MFT battery saver?

[Scooter80]

I've been doing some internet research during lunch. I'm finding some interesting things.

 

1. The Ford CMAX is having dead battery problems, too. Here's a link to the discussion thread: http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?/topic/361-battery-dead/

 

2. Like with the CMAX, the FFH manual says the recommended battery is the Motorcraft BXT-96R-500 or BXT-96R-590. The actual battery installed in my car is the BXT-99R-390.

 

From what I can tell from this spec chart here: http://machenry.com/documents/batteryspecs.pdf, the lower the last 3 digits are, the less capacity the battery has.

 

Did Ford substitute a smaller battery that is under-powered for the needs of the car?

 

Right, it appears you have not only a physically smaller battery than is specified in the manual, but also a smaller one in capacity... By at least 110 amps. I'd consult your dealer about this problem and the discrepancy!

[Barsoom]

I couldn't find any references to the BXT-99R-390 specs either, but it is a Motorcraft battery. It does show up on parts ordering sites. I took a picture of it with my phone to be sure.

 

I have a service appointment late next week with the dealer for the one-touch window problem. This forum thinks that the window problem is related to the battery, too. In the Ughh.. thread, the feeling is that the low battery is causing the controllers to lose memory and reset the windows.

 

From what I saw in the CMax thread, this battery substitution is a common issue. For the Fusion, was this a sanctioned change by Ford engineers, or a local substitution done at the Hermosillo plant without considering the implications?

 

Would a larger battery just take longer to drain if the short-hop driving pattern isn't replacing the energy fast enough?

[Iggnutts]

I'm no longer getting this message. It was coming out for maybe 4 days in a row, then it stopped. I have a reasonably long commute, so I shouldn't have been having trouble recharging. I'm going to check the part number on the battery one of these days. If its not the one recommended in the manual, I'll have them replace it.

[broncosCA]

I started getting this message about a week ago. Every time I drive the vehicle, and it doesn't seem to matter how long/far I drive it, as soon as I stop and pull the key, it goes into power saving mode and shuts off the music.

 

I checked my battery, and I too have the BXT-99R-390. I'll add this to my slew of issues I've had with my Fusion. It's such a shame, because I absolutely LOVE the car, but I've had so many damn bugs with it. This is the latest. Hopefully I can get this, the speaker static, the backup chime audio issue, the acceleration/deceleration crack all solved in one fell swoop.

 

Also worth noting that occasionally I have to reset the one-touch ups. So maybe this lends additional credence to that being a battery issue.

[neod192]

I checked my battery, and I too have the BXT-99R-390. I'll add this to my slew of issues I've had with my Fusion.

That is the correct battery for your Fusion. The manual lists the same battery as the gas Fusions, which is incorrect. That doesn't mean you don't have a problem , it just means the battery you have is the battery Ford designed for the car.

 

There are a few other threads on this issue - both here on BOF and on the Fusion Hybrid forum.

[rprobst]

I can confirm what neod says. When I took delivery of my Fusion Energi, I carefully checked the 12v battery part number because I had been reading these threads. I insisted the dealer replace the -99R battery with a -96R battery. They found one and were willing to put it in. Luckily they weren't able to.

 

The -96R battery doesn't fit in a Fusion. The tube to vent the hydrogen gas doesn't match the port for venting it. If you were somehow able to put a -96R battery in a Fusion, your trunk would become a potential Hindenberg. Don't try this at home.

 

Bottom line, there is a mistake in the owner's manual, which has now been repeated often enough that people are starting to believe it.

 

Also, I do have the one-touch-up problem with my driver's window (only). I have never seen the battery-saver message. I tried the hold-the-button fix and it worked.

[broncosCA]

Thanks for the heads up. Glad to know the battery - while maybe not functioning properly, is at least correct.

[Barsoom]

I had the same experience last Friday when I took my car to Ford at their request.

 

They confirmed that the battery in the car was the correct battery, and that the manual was wrong.

 

Also, the said they reprogrammed the windows, but didn't expect it to permanently solve the problem. It didn't -- the one-touch stopped working again the next day. The press-and-hold fixes it temporarily, but it will reset at some point.

 

The service person said that Ford was aware of the issue, but there is no long-term fix yet.

 

I did put a Sunforce solar 12V 1.8W trickle charger onto the accessory battery, and suction cupped it to the corner of the back window. I hope that this will help top off my accessory battery because of the short 3.5 mile drive I have to work. This morning, I got 68 mpg on my morning commute! My morning drive is slightly downhill, so the EV is on most of the time. However, I only get about 25 mpg on the return drive because it's slightly uphill. My ICE seems to only get about 15-20 mpg when cruising at 40 mph.

