12 Volt battery just died on my 2017 Energi Platinum.

[Bigsam411]

I see others with this problem on their older model year Fusion Energis. Do they still have a faulty Telematics module in the new ones keeping the car awake? Or is it bad wiring potentially? I just had my battery replaced a couple weeks ago for low battery warnings and went off on a business trip. When I came back remote start was not working anymore and since I had no time to get to a dealership I stupidly left my car outside in the cold and did not drive it yesterday and now it won't start.

 

Anyways I am pretty sure I know what to do to get it jumped and to the dealership tomorrow but this is really stupid. I don't have time to keep taking my car for service.

[murphy]

There are lots (technical term) of microprocessors in an Energi.  They run all of the time.  In a weeks time of non use the 12 volt battery will be discharged.  When mine will be sitting for a long time I connect a battery charger to the 12 volt battery, using the under hood terminals, to keep it charged.  I replaced the wet cell lead acid battery in my Energi with an AGM battery in late 2013.  An AGM battery maintains its voltage to a much lower discharge level than a wet cell battery does.  In spite of that I need to keep an eye on it. 

 

I have a 12 volt 7 AH gel cell battery in my glove compartment along with some home made 12 gauge jumper cables in the event the battery goes flat.  So far I haven't needed to use it.  I check its charge level every couple of months.

[Bigsam411]

In a weeks time of non use the 12 volt battery will be discharged.

 

So I drove my car to the airport and left it there for a week and you are telling me the battery will just drain over the week? I mean I get that there are a lot more electronincs in the car but that is insane. I was able to drive it when I returned on Wednesday and used it Friday and Saturday as well. I guess not using it yesterday finally drained it. I completely regret this car if this is going to be a recurring problem. I get sent on business trips often and park the car at the airport a lot and I live in a condo setting and do not exactly have a lot of storage space to keep a battery charger.

[JATR4]

So I drove my car to the airport and left it there for a week and you are telling me the battery will just drain over the week? I mean I get that there are a lot more electronincs in the car but that is insane. I was able to drive it when I returned on Wednesday and used it Friday and Saturday as well. I guess not using it yesterday finally drained it. I completely regret this car if this is going to be a recurring problem. I get sent on business trips often and park the car at the airport a lot and I live in a condo setting and do not exactly have a lot of storage space to keep a battery charger.

The 12v battery is charged after the high voltage battery is charged.  Are you allowing time for the 12v battery to charge?

 

Did you just replace the 12v battery?

Edited December 18, 2016 at 07:40 PM by JATR4

[shaggy314]

I have a small LiOn battery jumper to not worry about dead 12 vt. battery. Our cars really need little current to throw the break for the HVB and the car starts right up.

 

I have a 2013 and it's 12 vt. battery has only died once, it was the fastest jump I've ever seen. Driving to work and letting it sit on a 240 volt charger for 2+ hours and I was fine (knock on wood).

 

Early CMax and a few Fusions Energis were having dead 12 battery issues, but the issue was mostly gone by the end of 2013. There are some back threads to read about it here and the CMax web site.

 

I've had my car sit in my garage for 2 weeks without charging and at an airport for 1, neither time I had issue starting up.

[pluggedin]

Murphy, where did you buy your AGM battery. Will Ford install the AGM battery if I take the car to the Dealer or do I need replace it myself? What is the AGM battery number?

[murphy]

Murphy, where did you buy your AGM battery. Will Ford install the AGM battery if I take the car to the Dealer or do I need replace it myself? What is the AGM battery number?

I did this in 2013.  Ford will not do it.  The one I installed came from Amazon.  I had to remove the battery tray and cut the end off of it to make it fit.  There has been one report since then that someone found one that will fit without any modifications.

 

The one that I used:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Optima-Batteries-8040-218-YellowTop-Purpose/dp/B000MSDKMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483966947&sr=8-1&keywords=Optima+D35

 

It still runs down but maintains its voltage to a much lower charge level than a wet cell battery will.

 

My instructions:

 

http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/1258-the-bxt-99r-390-is-a-standard-car-battery/?do=findComment&comment=7276

 

It will be a lot easier to do if the correct physical size AGM battery can be located.

