2001 Ford F150 Replacing the Battery

These are suggestions for replacing the battery on a 2001 Ford F-150.

I was having some trouble starting my truck, so I decided to check the battery and it only read 9.9 volts. It is a 12 volt battery so anything under 12 volts, is going to make it difficult to start. 14 to 14.5 volts is optimum for a lead acid top post battery. If you check the battery with the vehicle running it will read 14.4 volts. This tells you that the alternator is working properly and supplying enough power and most likely the battery is the problem. Through the driver side door, you can access the hood release lever and then releasing the secondary hood release safety lever allows you to open the hood. Take a look inside the engine bay and locate the battery. The battery is typically located on the left side or the right side of the engine in most vehicles. In a F150 the battery is located on the passenger side of the engine. The battery can easily be identified by two different color leads or wires. Associated with each one there is a plus or a minus sign that refers to the positive battery terminal and the negative battery terminal.

Anytime we are working with some type of automotive electrical system you always want to disconnect the negative (usually black) battery cable first and hook it up last. Using a 7/16” combination wrench, loosen the bolt for the negative battery terminal. When you remove the negative battery cable cover it in some type of a cloth or something just so it’s not going to hit on anything and then push that out of the way. Next, we can remove the positive (usually red) battery cable and again place a covering around that terminal and push it out of the way. After that, remove the plastic coverings from the battery and do a visual inspection of the battery just to make sure it’s not cracked or damaged, as that might be the reason it’s struggling to hold voltage. Located on top of the battery is a date sticker that tells us when this battery was manufactured. At about 5 1/2 years old batteries usually fail. Typical batteries are guaranteed to last three years. The other thing that you want to locate is the CCA rating, that is the cold cranking amps rating. The higher the cold cranking amps, the stronger your battery will be when it is really cold outside. At 850 CCA in very cold winters that’s a good rating for the battery in this vehicle. If you take a look down the side of the battery, you can see that there is a bolt and a wedge that is holding the battery to the battery tray. Because this bolt probably has not been taken off in over 5 years use break free or Liquid Wrench https://www.liquidwrench.com/ spray to help remove it because it acts as a penetrating oil and will loosen difficult and rusty bolts. Using a 7/16” combination wrench or socket with an extension you can loosen up that bolt. After the bolt and wedge have been loosened you can remove the battery.

A new battery with a CCA rating of 850 is identical to the previous battery and it will guarantee good starting in very cold weather. Additionally, check the date sticker to make sure you did not grab an old battery that was sitting on the shelf at the store. The reinstallation is done just the reverse of the removal. First put the battery in place and tighten down the wedge and screw. After that reinstall the plastic coverings followed by the positive battery cable. Before you connect the cables, it is a good idea to place anti corrosion pads or washers around each terminal. These are made by several companies such as Shumacher, Pangda, UTS Auto, and Tech Team https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Corrosion-Chemically-Automobile-Tech-Team/dp/B08156L7N3/ref=sr_1_23?crid=2NPB30UXZUXFS&keywords=anti+corrosion+washers&qid=1580221028&sprefix=anti+corrosion%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-23. These will prevent the blue green crud that can cause conductivity problems and hard starting. Tighten the connections down tight enough so that they are not going to wiggle and fall off, but not so tight that you break the terminal end on the battery connector. Then reconnect the negative battery cable and tighten that down also. Testing your vehicle is the last step.