 

It feels like it's running rough, too, like it needs a tune-up with only 750 miles on it. My dealer offers a free 5,000 mile (or 4 month) check-up, so I might have them check the engine at that time. 20 mpg seems awfully low for a new, modern car.

[broncosCA]

This morning, I got 68 mpg on my morning commute! My morning drive is slightly downhill, so the EV is on most of the time. However, I only get about 25 mpg on the return drive because it's slightly uphill.

 

I wouldn't worry too much. That's a 46.5mpg round trip. Sounds awfully close to a certain vehicle's estimates.

[Barsoom]

This morning's downhill commute was at only 45 mpg. I think yesterday the EV battery was almost full for my commute, but this morning it was almost empty.

[Barsoom]

I got my first battery saver messages today. I'll see how long it lasts, and what happens after I take my next highway ride (which is likely to be a 30 minute ride each way on Friday).

[neod192]

I got my first battery saver messages today. I'll see how long it lasts, and what happens after I take my next highway ride (which is likely to be a 30 minute ride each way on Friday).

How long have you had your car?

[Barsoom]

Built 2/6/13. Picked it up on 2/21/13. I drive mostly locally, 3.5 miles to work, 3.5 miles home. Much of it on EV. Occasionally I do highway travel, but maybe once a week on average, and no more than 30 minutes each way.

[Iggnutts]

For a long while I no longer had the batter saver messages. Then last week, while I was on vacation, I started getting them again. On a wed, I took a 40 mile round trip for lunch. The next two days I didn't go anywhere. Saturday morning when I was going out to get a cup of coffee, I found that the car was dead.

 

For some reason, the car doors were unlocked, even though I have auto lock on, and usually lock with them with the key fob. I called Roadside assistance for a jump, and started looking for a way to open the trunk. couldn't find a keyhole anywhere. I thought, what if the doors had been locked, and looked for a keyhole there as well, couldn't find one. How the heck was the tech going to jump this if he couldn't get to the battery in the trunk.

 

He searched for a while, then decided to pop the hood, and found a terminal that he could attach the jump pack to, that gave enough power to the car to use the trunk release button, but he said it would not start the car. he attached the pack to the battery in the trunk, and the car started.

 

I drove the car for about 30 minutes and I haven't had a battery saver message since. In order to replace the battery under warranty they want the car for the better part of a day to run tests on the battery. Hopefully it doesn't die again, and I'll let them do it when I take it in for tire rotation, oil change, and a gear shift knob replacement (they say they forgot the leather) in about 500 miles.

 

The car has lost all knowledge it had of my driving habits (e.g. no ev+ modes happening anymore), but it didn't lose any settings, including lifetime mpg avg (which is now up to 36.5). climate control does some weird things like popping on air conditioning when i've set the temp to 68, and the exterior temp is 55.

 

There is definitely some issue with the battery, and I'm not going to solve it by burning more gas on the scenic route home. Overall I love this car, but this is a gamestopper. If the issue keeps up and there is no solution forthcoming, I won't be owning this car for very long.

[fusion2013]

There are two TSBs connected to the battery saver message.

 

13-4-13 Reprogram the FCDIM and clear codes

13-5-1 Reprogram the direct current converter module

[neod192]

There are two TSBs connected to the battery saver message.

 

13-4-13 Reprogram the FCDIM and clear codes

13-5-1 Reprogram the direct current converter module

Do these show up in ETIS for anyone? They don't show up for my VIN.

[murphy62]

For some reason, the car doors were unlocked, even though I have auto lock on, and usually lock with them with the key fob. I called Roadside assistance for a jump, and started looking for a way to open the trunk. couldn't find a keyhole anywhere. I thought, what if the doors had been locked, and looked for a keyhole there as well, couldn't find one. How the heck was the tech going to jump this if he couldn't get to the battery in the trunk.

 

I suggest that you read your owner's manual.

There is a metal key hidden in your smartkey plus you got a real key with the car. It's not just for locking the glove box.

There is a key hole hidden in the driver's door handle. The owner's manual will tell you how to pop the cover off of it.

 

There are two terminals under the hood that are wired directly to the battery in the trunk and are there for jump starting.

You are unlikely to find them unless you use the photograph in the manual that shows where they are located.

The 12 volt battery is not used to start the engine. All it is needed for, in this situation, is to pull in the contactor that connects the high voltage battery to the car.

Once the high voltage battery is enabled it will immediately start charging the 12 volt battery.

 

It is my opinion that the 12 volt battery is underpowered for what it is called on to do. I can't find any specifications for the 12 volt battery other than it is a 390 CCA battery. CCA has no meaning in this application because there are no cold cranking amps required. It is a Ford proprietary battery. It is only available from Ford. In this type of application it should at least be an AGM battery and more properly should be a deep discharge battery.

[Iggnutts]

Thanks! I never thought of reading the manual!

