Marlin's Dead Low Voltage Battery (LVB) -- Followed by Stuck in Park

[ChasingCoral]

Hopefully these are isolated issues. It's been extremely cold here and my FE has been doing great aside from the obvious range reduction.

Great! When was yours built?

Sponsored

 

[cmtaylor963]

Great! When was yours built?

It was produced on 1/9, and it didn't have to stop at the Speedway

 

[ChasingCoral]

It was produced on 1/9, and it didn't have to stop at the Speedway

Hopefully yours was right after the "fix" at the factory.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I have to admit the trunk thumping made my day, why you ask?

Since I live in NJ, when I heard the thumping coming from the rear of a car it had a totally different meaning for me. The entire time watching it, I kept thinking someone is in your trunk. I was imaging if you were at Walmart with this going on someone would calls the COPS on you.

I am here for ya, we all are here for you... Your issue makes mine look like I am crying wolf. Again glad you got it going with the help of some really great folks here.

Sorry I found humor in it, I know it's a frustrating situation.

Love it! The NJ take on a problem is definitely not a universal response. I definitely didn't start out looking for a kidnap victim in my Frunk!

 

[machefan]

Love it! The NJ take on a problem is definitely not a universal response. I definitely didn't start out looking for a kidnap victim in my Frunk!

Since you are also a Leaf owner, we both know what happens when the front charge port gets frozen and you can't open it. Each and every MFG has something..

 

[ChasingCoral]

Since you are also a Leaf owner, we both know what happens when the front charge port gets frozen and you can't open it. Each and every MFG has something..

Yep. Freezing rain did that to the Leaf this weekend.

 

[1pt21Gigawatts]

I'm starting this as a separate thread intentionally. I've heard others having similar problems (such as the Deep Sleep thread https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...drained-dead-update-mach-e-jump-started.3457/) and others. Mine may be the same or the Deep Sleep could have been due to even colder temperatures.

Saturday night
On day the evening of Day 4 in My Travels with Marlin (https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/my-travels-with-marlin-gb-fe-delivered.3298/post-108609) I introduced the dead LVB incident.

I didn't drive Marlin Saturday but was in the car several times to check and set features throughout the day. Marlin was plugged in to charge some of the time. I had taken him off charge to access features that required the car to be started. He had been unplugged for several hours when I went out about 10:00 pm to check one last thing and to make sure he was plugged in overnight. He started having a complete melt down. He started running through various system checks and failing all of them. He auto-rebooted. He started making lots of thunking noises. To be honest, I was scared.

I started taking pictures and video to document what was going on and reached out to some friends with various aspects of Mach E expertise. I finally just disconnected the negative lead to the battery and went to sleep tired and frustrated.

The videos are in a playlist called Marlin Shutdown 13 Feb 2021:

First up: The Meltdown. Temperature 25°F
Marlin started running through repeated system checks, all failed:
Videos 1 & 2



I attempted to plug in the EVSE but there was no response
Video 3


At the same time, there was a limited set of lights staying on:


I heard a popping sound that made me think it was the brakes when I heard it from the right rear:
Videos 5 & 6



Those few lights that were on were dimming fast:
Video 7


I finally tracked down the thunking sounds. They turned out to be popping of the speakers, heard in the doors and right rear subwoofer location:
Videos 9 & 10



In the Frunk area, I removed the rear luggage compartment cover to access the battery and it was only reading just under 7.5vdc.
Video 11

Removing the rear luggage compartment cover gives you access to the negative battery cable and an ability to reach under to put a probe on the positive battery lead. However, there is no safe way to jump the battery at this point as the positive lead is under a metal crossbar (under that red cap).

Not wanting to further drain the battery, I disconnected the negative terminal and the popping sounds ended. I left it that way overnight (temperature in the 20s). Before turning in, I found that the driver side door open and latch would not engage when trying to close it. Of course, the driver side door was open as I worked on Marlin.

