JeepBaja

My 2020 FFE had a leak and it came from the 3rd brake light which then leaked to the rear deck inside the car and finally worked it way down to the trunk. I had noticed that my 3rd brake light had moisture in it but didn't think much of that at the time. But after a hard rain the inside of my car became a little musty with condensation on the inside a few days later when the sun was out. I discovered the water in the trunk of my car and I had asked my wife about if she spilled water in it because she had driven it a few time and she said yes her water bottle had spilled out and forgot to tell me! So I dried it all out and thought that was it... until it rained again. So now I'm hunting for the leak and then I noticed the drivers side C panel had a streak of water running down it and the rear deck was moist. I thought it must be the 3rd brake light but couldn't find any others who had this problem. However the Mustang uses the same 3rd brake light and there are a lot of posts about how it is leak prone. Several fixes can be found from replacing the housing to using sealant... I ended up replacing my 3rd brake light and the rear deck cover as the fabric was discolored and just touching it would get black lint over your fingers. This was over a year ago and we have had some really hard rain and no more leaks. Long story short... check your 3rd brake light... and check your rear deck cover when you find water in your trunk...

I'm having issues with my 12v battery ever since I stopped charging my 2020 FFE back in October, 2023 after Ford put out the BECM recall. I have a short 3.8 mile commute and over the past few months the passenger side touch to unlock would stop working and I would get the message low battery shutting down warning.... a couple of items that warn the 12v battery is low. So I have put the battery on a battery charger and the issues went away for a while with the 12v having a full charge. However after a few weeks my 12v is acting up again... passenger side door will not unlock by touch... the low battery warning. Is my short commute killing the 12v battery? I just pulled fuse #10 to disable the 3G modem and I have been charging the car nightly for the past week and by doing so everything is back to normal. I know Ford says do not charge the battery but what else can I do to keep the 12v in good condition?

I removed fuse #10 to disable the 3G modem. I believe it may have been causing some issues with the 12v battery. Pulling the fuse also disabled the keypad to unlock the door and for me, I can't say that's a real issue because in 4 years I used the keypad maybe 6 times... mostly because I was too lazy to go in to the house and get the keys. So even though I don't use the keypad all that much I don't like the idea of not having it as a backup. Right now I have no plans to upgrade to 4G so if I disable the 3G modem by pulling the connected wires/plugs would that be the same as pulling the #10 fuse?