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12 Volt battery died


mczajka
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For those of you techies, here are the details from the writeup...

 

INTERMITTENTLY THE BATTERY COOLING FANS REMAIN ON CAUSING LOW VOLTAGE BATTERY TO DRAIN. ROAD TEST TO VERIFY. FOUND FANS RUNNING CONSTANTLY ON OCCASION. REMOVE TRIM IN TRUNK TO INSPECT. FOUND WIRING CHAFE CIRCUIT VY18 WH/GN WIRE NEAR LEFT TRUNK LID SUPPORT WHEN CLOSED PINCHED WIRE TO METAL BRACKET SURROUNDING THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY. REPAIR WIRING. REROUTE TO AVOID TRUNK SUPPORT. CHARGE SYSTEM AND RETEST. STARTS AND RUNS WELL.

 

I'm very happy now :shift: . The fans are not running like they were before.

 

I think it's possible this just got worse over time, which made it a little easier to diagnose. Opening/closing the trunk and putting the brakes on appeared to turn on/off the fans. When I first got the car, the trunk would not stay open. There was a TSB for this, but this problem appeared to go away automatically. Perhaps it relates to how the wires were running in this area.

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I finally get to go pick up my car today (which I greatly miss). It sat over the weekend and yesterday with no problems. There was a short in one of the wires. Here are the details:

 

They found the problem by wire tracing the fan circuit. Between Ford Engineering & a smart technician we’ve finally resolved this problem!
 
Cause:
 
Improper wire routing. Pinched in truck trim-repair the damaged section of wiring & reroute so that it cannot occur again.

 

I have another trip this week, so I'll be able to give it a good test again.

Glad you found it; when this happens with a new car it can be frustrating!

 

ChuckJ

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for all the updates on this. I had my 12V replaced at 20miles due to it not holding a charge. It is still in the shop waiting for the new battery. Kind of sucks having to jump start a new car at work.

 

Build date 3/26/13.

 

How long did the car sit until you bought it?  I suspect "lot rot" has something to do with this issue.  My car was on the lot less than a week so I'm optimistic.  With all the technology in the car, I'm surprised there isn't a built in volt meter for the 12V system.  

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How long did the car sit until you bought it?  I suspect "lot rot" has something to do with this issue.  My car was on the lot less than a week so I'm optimistic.  With all the technology in the car, I'm surprised there isn't a built in volt meter for the 12V system.  

 

 

Not sure how long the dealer had it, but build date 3/26/13. They had at least 5-10 and the one we bought they jumped started it but it still was having problems even after charging over night. We tried to test drive another one but that one was dead as well. 

 

 

Got a Energi SE with Moonroof & reverse sensors @ adjusted cap cost of $30890 (0 down 36 month 10500miles lease) seemed good to me so far. Hopefully no more problems after this.

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Useful thread.

 

If I were to purchase a jump starter to carry in the car just in case the 12 volt battery should die for some strange reason, how many amps does it take to "start" the car?  How many kWh would the starter battery need to be?

 

As I understand it, what is needed is just enough current for long enough to get the 12 volt control systems up and running and then the HVB (which should always have a reserve charge) will start the ICE via the electric motor.  Is that correct?

Edited by Gigi
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The following posts list a possibility.  I don't have a jumper or a battery charger.

 

http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/1220-preparation-before-your-12-volt-battery-dies/?p=9333

http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com/topic/1309-long-period-of-no-use-and-battery-discharge/?p=13264

http://www.amazon.com/Clore-JNC300XL-Jump-N-Carry-Ultraportable-12-Volt/dp/B000XQ9MGE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382495853&sr=8-2&keywords=battery%20jumper&tag=viglink121645-20

 

 

Whenever I measure the voltage on my battery, it usually seems to be about 12.7 V.  Of course, if one of the 70+ computer modules fails to shut down properly when turning the car off, that could drain the battery without any advance warning. 

Edited by larryh
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I have this one, although I haven't had to use it since the problems. It works great though and is small. It's a little hard to clamp onto the leads, but I don't know if they make one with smaller clamps. It's probably going to be a problem with all units with a standard clamp size. I did get caught with the charger being in the trunk scenario when the battery died, but I was able to open the trunk through the back seat with a car flag I had in the car that could reach the trunk release.

 

Clore JNC300XL 'Jump-N-Carry' 900 Peak Amp Ultraportable 12-Volt Jump Starter with Light

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XQ9MGE/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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What about that 120V standard house plug in the back seat?  Is that inverted from the 12V system or the HVB?  If it's from the HVB, then a small charger could be used to provide juice to the 12V battery right?  I'm just thinking someone will charge an emergency battery device and it'll lose it's juice before it's needed.  A charger would be preferred I would think.  But, it's probably just inverted from the 12V system..

 

On a side note, I bought one of these and plugged it into the dash down low.  It's nice to see what the voltage is on the 12V system at all times.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00962CQNC/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

41bkDYH04wL._SX425_.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

 For those that do not use their Fusion Energi vehicles

everyday and are concerned that their Low Voltage 12 Volt
battery might drop low enough to cause their vehicle to
be inoperative, I may have a possible solution for you...
 
I noticed a few months ago that the MYTouch display would
shut off very quickly after the vehicle was shut off and
I was in the accessory mode saying "It was conserving
battery power". I started checking the voltage of my 12V
battery and I noticed that sometimes it was a low as 11.8V.
 
