Programming after new battery installed

ROBBIEK123

MEMBER
2004 FORD EXPLORER
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
160,000 MILES

I am currently purchasing the used SUV listed above from an individual. They have had to have the car reprogrammed in reeked once before due to they battery going dead. The car has a new battery and have been re-keyed and reprogrammed. In the future to keep from having to re-key and reprogram it again, someone has recommended an external hard-drive to backup the memory. I've told that this has to be plugged up underneath the steering wheel. My question is, can I use any external hard drive or is there one that is specially made for this problem with Ford Explorers?

Friday, May 8th, 2020 AT 10:49 AM

3 Replies

ASEMASTER6371

MECHANIC
52,796 POSTS

Good afternoon,

No, there is nothing like that available at all. You would be storing the old program and if it lost its password, that would not do anything.

The best way to prevent it from happening is to keep a truckle charger with the car and when you let it sit for long periods, keep the battery active or fully charged.

If you replace the battery or have to disconnect it, you should hook the cables to trickle charger while the replacement is being performed.

Roy

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Friday, May 8th, 2020 AT 11:20 AM

ROBBIEK123

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Have you ever heard of this happening with particularly Explorers? I had the same exact model for numerous years and never had to reprogram or re-key when replacing the battery. However, I have heard of the Explorer having this issue.

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Friday, May 8th, 2020 AT 12:56 PM

ASEMASTER6371

MECHANIC
52,796 POSTS

This can happen to any Ford model and is common. With the battery disconnected, the password is forgotten and requires either a locksmith or a special scan tool for the programming.

Roy

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Friday, May 8th, 2020 AT 1:40 PM