[PerryBerry]

I just bought a used Ford certified 2016 Fusion energi. I'm having the same issue, though, the battery dies after literally 8hrs of being parked and turned off. Going in to have it serviced. Hope it gets resolved. Thanks for making this post and everyone else commenting here, it is really a relief to see information on this topic.

[Russael]

I have experimented with this once by leaving my car unplugged for 7 solid days without touching it... never got any low battery warnings and the car had no problems starting either after that time.  The only difference is I had taken the car in back in 2015 for some recall work, and I had the stealership check all the computer modules in the car for calibration updates.  They said the car has 10 modules and every single one had an update.  Took them all day to do it, but the car has been trouble free except for an FCIM (front control interface module) failure, in which they had to replace the unit.

 

I'm still on the original wet cell battery that came with the car and have yet to experience a dead battery, but I drive it daily and when it is parked, it stays plugged in.  I have come out and saw the EVSE engaged for no apparent reason while throwing things in the trash can, but my guess was to top off the 12v.

 

Unfortunately I cannot re-experiment with this at this time since my other vehicle needs a repair, and I plan on doing that this summer.

[Paul Creed III]

I just bought a used Ford certified 2016 Fusion energi. I'm having the same issue, though, the battery dies after literally 8hrs of being parked and turned off. Going in to have it serviced. Hope it gets resolved. Thanks for making this post and everyone else commenting here, it is really a relief to see information on this topic.

 

Having just had my 2017 Energi towed due to a dead 12 volt battery, the technician told me that the symptoms of the system going into power save mode after being parked for only a few hours is a sign (and the only one) that the 12 volt is about to die. 

[murphy]

Do you leave anything connected to the power ports when the car is off?  They stay on for about 70 minutes after the car is turned off.  That would be an unnecessary drain on the battery. 

 

Anytime you use the app to check on the car the car wakes up with a load in excess of 10 amps at the beginning.

[Paul Creed III]

Got my 2017 Energi back. 

 

The 12volt battery tested fine.

 

The service manager told me that it was likely my driving style that caused the 12volt to go dead. I had been conducting much of my driving to work each day in EVNow only mode to ensure as little ICE usage as possible and manually switching between EVNow and EVLater when appropriate (known city driving and highway) so as to use the HVB where it works best: city driving. The manager noted that rarely driving in Auto means that the car is expending the 12volt battery to start the ICE and managing the electronics prior to HVB take-over and is never able to fully recharge it via the alternator thus causing my failure. He noted that plugging the car in to charge the EVB never charges the 12volt battery. 

 

Thus, he said that it is best to just always drive in Auto and don't bother switching modes - let the car figure things out on its own and it'll start the ICE (when in Auto mode) if the 12volt is needing to be charged by the alternator. 

[murphy]

Wow!  Send that service manager to electric car school.

The car doesn't have an alternator or a starter motor. 

The 12 volt battery is charged by a DC to DC converter from the HVB.

The ICE is started by one of the high voltage electric motors. 

After charging the HVB from the wall outlet the 12 volt battery is charged if it needs it.

 

I drive exclusively in EV Now as long as I have a charge in the battery.  I have gone for over a year on one tank of gas.

[Gkinla]

Got my 2017 Energi back. 

 

The 12volt battery tested fine.

 

The service manager told me that it was likely my driving style that caused the 12volt to go dead. I had been conducting much of my driving to work each day in EVNow only mode to ensure as little ICE usage as possible and manually switching between EVNow and EVLater when appropriate (known city driving and highway) so as to use the HVB where it works best: city driving. The manager noted that rarely driving in Auto means that the car is expending the 12volt battery to start the ICE and managing the electronics prior to HVB take-over and is never able to fully recharge it via the alternator thus causing my failure. He noted that plugging the car in to charge the EVB never charges the 12volt battery. 

 

Thus, he said that it is best to just always drive in Auto and don't bother switching modes - let the car figure things out on its own and it'll start the ICE (when in Auto mode) if the 12volt is needing to be charged by the alternator. 