After I disconnected the 12v:
Driver side door open and latch would not engage when trying to close it.
Video 12


I had to leave the car open all night with door ajar.
Passenger side front door was locked and could only be opened from inside using manual pull. I don't know of any way to open it from the outside but didn't spend a lot of time testing.
Back doors and lift gate were closed. Unlike the front doors, I learned there is no manual pull on back doors. I don't know of any way to open these from the inside or outside but didn't spend a lot of time testing.

Tired and frustrated, I went in. Sent the videos to some folks for discussion and went to sleep.

Sunday morning
5 Hours later I woke up. Posts from my friends had various suggestions to try. While I wanted to put a lot of time into these, I had numerous church responsibilities so I squeezed in only the essential. Good news is I now had light. It was also now a balmy 27°F.

I labored to remove the left luggage compartment cover. Removing these two covers is a real pain! I know Ford didn't anticipate many people needing to get jumps, but a large access panel or pair of smaller access panels in the left-hand luggage compartment cover to access the 12v positive jump terminal and negative ground point would make a lot of sense. Those large panels are not easy to remove in cold, dark conditions.

While I think I didn't damage the left one Sunday morning, while removing the rear luggage compartment Saturday night I broke off one of the permanently-molded clips, lost one of the slip-on clips and cracked the middle of the cover. This was despite having removed the rear cover off a Mach E once before. Access points like those at the headlights would make accessing the jump points much easier (see picture).

I took a video of what it looks like with these panels removed
Video 13


I checked the LVB. It was now up to 11.5v after resting. With wishful thinking well in hand, I reconnected the battery in hopes there was enough power. Not a chance. the systems energized better but the meltdown of system check failures struck again, so I disconnected the negative battery cable again. This did make the driver side door work. When I let the door close by accident I learned the driver's door now latched (locking me out until I reconnected the 12v). I made sure not to latch the hood as I didn't want to rely on those two leads in the front bumper actually opening the frunk space.

I put a trickle charger on the battery, connecting to the positive jump lead and the negative post on the battery.
Video 14


I considered jumping Marlin but remember my mention of the Saturday freezing rain? Getting into our other two vehicles would take a while as they were frozen shut.

So, I "went" to church (via Zoom of course). After a few hours the battery was over 12v, so I reconnected the negative cable to the battery post and Marlin started up like nothing had ever been wrong. I drove around the block -- no problems at all.

With Marlin running fine, I resumed my plan and drove to Rocket Frog for my beer and chocolate pickup. 80 miles R/T and everything was fine.

This is where this story bifurcates. You can go back to My travels with Marlin -- day (https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/my-travels-with-marlin-gb-fe-delivered.3298/post-108730) or continue the saga of the LVB here as it unfolds.

Certainly you don’t have to take off that whole front cover to jump the battery??! That’s horrendous. Especially on something that’s so common on EVs.

Tesla’s is right under the top compartment, no 50 breakable clips and 3 panels to take off in the freezing cold.

I also read the manual, it says you have to get your 12V serviced by the dealer??!! How ridiculous, what sort of dandy pays for a service appointment just to replace a 12V. I’ve replaced every battery I’ve ever had myself, the idea of having to remove that bar and 15 clips is a nightmare compared to a Toyota.

 

[available_username2]

I'm starting this as a separate thread intentionally. I've heard others having similar problems (such as the Deep Sleep thread https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...drained-dead-update-mach-e-jump-started.3457/) and others. Mine may be the same or the Deep Sleep could have been due to even colder temperatures.

Saturday night
On day the evening of Day 4 in My Travels with Marlin (https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/my-travels-with-marlin-gb-fe-delivered.3298/post-108609) I introduced the dead LVB incident.

I didn't drive Marlin Saturday but was in the car several times to check and set features throughout the day. Marlin was plugged in to charge some of the time. I had taken him off charge to access features that required the car to be started. He had been unplugged for several hours when I went out about 10:00 pm to check one last thing and to make sure he was plugged in overnight. He started having a complete melt down. He started running through various system checks and failing all of them. He auto-rebooted. He started making lots of thunking noises. To be honest, I was scared.

I started taking pictures and video to document what was going on and reached out to some friends with various aspects of Mach E expertise. I finally just disconnected the negative lead to the battery and went to sleep tired and frustrated.

