Low Voltage Battery Replacement Timeline?

[Valkyrie]

Any idea when we should be looking at replacing the 12v battery in these MMEv's? Three to five years? Normal car battery or something more $ special $ ?

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[Mirak]

Ford is confident that you will never need to replace the LVB. Which is why you have to take your frunk apart to access it. But why would you, because there will never be an issue with the LVB?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Any idea when we should be looking at replacing the 12v battery in these MMEv's? Three to five years? Normal car battery or something more $ special $ ?

Yeah, I would guess 3-5 years. It is a lead-acid car battery.

 

[BMT1071]

Any idea when we should be looking at replacing the 12v battery in these MMEv's? Three to five years? Normal car battery or something more $ special $ ?

The LVB in an EV lives a pretty easy life compared to an ICE battery. I would expect them to last for quite some time. I'd guess 5+ years.

 

[KrazyEd]

I have had a new EV every other year since 2012. The ONLY thing that I ever had to service was the
12 Volt Battery. Had to have it replaced in 3 of them ( all under warranty ). I have multiple vehicles
so a vehicle might not get driven for a while. They seem to be getting better with the vampire drain
so, maybe less issue today. The 12 volt battery wasn't always getting a trickle charge when
plugged in so, even if car was plugged in, the 12 volt was being drained.

 

[DamDoc]

When do the 12 volt batteries in the Mach E charge?

 

[generaltso]

When do the 12 volt batteries in the Mach E charge?

1. When the car is in Ready mode
2. When the car is plugged in
3. When the 12V battery gets low

 

[phil]

Yeah, I would guess 3-5 years. It is a lead-acid car battery.

They say AGM batteries last longer than the wet-cell variety, maybe twice as long.

But then again, they say a lot of things. Mine needed replacement after about a month.

 

[Reign of Ravens]

I know this thread is about a year old but I want to bump it up, because I have this question as well. I've read the stories about the car not starting for people who experienced battery failure and want to avoid that situation. With ICE vehicles you'd usually get a warning that your battery was going because the interior lights would become dimmer and the engine might take a while to start. With the Mach-E it seems like it's either working or it isn't.

Does anyone have any tips or thoughts?

 

[Zod]

Some have said when HV battery drops below 12% it stops charging the LV battery. So keeping your HV battery above say 15-20% is my policy.

 

[RickMachE]

I know this thread is about a year old but I want to bump it up, because I have this question as well. I've read the stories about the car not starting for people who experienced battery failure and want to avoid that situation. With ICE vehicles you'd usually get a warning that your battery was going because the interior lights would become dimmer and the engine might take a while to start. With the Mach-E it seems like it's either working or it isn't.

Does anyone have any tips or thoughts?

During proper operation, you should get a message. But that doesn't always happen.

 

[Mari76]

I have a question as well about the 12V battery.

If I don't charge my car for about 2-3 days, I keep getting an error message about my 12V battery being low and to plug in. This just started recently after I got stranded and got all these weird errors on the screen. The dealership said my battery was fine so not sure why all of a sudden i'm getting these errors when this had never happened before.

 

[Jimrpa]

Some have said when HV battery drops below 12% it stops charging the LV battery. So keeping your HV battery above say 15-20% is my policy.

Nah - that’s not the magic sauce either. My HVB almost never drops below 70%
and I’ve missed OTAs because the LV battery is “low”. Going on “OTA drives” doesn’t always solve the problem ? I really think there’s something wrong with Ford’s LVB management strategy ?

 

[Teslaeata]

When do the 12 volt batteries in the Mach E charge?

As understand it as a Level 4 HV Technician The battery charger is a HV powered device, DC to DC converter, so unless car is in ready mode and so HV contacters are closed making HV system live the LV battery charger isn’t “energised” so is not charging LV battery.

Theory is, LV battery shouldn’t degrade like an ICE battery does because its duty cycle is not so demanding but the cars had already sat idle for months after they were made and shipped after initial production, the LV batteries didn’t get off to the best of starts!!

As far as I am aware, there’s no immobilisation of LV charger if HV battery falls below a level.

 

[Auto Motive]

I have had a new EV every other year since 2012. The ONLY thing that I ever had to service was the
12 Volt Battery. Had to have it replaced in 3 of them ( all under warranty ). I have multiple vehicles
so a vehicle might not get driven for a while. They seem to be getting better with the vampire drain
so, maybe less issue today. The 12 volt battery wasn't always getting a trickle charge when
plugged in so, even if car was plugged in, the 12 volt was being drained.

Our new model y has a 16v lithium battery that never needs replacement.

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