DeanaG73 Posted May 25, 2016 at 08:23 PM Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 at 08:23 PM I wanted to run some errands. I unplugged my car got in and in and NOTHING...no over head lights or anything. I drove it around town yesterday and everything seemed to be fine. Any ideas? Ford Service is sending a tow truck to pick it up. But wow...this was totally unexpected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted May 25, 2016 at 08:28 PM Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 at 08:28 PM Sounds like a dead 12 volt battery. jeff_h 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howardbc Posted May 25, 2016 at 08:34 PM Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 at 08:34 PM I agree with Murphy. My 2013 died very suddenly at only 16k miles. I got it jump-started via a battery connection under the hood and went to my local Ford dealer and the 12V was replaced under warranty. Wishing you the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanaG73 Posted May 25, 2016 at 09:52 PM Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 at 09:52 PM Thank you both...I am waiting for a tow truck to take it to the dealership. The flat bed that showed up couldn't load it because we can't get it into neutral nor can it be "steered" onto the flatbed. Feeling more like a Monday than a Wednesday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanaG73 Posted May 25, 2016 at 09:53 PM Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 at 09:53 PM I am totally shocked that even with it plugged in that a dead 12v battery could be the problem...I thought that with this technology I wouldn't really have to worry about a dead 12v. ...I guess we will find out! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howardbc Posted May 25, 2016 at 09:59 PM Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 at 09:59 PM Yes, unfortunately there has been a problem with the 12V battery in the Fusion Energis for a long time. There has never been a formal recall (that I know of), but if you search through the posts on this forum you should find a LOT of posts about the 12v battery dying. I know it's too late now, but there is a way to jump-start your car. On the right side under the hood. Maybe a red something? Sorry. I'm mechanically-challenged but I know one of the very helpful regulars on this forum may be able to explain it better. But other than the 12V, the car has been a joy for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted May 25, 2016 at 11:10 PM Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 at 11:10 PM The jumper points are on the driver's side under the hood. The positive is under a red flexible cover and the negative is a bolt sticking up out of the shock tower. The instructions for getting it out of park are in the Owner's Manual. It involves taking off the right side of the console and then inserting a screwdriver to release the lock. The right side of the console is held on by spring clips. Hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbort Posted May 26, 2016 at 04:21 AM Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 at 04:21 AM I would have said just apply 12v to the terminals under the hood (via a power supply or another good 12v battery) and you should be able to step in the car and power it up. Then, you won't even need the tow truck any more, once powered up you can shift it out of park and drive it to the dealer yourself. You may have left something on as simple as the parking lights which would kill the small 12v battery overnight, that or something plugged into a 12v socket is another possibility. If neither of those then its also possible one of the car's systems got stuck "on" and drained the 12v battery. The stupid thing about it is that if the 12v battery is dead you can't plug in the car to start the charging and recharge the 12v battery, but, if you jump the car's 12v battery then you CAN plug in the charger and have it start charging the car at which point you can remove the jump and the external EVSE will charge the 12v battery along with the HVB. If the HVB is already full, this may not work, I haven't tried to confirm. -=>Raja. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybridbear Posted May 26, 2016 at 02:10 PM Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 at 02:10 PM (edited) You may have left something on as simple as the parking lights which would kill the small 12v battery overnight, that or something plugged into a 12v socket is another possibility. If neither of those then its also possible one of the car's systems got stuck "on" and drained the 12v battery.The car automatically powers down the park lights & the internal power points after a set period of time. I've tried leaving the lights on overnight as a test & they turn off after awhile & do not drain the 12V battery. Edited May 26, 2016 at 02:11 PM by Hybridbear Gkinla 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phatman Posted October 10, 2016 at 02:50 PM Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 at 02:50 PM Hey Murphy, I am experiencing the 12volt battery death. Can you post picture where to jump the battery? I found the positive terminal as you described but can't find the negative. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted October 10, 2016 at 03:44 PM Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 at 03:44 PM Hey Murphy, I am experiencing the 12volt battery death. Can you post picture where to jump the battery? I found the positive terminal as you described but can't find the negative. Thanks!Go straight back from the red terminal, toward the rear of the car, and you will find a long bolt sticking up out of the shock tower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phatman Posted October 11, 2016 at 12:14 PM Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 at 12:14 PM Murphy- thanks! Found it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phatman Posted October 11, 2016 at 12:16 PM Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 at 12:16 PM So the Ford Dealership quoted me $910 for replacing the TCU. Does this sound right? Why does it cost so much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpalumbo25 Posted October 20, 2016 at 04:40 PM Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 at 04:40 PM OK so here's my story. 2013 fusion 41k Miles. We flat tow behind our motorhome to Burlington VT. Nice place mountains fall colors blah blah. We run the car all week and on the last night before we leave we go up the mountain through smugglers notch and then up the toll road in Stowe resort to the top of the mountain. 4700+ feet. The toll road was supposed to be 4.5 miles long. {Right after we got our car in aug 2014 we took it to NH and we up Mt.Washington x2. (9 mile roadstraight up)} so I figured this would be no big deal. 3/4 of the way up the mountain we get a wrench light... I figure the car is getting hot, the engine/ transmission working hard to pull us up the mountain, once we stop at the top, let it cool down it will be all ok. 2.5 hrs later we come back to the car get in and nothing! Everything came on except the green arrow to drive. Got the stop safely now screen. the check engine light was on, spanner wrench and red triangle of death. 6 hours later a tow truck pulls us off the mountain back down the goat path in the dark.(Thanks and shout out to security at Stowe resort to save us until the tow truck came.) So car is towed to Heritage Ford in Burlington VT b/c they have "service hours" on Saturday, the day were supposed to drive home. Well ends up we leave the car in VT and drive home b/c I dont know if flat towing back home will do damage to the transmission since I cant run the engine every 6 hours to reset electronics and some oil over the gears. 3 business days later they finally diagnose the issue as a failed HVB cooler??? Thank god for extended warranty! So is this the TCU issue also? I was there while they checked the 12v battery and it charged and tested fine. It was drained but checked OK on their machine. I'll work on getting the ECU codes. So some things that I've noticed prior to the failure. Very frequently the car will trip our lvl2 charger as fault. After awhile it automatically resets and charges. I figure this is all a battery temp issue and won't charge till the battery is x degrees and can accept additional heat from charging. I've always heard the cooling fans kick on when it does charge. So questions: Does driving up and down steep hills in low gear at low speeds strain the system too much? Would using hill assist in "D" be better? Doing both "L" and hill assist? Does anyone else "smell a hot engine" if it's been working hard cause we get this every now and again...especially in the above situations. I'll update as I'm told more. I think this is a big fail in design. If the EV system is faulting out why wouldn't just decouple and allow the ICE to run all the time. That would have at least allowed us to drive down the mountain ourselves and back home where I am slightly more comfortable with the service guys I know and not a shop 600 miles away :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted October 20, 2016 at 07:21 PM Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 at 07:21 PM The only thing that comes to mind is that there was a problem with some wires in the trunk that are located just forward of the 12 volt battery. They would rub on a metal edge and short out. I wrapped mine with foam and plastic tape right after I heard about it. I think they go to the HVB fans in the trunk. My fans do spool up when I am charging the car in my garage. A warning about the 12 volt battery. When a wet cell lead acid battery goes completely dead material flakes off of the plates and accumulates at the bottom of the cell. If the pile of debris gets high enough to reach the bottom of the plates it will short out the cell and that is the end of the battery. If the 12 volt battery isn't working there is no way to pull in the contactors that connect the HVB to the car. When coming down a mountain it can only regen until the battery is full. If L is selected, and the battery is full, it will run the engine, without feeding and gas to it, to provide back pressure. In effect the engine acts like an air compressor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROBERT BUCHER Posted May 15, 2017 at 07:14 AM Report Share Posted May 15, 2017 at 07:14 AM I got a 1 foot square solar 12 v panel and plugged into my car and keep it on the dash board. i park in a sunny spot at work . So far no dead small battery . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fconway Posted May 16, 2017 at 05:51 PM Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 at 05:51 PM I had this same thought. we have that giant rear shelf under the back window. I'm thinking of putting a small solar panel back there directly wired (through a controller) to the 12V battery... The battery will still eventually fail, of course, but it should prevent it from dropping voltage if i don't drive it for a week or 2, say, parked at the airport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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