 

But seriously, I must be dense, cause I used the manual index and tried to find information about keyholes but could not. Guess I'm going to have to read it cover to cover.

 

The only keys I got were two switchblade fobs. Not sure what you mean by a "real key". I guess I'll figure out how to crack those open and find this mysterious metal key, and try to find the cover to pop on the door handles and hope I don't break anything. Is there a cover hiding a keyhole on the trunk too?

[hermans]

TitaniumThanks! I never thought of reading the manual!

 

But seriously, I must be dense, cause I used the manual index and tried to find information about keyholes but could not. Guess I'm going to have to read it cover to cover.

 

The only keys I got were two switchblade fobs. Not sure what you mean by a "real key". I guess I'll figure out how to crack those open and find this mysterious metal key, and try to find the cover to pop on the door handles and hope I don't break anything. Is there a cover hiding a keyhole on the trunk too?

The "switchblade" keys come with the car you got. The Titanium and the Energi come with the key Murphy62 was talking about.

In the rear license plate area there is a rubber pad on the lip. Press it and the trunk opens. There is no key hole for the trunk. There is a battery power connector box under the engine hood that has the auxilluary connectors to jump start the car.

 

You really do need to read the manual.

[neod192]

Thanks! I never thought of reading the manual!

 

But seriously, I must be dense, cause I used the manual index and tried to find information about keyholes but could not. Guess I'm going to have to read it cover to cover.

 

The only keys I got were two switchblade fobs. Not sure what you mean by a "real key". I guess I'll figure out how to crack those open and find this mysterious metal key, and try to find the cover to pop on the door handles and hope I don't break anything. Is there a cover hiding a keyhole on the trunk too?

Check out page 44 of the Hybrid manual for instructions on how to remove the cap. "The key cylinder is hidden under a cap on the driver's side door handle."

[DelS]

I suggest that you read your owner's manual.

There is a metal key hidden in your smartkey plus you got a real key with the car. It's not just for locking the glove box.

There is a key hole hidden in the driver's door handle. The owner's manual will tell you how to pop the cover off of it.

 

There are two terminals under the hood that are wired directly to the battery in the trunk and are there for jump starting.

You are unlikely to find them unless you use the photograph in the manual that shows where they are located.

The 12 volt battery is not used to start the engine. All it is needed for, in this situation, is to pull in the contactor that connects the high voltage battery to the car.

Once the high voltage battery is enabled it will immediately start charging the 12 volt battery.

Ahhhh yes... the key, the key hole, and jimmying the key cover to the left. Yes I found this out after monkey-ing with the car(and manual on my iPhone-- the hard copy was inside the car) for about 30 minutes after it died and locked out my wife, daughter and daughters friend while they were out and about in my 3 weeks young car. And it is poetic that the trunk is only able to be opened with an electric button when the battery is dead... I'm 6'3, but my arms weren't long enough(to box with God) nor narrow enough to fit thru the pass thru to hit the interior trunk lock. Good times. Right now the beast is still undergoing testing on day 2 at the dealership. Good thing they gave me a loaner car, they seem to have not found the easy solution as of yet.

 

I still don't understand why we have a massive EV battery with a decent charge, that doesn't fall back and charge the 12volt when needed(my 1988 42' Winnebago did this). Or that if the 12volt battery is dead, neither the EV battery nor the 12volt charges when the car gets plugged in. (looks up at the heavens) Whyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Edited May 9, 2013 by DelS

[neod192]

I still don't understand why we have a massive EV battery with a decent charge, that doesn't fall back and charge the 12volt when needed. Or that if the 12 volt is dead, neither the EV battery nor the 12volt charges when the car gets plugged in. (looks up at the heavens) Whyyyyyyyyyyyy!

That's a safety feature. Trust me, you don't have the high voltage battery connected to anything when the car is turned off

[DelS]

That's a safety feature. Trust me, you don't have the high voltage battery connected to anything when the car is turned off

Yes, but I'd love to have the 12 volt battery charged, if needed, when plugging in. Or is that a safety issue as well?

[DelS]

Once the high voltage battery is enabled it will immediately start charging the 12 volt battery.

This may not be correct. I found out the hard way, when I got my car started(from an almost dead battery), and there were 4 miles left on the EV indicator.

[Barsoom]

I just got back from a two-week trip, and my car was dead. Wouldn't unlock from the fob, wouldn't open the trunk, had to manually unlock the door with the key to get inside.

 

I called roadside assistance to come get the car and tow it to my dealer for service. I think it's the battery that isn't holding a charge. They think it might be some junction box that's not managing the charge. I'll find out tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll replace the battery with whatever else they do.

 

The tow guy jump started the car so I could at least unlock the electronic emergency brake. It started up okay, so he drove it onto the flatbed.