 

 

I'm sure someone else will jump in here but, the 12 volt battery is charged by the HVB thru an inverter, there is no alternator on a Hybrid/Energi. I have 9000 miles on my Energi and have never put it in Auto by choice, I just use EVNow and EVLater. EVLater is best when cruising at highway speed, the car is more efficient using the ICE at cruising speeds. When the HBV is depleted the Energi goes into Auto mode automatically, which is Hybrid Mode. I have gone two weeks without using the ICE without LV battery problems. 

Edited March 29, 2017 at 12:13 AM by Gkinla

[Timewellspent]

I never use Auto.  Always EV Now or EV later and have had my 2015 Energi for over 2 years without issue.  I think there is something major draining the 2017's based on seeing many people having issues.

[openair]

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/11666-deep-sleep-mode-activated-message/page-2

 

See post 29 and others.  SSM 46128, 46368 and 46433 are all software updates for 2016/2017's related to drained 12v batteries.

[Paul Creed III]

Just called and left a message with my service manager regarding the 3 software updates; I am uncertain of the manufacture date. We'll see what he says. 

[JATR4]

Just called and left a message with my service manager regarding the 3 software updates; I am uncertain of the manufacture date. We'll see what he says. 

When you charge the HVB when do you disconnect the charging cable?  If you disconnect the charging cord when the charging ring blanks out you are not allowing time to fully charge the 12V battery. 

[Paul Creed III]

When you charge the HVB when do you disconnect the charging cable?  If you disconnect the charging cord when the charging ring blanks out you are not allowing time to fully charge the 12V battery. 

 

I plug the car in when I get home each night around 6PM and it remains plugged in all night until 7:30AM the next morning which is more than enough time to fully charge the HVB using the 120volt charging cable. Charging of even a totally dead HVB is usually completed around 4AM so there are at least a couple of additional hours to charge the 12volt battery. Many nights, the HVB is not fully discharged so that should mean there is even more time to charge the 12volt. 

[Paul Creed III]

I plug the car in when I get home each night around 6PM and it remains plugged in all night until 7:30AM the next morning which is more than enough time to fully charge the HVB using the 120volt charging cable. Charging of even a totally dead HVB is usually completed around 4AM so there are at least a couple of additional hours to charge the 12volt battery. Many nights, the HVB is not fully discharged so that should mean there is even more time to charge the 12volt. 

 

Turns out my car was manufactured in August of 2016 and it already has a software version greater than the three updates noted above in the thread. I'm going to have a hard time driving in Auto all the time but I'll do as the dealer wishes.

[Timewellspent]

Turns out my car was manufactured in August of 2016 and it already has a software version greater than the three updates noted above in the thread. I'm going to have a hard time driving in Auto all the time but I'll do as the dealer wishes.

 

I think you need to try a new service department.  They are crazy to say that...

 

[Davidoo]

Yes, you need to contact someone higher up in the dealership.  The person that told you that is full of you know what! 

[PerryBerry]

update: I picked up my 2016 Ford Fusion Energi from the service center. It's been there for 16 days. They found that the computer needed to be updated(as was announced in a TSB) in order to keep the battery from draining. Also, one of the higher ups(who owns a c-max)told me that once the big battery has been drained, I must recharge it at the end of the night. Otherwise the big battery will die and take the 12v with it. And that will result in it needing to be replaced.

 

Currently testing the new battery seeing if it's good. Hoping for the best.

[JATR4]

update: I picked up my 2016 Ford Fusion Energi from the service center. It's been there for 16 days. They found that the computer needed to be updated(as was announced in a TSB) in order to keep the battery from draining. Also, one of the higher ups(who owns a c-max)told me that once the big battery has been drained, I must recharge it at the end of the night. Otherwise the big battery will die and take the 12v with it. And that will result in it needing to be replaced.

 

Currently testing the new battery seeing if it's good. Hoping for the best.

Doesn't sound like he has a clue about how this vehicle works.

[PerryBerry]

Doesn't sound like he has a clue about how this vehicle works.

Yeah...his explanation sounded so bs. To be honest, I feel like no one at that dealership really understands how the car works.