The videos are in a playlist called Marlin Shutdown 13 Feb 2021:

First up: The Meltdown. Temperature 25°F
Marlin started running through repeated system checks, all failed:
Videos 1 & 2



I attempted to plug in the EVSE but there was no response
Video 3


At the same time, there was a limited set of lights staying on:


I heard a popping sound that made me think it was the brakes when I heard it from the right rear:
Videos 5 & 6



Those few lights that were on were dimming fast:
Video 7


I finally tracked down the thunking sounds. They turned out to be popping of the speakers, heard in the doors and right rear subwoofer location:
Videos 9 & 10



In the Frunk area, I removed the rear luggage compartment cover to access the battery and it was only reading just under 7.5vdc.
Video 11

Removing the rear luggage compartment cover gives you access to the negative battery cable and an ability to reach under to put a probe on the positive battery lead. However, there is no safe way to jump the battery at this point as the positive lead is under a metal crossbar (under that red cap).

Not wanting to further drain the battery, I disconnected the negative terminal and the popping sounds ended. I left it that way overnight (temperature in the 20s). Before turning in, I found that the driver side door open and latch would not engage when trying to close it. Of course, the driver side door was open as I worked on Marlin.

After I disconnected the 12v:
Driver side door open and latch would not engage when trying to close it.
Video 12


I had to leave the car open all night with door ajar.
Passenger side front door was locked and could only be opened from inside using manual pull. I don't know of any way to open it from the outside but didn't spend a lot of time testing.
Back doors and lift gate were closed. Unlike the front doors, I learned there is no manual pull on back doors. I don't know of any way to open these from the inside or outside but didn't spend a lot of time testing.

Tired and frustrated, I went in. Sent the videos to some folks for discussion and went to sleep.

Sunday morning
5 Hours later I woke up. Posts from my friends had various suggestions to try. While I wanted to put a lot of time into these, I had numerous church responsibilities so I squeezed in only the essential. Good news is I now had light. It was also now a balmy 27°F.

I labored to remove the left luggage compartment cover. Removing these two covers is a real pain! I know Ford didn't anticipate many people needing to get jumps, but a large access panel or pair of smaller access panels in the left-hand luggage compartment cover to access the 12v positive jump terminal and negative ground point would make a lot of sense. Those large panels are not easy to remove in cold, dark conditions.

While I think I didn't damage the left one Sunday morning, while removing the rear luggage compartment Saturday night I broke off one of the permanently-molded clips, lost one of the slip-on clips and cracked the middle of the cover. This was despite having removed the rear cover off a Mach E once before. Access points like those at the headlights would make accessing the jump points much easier (see picture).

I took a video of what it looks like with these panels removed
Video 13


I checked the LVB. It was now up to 11.5v after resting. With wishful thinking well in hand, I reconnected the battery in hopes there was enough power. Not a chance. the systems energized better but the meltdown of system check failures struck again, so I disconnected the negative battery cable again. This did make the driver side door work. When I let the door close by accident I learned the driver's door now latched (locking me out until I reconnected the 12v). I made sure not to latch the hood as I didn't want to rely on those two leads in the front bumper actually opening the frunk space.

I put a trickle charger on the battery, connecting to the positive jump lead and the negative post on the battery.
Video 14


I considered jumping Marlin but remember my mention of the Saturday freezing rain? Getting into our other two vehicles would take a while as they were frozen shut.

So, I "went" to church (via Zoom of course). After a few hours the battery was over 12v, so I reconnected the negative cable to the battery post and Marlin started up like nothing had ever been wrong. I drove around the block -- no problems at all.

With Marlin running fine, I resumed my plan and drove to Rocket Frog for my beer and chocolate pickup. 80 miles R/T and everything was fine.

This is where this story bifurcates. You can go back to My travels with Marlin -- day (https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/my-travels-with-marlin-gb-fe-delivered.3298/post-108730) or continue the saga of the LVB here as it unfolds.

