12V Battery access?

[734jeant]

I've done a search for this and can't find an answer. Apologies for any repetition. I need to leave my MME stored, in a garage, for 6 months. I know not to leave the charger plugged in, but what about the 12V battery? I also own a Bolt and I always disconnect it during my 6 month storage. Sounds like the MME 12V may be more of a challenge?

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[HuntingPudel]

You have a few options. You can plug a battery tender into the 12V battery. This is probably the best option unless your car isn’t in a secure location. You can disconnect the 12V battery. Make sure you have a 12V source handy to open the frunk after you get back. Or you can rely on the car’s logic to top up the 12V off of the charge in the HV battery when its State of Charge gets low. ?‍?

 

[734jeant]

But, WHERE is the 12V battery and how do I access it?

 

[Mach1E]

But, WHERE is the 12V battery and how do I access it?

Open the hood.

It’s under a plastic cover near the back on the drivers side.

 

[bbhaag]

But, WHERE is the 12V battery and how do I access it?

 

[HuntingPudel]

But, WHERE is the 12V battery and how do I access it?

The 12V battery “jump points” are: Positive located near the fuse box (D, circled in red). Negative is a post on a tan that is mounted to the driver’s side strut tower (circled in green). You must remove two of the beauty panels to access them. Really dumb On Ford’s part. ??

I added this:

 

[ATL]

For this purpose, just keeping the 12V topped off, if you don't trust the logic to keep it up (noted in other locations on the forum), I think you could use a battery tender connected through the OBD II. That would save some bother under the hood. I have one with a connector for that

 

[RickMachE]

While all possibilities, Ford recommends in the manual leaving the car at 50% SOC, with the 12V battery DISCONNECTED. I'd put the battery on a Battery Tender myself (after disconnecting it).

 

[Beach]

Is there any reason we could not use one of the 12v outlets for trickle charging or an emergency "jump" in the case of a low state of charge in the 12 battery? Just wondering!

 

[generaltso]

Is there any reason we could not use one of the 12v outlets for trickle charging or an emergency "jump" in the case of a low state of charge in the 12 battery? Just wondering!

Yes. The 12V outlets turn off 10-15 minutes after the car is turned off.

 

[volarium]

Is there any reason a Battery Tender quick connect couldn’t be attached and fed through the covers somewhere?

 

[RickMachE]

Is there any reason a Battery Tender quick connect couldn’t be attached and fed through the covers somewhere?

No reason it cannot. However, proper connection is positive to battery and negative to ground. I thought of doing this in the past, then Ford figured out the battery failure issue due to HVB not charging the LVB, so I didn't do it.

I was going to mount a connector like this, just have to make sure you connect proper colors, some of them are backwards.

 

[markboris]

Thought I would mention this.... While I don't use a battery tender on the Mach-E as it's my DD, I do use one on my other car that only gets driven a couple of times a month. The connector I use is a CTEK 56-380. At $23 it is a little more expensive than a standard connecter but it has an LED display that shows battery voltage level, is fused, comes in 5' or 11' lengths and has eyelets attached at the ends for battery and ground connections. Mounting requires a very small rectangular hole for the unit to snap in.

Also on the same car, I installed a CTEK 40-149 battery sense monitor. I would only recommend this for cars that aren't driven much or to monitor an auxiliary battery you may be using (for stereo amps for instance) as it's around $60. It's a small box that connects to your battery and to your phone via bluetooth. The CTEK phone app will send you an alert when your battery is low plus has graphs that display battery voltage, state of charge and temperature.

 

[kennethjk]

Thought I would mention this.... While I don't use a battery tender on the MME as it's my DD, I do use one on my other car that only gets driven a couple of times a month. The connector I use is a CTEK 56-380. At $23 it is a little more expensive than a standard connecter but it has an LED display that shows battery voltage level, is fused, comes in 5' or 11' lengths and has eyelets attached at the ends for battery and ground connections. Mounting requires a very small rectangular hole for the unit to snap in.

Also on the same car, I installed a CTEK 40-149 battery sense monitor. I would only recommend this for cars that aren't driven much or to monitor an auxiliary battery you may be using (for stereo amps for instance) as it's around $60. It's a small box that connects to your battery and to your phone via bluetooth. The CTEK phone app will send you an alert when your battery is low plus has graphs that display battery voltage, state of charge and temperature.

Hi Mark

where would the eyelets be attached. I though I had read that they shouldn’t be attached to the battery itself, is that correct

Thanks

 

[RickMachE]

Hi Mark

where would the eyelets be attached. I though I had read that they shouldn’t be attached to the battery itself, is that correct

Thanks

See post #12

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