[m361]

I know its not a huge, wide spread problem but has anyone taken the EB to the modern drive-in? They no longer have speaker boxes. They broadcast the movie on a FM frequency so you can listen to the movie through your car stereo (which is usually pretty awesome sound).

I take my kids to the drive-in a few times each year. Just went for the first time last weekend in my new truck. Talk about frustrating. We put an air mattress in the bed for the kids and the wife and I sit behind the truck in chairs. On my previous trucks (Toyota Tacoma and Tundra), we would put the ignition in accessory and open the doors wide so we can clearly hear the speakers in the doors.

The EB apparently has a battery saver because it shuts off every 30 minutes or so. And, we can't leave the doors open when the key is in accessory because of the annoying warning bell that won't shut off. I had the stereo cranked with the doors closed and all windows open and we still had a hard time hearing the movie.

While these features are very handy and useful in most day to day situations, they suck at the drive-in. Can anyone advise a way to make these trucks more drive-in friendly?

 

[Nasty Wendy]

Sounds like the Ecoboost will bring back the BoomBox radio. That would be fix now wouldn't it. I actually had one just like this.

 

[Boltsfanimo]

That's actually a great idea about the boom box.

 

[Eco_Punisher]

Oddly enough I too had same issue when I went to the drive in I just kept truck idling which is a little annoying but I did turn it off at times

 

[Yake Bait]

There was a thread on this site a while ago where 2013 owners reported that they could operate the radio without a key. You just press the power button and the radio is available. It shuts off after about 10 or 15 minutes I believe but it at least gets you out of the door beeping issue.

 

[Boatwaco]

Although I would not consider doing this myself, you could consider disabling the door chime. Search the net and there are many posts with good pictures on how to do this. Then you could put the key in and use the radio on power with the doors open.

 

[Boatwaco]

In my 2013 I just turned the key to position 2, cancelled the door ajar button, turned off the climate control and rocked out to some tunes. No door chime...

 

[wildweasel7648]

I like the boom box idea - no work for the battery, and you can pick up a used boom box at a garage sale fairly cheap.

 

[Mike Tritle]

You can turn the sound system on for an hour w/o having the key in the ignition. I do this a lot, it fact. Works great, no door chime.

 

[outlaw25]

Having gone through 2 batteries before the dealer installed a new 850CCA one.
I can tell you these truck with all the electronics use a lot of power. As per the dealership!
Although I've never clocked the time, I've been in my truck eating lunch I can say that I've never gotten more then 20-30 minutes before mine shuts down.
I think the boom box is your best choice. We usually put my Dewalt job radio between us if we sit outside at the drive-in.

 

[Crab Balls]

Can this be as simple as just hooking up a swith and feeding the +12 voltage to the switched power lead of the radio/amp? It seems like this would work for the sound system but won't help with the door chime/lights. Of course you can always open the rear window if you're sitting in the bed. Just brainstorming.

 

[bayourunner]

Yea im going and been going through the same issue for a while. Mine will not play for 3 secs. Doors closed key off. Battery saver comes on right away! Battery low radio off. Dealer says nothing wrong I call BS on that! Battery view spot is black!

got to get it!

 

[milesej05]

Yea im going and been going through the same issue for a while. Mine will not play for 3 secs. Doors closed key off. Battery saver comes on right away! Battery low radio off. Dealer says nothing wrong I call BS on that! Battery view spot is black!

got to get it!

Yup...very annoying on my '13 with MFT but my buddies '12 will work for about 5 hours without shutting off (with the doors closed)

 

[bayourunner]

We got rained out at work so im going to dealership right now... I just stop at autozone they hooked up there battery tester and said my battery is definitely bad. 14% charge on battery.

got to get it!

 

[bayourunner]

Okay as yall all know I was having the same problem and a few months ago went to dealer about it. I guess at that time the battery wasnt as for gone as it was today. When I got to dealer I showed them the paper the parts house gave me saying battery was only at 14%. Ford service rep preceded to say that means nothing and had to put it throw there paces. I said thats fine but I want it taken care of today! They put a little tester on it and said looks good but we will put it on our big tester which takes up to 3 hours. I said thats fine lets get it going 1and a half hours later they called me to the front. Battery was bad and replaced under warranty! I had to see it for myself sure enough no battery saver radio off message! Ill keep yall posted on how it keeps up!

got to get it!

 

[outlaw25]

Okay as yall all know I was having the same problem and a few months ago went to dealer about it. I guess at that time the battery wasnt as for gone as it was today. When I got to dealer I showed them the paper the parts house gave me saying battery was only at 14%. Ford service rep preceded to say that means nothing and had to put it throw there paces. I said thats fine but I want it taken care of today! They put a little tester on it and said looks good but we will put it on our big tester which takes up to 3 hours. I said thats fine lets get it going 1and a half hours later they called me to the front. Battery was bad and replaced under warranty! I had to see it for myself sure enough no battery saver radio off message! Ill keep yall posted on how it keeps up!

got to get it!

What size battery did they put in.
Dealer told me the fix was the 850CCA replacement.
If they put the original size back in you will probably be visiting them again in a month or so.

 

[Crab Balls]

Okay as yall all know I was having the same problem and a few months ago went to dealer about it. I guess at that time the battery wasnt as for gone as it was today. When I got to dealer I showed them the paper the parts house gave me saying battery was only at 14%. Ford service rep preceded to say that means nothing and had to put it throw there paces. I said thats fine but I want it taken care of today! They put a little tester on it and said looks good but we will put it on our big tester which takes up to 3 hours. I said thats fine lets get it going 1and a half hours later they called me to the front. Battery was bad and replaced under warranty! I had to see it for myself sure enough no battery saver radio off message! Ill keep yall posted on how it keeps up!

got to get it!

I don't know why the dealer would say it takes so long to test a battery? If they are using a tester with a load bank they will see in seconds the battery was marginal. Dealers can be a real challenge when they play these games. At least you got a new battery.

 

[bayourunner]

Lol I have no clue. He said it would take 3 hours to test the battery system. It took half that. Maybe he was trying to discourage me to waiting and say forget about it. The paper invoice says battery tested battery failed. The first little tester they put on it in the parking area said it was good but needed further testing so im glad I opted out to stay and let do what they did.

got to get it!

 

[milesej05]

Hmm...might need to check my battery when I get off work tonight. That stupid screen shows up everytime I shut my truck off "turn engine on...blah blah blah"

 

[MajorPain]

We just bring our "boom box" and set it in front of us (facing us obviously). It sounds great with the stereo "surround" sound. Unless I'm sitting in it, I would never try to use the truck's stereo.