Well if Ford had any aspirations of keeping the problem quiet they couldn't have picked a worse person to get one with the issue

 

[ChasingCoral]

Well if Ford had any aspirations of keeping the problem quiet they couldn't have picked a worse person to get one with the issue

Yes but on the other hand I'm also the one praising Ford for being right on top of the issue!

 

[Maric]

Yes but on the other hand I'm also the one praising Ford for being right on top of the issue!

Nice work Mark. Sorry you have to deal with it but this will undoubtedly help thousands of people out. Is Ford going to replace your broken cover and clips? They most definitely should!

 

[GoosePond08]

So does this ring

Yes but on the other hand I'm also the one praising Ford for being right on top of the issue!

Do you have your car back already?

 

[DaveRuns]

Certainly you don’t have to take off that whole front cover to jump the battery??! That’s horrendous. Especially on something that’s so common on EVs.

Tesla’s is right under the top compartment, no 50 breakable clips and 3 panels to take off in the freezing cold.

I also read the manual, it says you have to get your 12V serviced by the dealer??!! How ridiculous, what sort of dandy pays for a service appointment just to replace a 12V. I’ve replaced every battery I’ve ever had myself, the idea of having to remove that bar and 15 clips is a nightmare compared to a Toyota.

Pretty sure I've had AutoZone replace batteries in their parking lot.

 

[ChasingCoral]

So, I really liked the hopeful message I had received from Ford that they would do everything they could to have Marlin back to me in 24 hours. Alas, that was not to be.

However, Ford has been all over this issue. As I reported yesterday, Ford engineers were in touch with the management and service department at Koons. The tech at Koons ran diagnostics, presumably coached by Ford engineers, working to find the problem. Of course, the car showed lots of system errors -- no surprise considering the 12v had tanked and system tests failed. They got those cleared and ran more diagnostics.

Today, a Ford engineer spent a couple of hours at Koons with my car, running more diagnostics and tests. The engineer left and was going to consult with the Mach E engineering team. The folks at Koons are awaiting word back from Ford engineers.

This buggered my plans a bit. I was due to take Marlin to Atomic Auto Salon yesterday for PPF and ceramic. I pushed off drop-off to today, now I've had to reschedule as TBD. This may get tight to have everything done in time to leave on the 28th to drive Marlin to Florida.

While these reports sound nice and calm, I've been anything but calm inside. If it weren't for the planned trip, I wouldn't be so concerned about timing, especially since we kept our Leaf and have 3 vehicles. Koons Ford did offer me a loaner if I need one but they probably don't want to loan me a car for a trip to FL.

Besides, their FCTP isn't in yet and part of the FL trip is to test the Mach E on a long-distance road trip, including multiple DCFC stops. I'll go back to fretting on my own and fill y'all in as I know more.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Certainly you don’t have to take off that whole front cover to jump the battery??! That’s horrendous. Especially on something that’s so common on EVs.

Tesla’s is right under the top compartment, no 50 breakable clips and 3 panels to take off in the freezing cold.

I also read the manual, it says you have to get your 12V serviced by the dealer??!! How ridiculous, what sort of dandy pays for a service appointment just to replace a 12V. I’ve replaced every battery I’ve ever had myself, the idea of having to remove that bar and 15 clips is a nightmare compared to a Toyota.

I don't have the service manual to say for sure but I'm guessing replacing the battery requires removal of more than the rear and left luggage compartment covers that were required just to access the jump connection points. It looks like that cross bar needs removal, which probably requires removal of the left luggage compartment cover. Additionally, it may require removal of the entire Frunk insert (whatever that big plastic tub is called). I doubt Auto Zone would do that in their parking lot!

 

[kdryden99]

I don't have the service manual to say for sure but I'm guessing replacing the battery requires removal of more than the rear and left luggage compartment covers that were required just to access the jump connection points. It looks like that cross bar needs removal, which probably requires removal of the left luggage compartment cover. Additionally, it may require removal of the entire Frunk insert (whatever that big plastic tub is called). I doubt Auto Zone would do that in their parking lot!

get one of these and when you get back put back the original

https://dakotalithium.com/product/dakota-lithium-12v-100ah-deep-cyle-lifepo4-marine-solar-battery/
At least you wont miss your trip.

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