12V Battery Status Indicator

[nlions]

ford "fixed" that about three weeks ago so we no longer get 12v SOC

It's like they are holding that information hostage and likely will use it as part of a price increase strategy

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[dtbaker61]

Unless the battery can't hold any charge - there are some reports in this forum about cars dying right after they were shut down.


What signs?

My car is almost 3 years old and I am planning to replace the LVB even though I don't see any signs, but I don't know what to look for.

My battery died at 39 months old with no warning at all. I would go into dealership at 35 months to see if they will replace it under warranty, otherwise make sure they have one on the Shelf ready for you to replace at a moment's notice because there is literally no warning when they go

 

[SonicBlue]

My battery died at 39 months old with no warning at all. I would go into dealership at 35 months to see if they will replace it under warranty, otherwise make sure they have one on the Shelf ready for you to replace at a moment's notice because there is literally no warning when they go

Yup. Mine died today with zero warning. 42mos and 55k miles. Driven daily. Charged regularly. And let me tell, replacing these is not easy, or cheap. Had to order one from the dealership. Can’t find a replacement anywhere.

 

[ray_d_sol]

I needed some input on my situation. I have 2022 Mach-E. A few days before Christmas I had the car’s tires replaced at Costco. When they finished and brought the car out from the lift bay station and I went to start the car. The car was dead. I wasn’t sure what was going on at the time because the car was going haywire and I panicked thinking the main battery was damaged. I ended jumping the 12V battery and that started the car right away. I’m thinking the techs at Costco left a door open or the car was left on accessory mode to drain the 12v battery.

The kids were on winter break for a couple weeks so the car remained inside the garage for most of those two weeks. Well a few days ago I started to notice on the screen everytime the car shuts off a warning sign comes on saying “System Off to Save Battery”. Also, when I open any door the interior lights don’t turn on. The pony light that’s under the front doors doesn’t come on either anymore. But when you push the buttons to turn the lights on they turn on.

Could these be signs that I need to replace my 12v battery? I read on another thread here that this could be signs to replace it. Spoke with a dealer and they would have to do a diagnostic check on the battery to see what’s causing any issues($260 for diagnostic service). The cost for the 12v battery from the dealer is like $180 with tax and I can do the install myself.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I needed some input on my situation. I have 2022 Mach-E. A few days before Christmas I had the car’s tires replaced at Costco. When they finished and brought the car out from the lift bay station and I went to start the car. The car was dead. I wasn’t sure what was going on at the time because the car was going haywire and I panicked thinking the main battery was damaged. I ended jumping the 12V battery and that started the car right away. I’m thinking the techs at Costco left a door open or the car was left on accessory mode to drain the 12v battery.

The kids were on winter break for a couple weeks so the car remained inside the garage for most of those two weeks. Well a few days ago I started to notice on the screen everytime the car shuts off a warning sign comes on saying “System Off to Save Battery”. Also, when I open any door the interior lights don’t turn on. The pony light that’s under the front doors doesn’t come on either anymore. But when you push the buttons to turn the lights on they turn on.

Could these be signs that I need to replace my 12v battery? I read on another thread here that this could be signs to replace it. Spoke with a dealer and they would have to do a diagnostic check on the battery to see what’s causing any issues($260 for diagnostic service). The cost for the 12v battery from the dealer is like $180 with tax and I can do the install myself.

Yes they probably left the door open. Did you ever charge up the 12V battery after Costco drained it? If you just drove home a few minutes and parked, it would still be dead. You'd need to drive or charge the vehicle for six hours to get it charged back up.

If your vehicle is approaching 3 years old since manufacture, then I would replace it to be safe.

 

[ray_d_sol]

Yeah I charged the car when I got home. We have a 120V in the garage for a basic charge. But if you meant charge the 12v battery at home. I don’t have the equipment for that so I did not do that.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Yeah I charged the car when I got home. We have a 120V in the garage for a basic charge. But if you meant charge the 12v battery at home. I don’t have the equipment for that so I did not do that.

120V Level 1 charging will work, but how long did it charge for?

 

[ray_d_sol]

I left it on until it got to full charge the next day. Because when I got to Costco the car was at 70 something percent.

 

[Maquis]

Yup. Mine died today with zero warning. 42mos and 55k miles. Driven daily. Charged regularly. And let me tell, replacing these is not easy, or cheap. Had to order one from the dealership. Can’t find a replacement anywhere.

I just did mine. The dealer had it in stock, $132. It took me 30 minutes to swap it.

 

[Billyk24]

I left it on until it got to full charge the next day. Because when I got to Costco the car was at 70 something percent.

70% something meaning the High voltage battery pack? 12V battery trickle charger looks like this and is relatively cheap. Walmart, Autopart stores,

Home Depot have them.

 

[ray_d_sol]

Yes the high voltage battery. Oh ok. Would you recommend trying to charge the 12V battery first before trying to pay for a new battery?

 

[Billyk24]

Yes the high voltage battery. Oh ok. Would you recommend trying to charge the 12V battery first before trying to pay for a new battery?

yes

 

[dtbaker61]

70% something meaning the High voltage battery pack? 12V battery trickle charger looks like this and is relatively cheap. Walmart, Autopart stores,

Home Depot have them.

if your MME is working correctly, you should not need to trickle charge the 12v.... only exception might be if you are having trouble with long OTA updates failing.


Best "maintenance" is to run the HV down to 10% and do at least one long overnight L1 or L2 charge a month. This will help calibrate the HV SOC%, and desulfate the 12v battery.

 

[ray_d_sol]

if

Prior to this when the car had OTA updates we didn’t have issues with it updating. Does the HOV need to be at 10% for it to help calibrate the HV SOC% and desulfate the 12v battery? I’ve had it at 50% or a little higher and left it plugged in for an entire day.

 

[Byrus]

Ford.com Then sign in>account>(yourname)account. The charge level is actually your 12v charge level.

Are you sure that's the 12v? Mine says 63% which is the exact same as my large battery and my car is only 10 weeks old.

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