Normal voltage should be about 12.8V.
 
After you complete the High Voltage battery charge, just 
leave the charger connector plugged into the vehicle if 
you are able to do so. Every time you log on to MyFordMobile
and click on the UPDATE option your vehicle will enable
the charging function (if the HV Battery indicates it will
accept a charge) and while the HV battery is charging the
12V battery is also being charged at 14.4V.
 
I've noticed that on my 2013 Fusion Energi that this EXTRA
charge cycle can last anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours.
 
I've never seen the "Conserving battery power" message
since I've been doing that.
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 For those that do not use their Fusion Energi vehicles

everyday and are concerned that their Low Voltage 12 Volt
battery might drop low enough to cause their vehicle to
be inoperative, I may have a possible solution for you...
 
I noticed a few months ago that the MYTouch display would
shut off very quickly after the vehicle was shut off and
I was in the accessory mode saying "It was conserving
battery power". I started checking the voltage of my 12V
battery and I noticed that sometimes it was a low as 11.8V.
 
Normal voltage should be about 12.8V.
 
After you complete the High Voltage battery charge, just 
leave the charger connector plugged into the vehicle if 
you are able to do so. Every time you log on to MyFordMobile
and click on the UPDATE option your vehicle will enable
the charging function (if the HV Battery indicates it will
accept a charge) and while the HV battery is charging the
12V battery is also being charged at 14.4V.
 
I've noticed that on my 2013 Fusion Energi that this EXTRA
charge cycle can last anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours.
 
I've never seen the "Conserving battery power" message
since I've been doing that.

 

It does not always charge the 12 V battery when you leave the charger plugged in and select the Update button from MyFord Mobile.  I think it only does that if the HVB is not completely charged.  It may take a day or two after the HVB has been fully charged before the SOC falls low enough for this to happen.  Below is a chart of the power consumption of the 240 V charger after selecting the Update button from MFM this morning.  It has been more than a day since it was last charged and the temperature has dropped 30 degrees F since then to -10 F.   Initially, it is drawing a few hundred watts to charge the HVB in addition to the 12 V battery.  After about 1.5 hours, the power consumption drops to about 70 watts.  The car is continuing to charge the 12 V battery.  It completes at about 8:20 am.  Then for some reason it wakes up a couple of times at 8:40 am and 9:00 am.  Shortly after 9:00 am the timer cuts power to the charger.  Note that the timer turned on power to the charger at 9:00 pm last night.  Since the battery was still fully charged, charging did not start at that time.  Because I have the charger on a timer, each time the timer turns on the power, the car checks the SOC of the HVB to determine if it needs charging.  So in my case, if I were gone for a long period of time, the car would be continually recharged each time the SOC of the HVB falls below the completely charged threshold.   

 

 

gallery_187_17_6995.jpeg

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First, I say this issue needs to be fixed.  12 volt batteries should not die out of lack of use in new cars.  Typical 12-volts are good from 3 to 5 years.

 

Has anyone mentioned setting "go times" even when you're away?  This way the car will wake and precondition and most likely charge the HVB after the preconditioning is complete.  Of course, this will only work with the car plugged in.

 

Steve

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I think you need to specify a temperature setting for the GO time to force preconditioning to make this work for GO times.  That would be a big waste of energy.  But preconditioning would force the HVB SOC to fall below the level that requires charging.  I'm not sure setting a GO without a temperature would force the car to check the HVB SOC.  In which case, the GO time would not work to keep the HVB and 12 V battery fully charged. 

Edited by larryh
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Don't leave the car running when it is plugged into the Charger and the Charger is turned off or not plugged in.  It does not charge the 12 V battery under these conditions.  When the 12 V battery voltage drops to 9 V,  MFM sends out the notification that states that the 12 V battery is low. 

Edited by larryh
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A 12 volt lead acid battery at 9 volts is not low, it is dead. 

 

My 100 ampere battery tester requires that the battery voltage under the 100 ampere load be 11 volts or higher for the battery to be considered a good battery. 

 

Because of the way they are constructed severe discharge of a "starter" battery will lead to internal damage causing lead particles to sink to the bottom of the cell.  When that pile of lead reaches the bottom of the plates it shorts out the cell which ends the useful life of the cell.

 

If your use of the car (FFE or FFH) is lots of short range trips and / or days sitting in the garage not being driven then a 12 volt battery maintainer is a good investment.

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Don't leave the car running when it is plugged into the Charger and the Charger is turned off or not plugged in.  It does not charge the 12 V battery under these conditions.  When the 12 V battery voltage drops to 9 V,  MFM sends out the notification that states that the 12 V battery is low. 

Note that the car was running with the headlights on (since it is dark in the garage). The initial 12 V battery voltage under this load was 11.6 V.  If the car is not plugged in, or the car is plugged in with the charger turned on, then the 12 V battery voltage is 14.8 V (with the car running and the headlights on).

 

I plug my car in at night when I arrive home from work.  The timer does not supply power to the charger until 10:00 pm after peak hours.   So I will have to remember to unplug the car if I want to turn it on (so I can explore various features of the car). 

 

I had to switch to the 120 V charger on a different circuit to recharge the battery and avoid the peak hour electric rates. 

Edited by larryh
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