12 volt battery fault notification

[Mirak]

Flagging @Ford Motor Company to the issue. Possible reporting bug?

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[RosarioM]

Yet another data point. I got this message today. I have had the car (GT)since mid January, it was built in October. I drive it almost daily for my commute and it’s been outside in the cold overnight only once a few weeks ago. Today I drove my son to school and left it outside until the afternoon when I got the message. I usually plug it in when I’m at home but I do not when I’m at work (it’s an indoor garage with no walls so it’s pretty cold in there).

The car started right up and had no issues. When I got home I plugged it in and haven’t gotten any other message.

My question for everyone that has had this is has anyone not been able to start /use their car? Most of the messages here seem to indicate that it’s a false positive.

I made an appointment to have it serviced next week but I don’t think my dealership has had enough experience with MMEs and I’m worried they will mess something up. When I’ve gone there to test drive or discuss the car in the past I felt like I was educating them on the features not the other way around.

 

[DevSecOps]

You guys need to stop worrying ... the 12V service drain message means that the car is actually doing its job by topping off the LVB from the HVB.

If there's an actual issue then yes, get it looked at, but if you have a dashcam, OBDII monitor or if you frequently approach the car causing the lights to come on while not charging or driving it for extended periods then yes it will get low.

The LVB is only 35ah... It's small! The people who have their cars die don't get this message. Consider it a good thing so long as you know why it's draining.

Ford is honestly doing themselves a big disservice by including "service now" in that message because they probably have many people go in for nothing.

 

[RosarioM]

I just confirmed that I had the issue in https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/12-volt-battery-fault-notification.9598/page-4#post-350894
with the light switch losing its setting. I suspect that while my car was outside the lights were on and that could have drained my battery. I’m going to keep an eye on it for the next few days.

 

[ayc5289]

Flagging @Ford Motor Company to the issue. Possible reporting bug?

Another data point. Happened to me on Monday (2/14/22). Appeared on my dash just once and I also got a message in fordpass. Didn’t appear again but I took my car to dealership today (2/17/22). Dealer said 12v is fine but they are seeing some other codes and are consulting with Ford engineering.

 

[ayc5289]

Update on my side. Dealer is going to change out the battery management module for the 12v battery. Not sure if anyone else has had this done but dealer feels this will clear the codes they are seeing. 12v itself passed diagnostics with flying colors so it isn't the battery in my case.

 

[Jimmy2]

Did this fault happen again or was it just that one time? It just popped up for me when I started the car this morning. It still started fine and doesn't seem to have any issues, so I'm hoping it was just an anomaly that I won't see again.

I got this message on my MME dash screen last week. I've got 11 thous miles on mine; first time I've seen this. Took it for a good drive; have not seen the message since. But got me wondering: What servicing is involved for the MME 12V battery?

 

[Jimmy2]

You guys need to stop worrying ... the 12V service drain message means that the car is actually doing its job by topping off the LVB from the HVB.

If there's an actual issue then yes, get it looked at, but if you have a dashcam, OBDII monitor or if you frequently approach the car causing the lights to come on while not charging or driving it for extended periods then yes it will get low.

The LVB is only 35ah... It's small! The people who have their cars die don't get this message. Consider it a good thing so long as you know why it's draining.

Ford is honestly doing themselves a big disservice by including "service now" in that message because they probably have many people go in for nothing.

Good, informative post. How do you go about servicing the 12V battery? Assume this really means check to make sure its holding a charge, and if not then replace?

 

[DevSecOps]

Good, informative post. How do you go about servicing the 12V battery? Assume this really means check to make sure its holding a charge, and if not then replace?

If you have no accessories that run with the car off and you're getting constant LVB service now messages, then there's likely an issue with the LVB. The car continually tries to top off the LVB triggering the warning. That would be a good indicator that the LVB is bad or there's parasitic battery drain.

If you get this message with accessories or after long periods of not being driven/charged then it's expected and means the car is working as it should. Either way, getting the message means the car is doing it's job.

If you want to monitor it beyond what Ford provides then there's quite a few devices that do that. Personally, I use PowerMon. I don't monitor my battery because I'm worried. I do it for educational purposes and to help others understand what's going on with concrete evidence.

 

[Jeffvisor]

I think it's a phantom message. I got it and used one of those cigarette lighter volt meters and it shows normal volt usage. I saw somewhere in here or one of the other sites there is a phantom messages related to this.

 

[generaltso]

I think it's a phantom message. I got it and used one of those cigarette lighter volt meters and it shows normal volt usage. I saw somewhere in here or one of the other sites there is a phantom messages related to this.

It‘s not a phantom message. But it is a poorly worded message that doesn‘t usually indicate and actual problem.

 

[RickMachE]

Just got it this evening after the glass recall was completed. Assuming it is due to doors and hood and trunk open for hours on Monday. Car will charge shortly, let's see if it comes back.

 

[MustThee?]

Just got it this evening after the glass recall was completed. Assuming it is due to doors and hood and trunk open for hours on Monday. Car will charge shortly, let's see if it comes back.

ok I just got the l12v battery fault” message too through the fordpass app. The car has been in the garage since I picked it up after the recall service earlier this week. Will keep note when I drive it next.

 

[Bookworm214]

I had this message on my instrument cluster this morning. Car turned on and operated normally. I had the glass recalls last week and got dozens of alerts that various doors and the hood were opened for three days. I wondered if that had anything to do with it and now I see these posts here in this thread. Hmmm.

 

[BryCola]

I'm in this club too. Dropped my my car off Monday for the glass recall. Went to pick it up today, and got the same 12v message. They said they would check it out and get back to me. Interesting that most of these messages are while work is being done.

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