General 12V Battery Issue Questions

[norcal]

Hi everyone,

 

I just bought my Ford Fusion Energi two days ago and then found this forum.  I love the forum and have been reading as much as I can.  This 12V battery issue concerns me, and although I appreciate the information you are posting on this forum (especially Murphy's "Preparing For Your Battery To Die" post), I'm not an engineer and I don't want to accidentally void my warranty by trying to fix it myself, so I thought I'd ask you all a couple general questions before it happens:

 

1.  Does anyone have any idea what percentage of Energis have this problem happen? 

2.  Roughly how long before it occurs?  It seems like most of you posting have been owners since late 2012 or very early 2013, so I'm thinking about six months? 

3.  Has Ford issued any sort or response or are they considering a recall to fix it?  

4.  It seems like many of you are very knowledgeable about electrical systems, probably more so than technicians I'd find at a local dealership.  Is that why you are trying to fix it yourself instead of making it their problem?  

5.  Is there any preventative stuff you think would keep this from happening?  Maybe not driving in EV mode all the time?  

 

Thanks for any advice you can provide--appreciate the expertise I'm finding here...

[murphy]

If you drive the car every day you will probably not have a problem.

 

I am retired and can go as long as a week without driving the car.

The capacity of the 12 volt battery is too low to support the car's electronics for a week without going into battery preservation mode which means that everything that can be turned off is turned off.  One problem that this appears to cause is the windows lose the ability for automatic operation.  i.e. a global window open does not open all of the windows.

 

The technicians working at car dealers have little more than a high school education plus specialized training in specific areas.

If they had a college degree they wouldn't be technicians at a car dealership.

 

What we need in this forum are Ford design engineers but they are probably prohibited from posting about Ford products.

 

I can't speak for anyone else on here but I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and know far more about electronics than anyone you will find at a car dealership.

 

Ford has not, to my knowledge, made any public statements about the problem.  It is not a new problem.  My 2010 Fusion Hybrid had a 12 volt battery that was also way too small for the type of driving that I do.

 

The 12 volt battery is being charged when the car is in Run mode so limiting EV mode would have no effect.

 

The first symptom of the problem is if you get in the car but do not put it in Run mode or Accessory mode and push the On/Off switch for the radio.  The radio will come on and a short time later a progress bar will appear in the display saying the car is entering battery preservation mode to protect the battery.  When the bar reaches 100% the car shuts down and the switch will no longer turn the radio on.

[norcal]

 

What we need in this forum are Ford design engineers but they are probably prohibited from posting about Ford products.

 

Thanks very much for your reply and for this information. I do hope Ford is reading this forum regularly--it's been a gold mine for me compared to what I found in the owners manual or at the dealership.  Thanks again. 

[ChuckJ]

Is there any way to disconnect the car from the net and turn the non-essential electronics (i.e. radio) while you are gone for a week to save the battery?

 

ChuckJ

Edited September 4, 2013 at 01:16 AM by ChuckJ

[mczajka]

Chuck, that would be a great feature available through the display/menu for long term parking, but no, there is none.

Edited September 5, 2013 at 06:34 PM by mczajka

[ChuckJ]

Funny, the book says if you're going to be not using the car for a month, disconnect the battery (and reset everything when you get back).

 

Well, I'm on a 7 day trip with my car parked at the airport.  I can't wait to get back at 10PM and find out if I have a battery.

 

ChuckJ

[ChuckJ]

Got back from the trip and the car started just fine.

 

ChuckJ

[ctwomey]

I concur w  mczajka; there ought be a setting for "mid term shutdown" that isn't the full on battery disconnect.  Until then, tweaking auto update, avoiding window usage and checking the car's status over the web.  And turning the car on directly, rather than going to accessory mode.  

 

Hopefuly the 2014 models do better (not to abandon the 2013 folk on the list) as well as the updates to software late in this (2013) year.

 

But I'm prepping Murphy's "Preparing For Your Battery To Die" list prior to heading out of the country for several days, leaving the car in LT parking near SFO after new years...

[shaggy314]

From what I've read and understand about the system, it takes so little to start the car and you just need the cheap portable car jumper/battery as you are only throwing a breaker and not 'starting' the car. Now if your HVB is too low, then it gets exciting.

 

City of Austin is putting in L1 chargers at our airport (8 - 10 of them) since nobody needs a L2 there it's far cheaper for them to put a bunch of regular old 15 Amp 110 outlets.  :-)

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

 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 Hybrid 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.

[pluggedin]

Thanks for the tip. I see this message all of the time, especially if I am parked and want to listen to the radio (waiting for the little woman to shop); I have to turn the car on to do so and that irritates me.

 

I'll give your tip a try.

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

Thanks for the tip. I see this message all of the time, especially if I am parked and want to listen to the radio (waiting for the little woman to shop); I have to turn the car on to do so and that irritates me.

 

I'll give your tip a try.

pluggedin:

 

Your welcome - Even though the HighVoltage Battery may show 100% charged on MyFordMobile and on the vehicles MyTouch screen, the UPDATE will sometimes charge it for a minute or two, I assume that the HVB may be less than 100% charged, possibly 99.5% or more when this charge cycle is happening. Other users have suggested that AFTER the HVB battery charge the 12V battery is then charged. I'm also assuming that the vehicle is charging the 12V battery until it reaches it's NORMAL voltage, thus accounting for the varying charge times from 5 minutes to 2 hours. I have NEVER received a "Low Battery System Health" indication on MyFordMobile or on the vehicle so I think my 12V battery has never reached a level THAT low, whatever that threshold happens to be. Also sometimes a charge cycle does NOT happen, I suppose that the HVB has a 100% charge when that occurs.

 

Good luck, Bill