DEAD CAR IN WINTER

[RickMachE]

I'm going to speculate that the root cause of this isn't that the 12 volt battery is being drained, but that the 12 volt battery isn't being charged.

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[Carsinmyblood]

You need block heaters if you leave car attended for a couple days. You leave any car for a few hours battery dont die. There's definitely something wrong with the vehicle.

If the local dealer is useless, get Ford on the phone. Writing for help here is not the way to get Ford involved.

 

[EELinneman]

You need block heaters if you leave car attended for a couple days. You leave any car for a few hours battery dont die. There's definitely something wrong with the vehicle.

Your car doesn't have an engine block. There is a drain in the LVB system that needs to be found for a resolution to this problem.

 

[RickMachE]

In the past manufactures would do winter testing in Winnipeg / Manitoba, or north of Timmins /Ontario. Guess that was not done for the Mach-E ? I remember reading in 2012 that Nissan tested the Leaf in the cold.

Dan

Why guess? Google works fine. It was tested at the Smithers 800 acre winter-testing facility, located in Brimely, Michigan, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This is a world-class winter testing facility.

I hate when people guess.

 

[Maquis]

I'm going to speculate that the root cause of this isn't that the 12 volt battery is being drained, but that the 12 volt battery isn't being charged.

Or that the 12V battery is defective.

 

[RickMachE]

When super cold, or just cold, my mache is ether plug in or left on. Turn off the 30 minute turn off.

I'd suggest that leaving your car running, because it's cold out, is excessive. It's your car, and you can do what you want, but I'd never do that.

 

[Matt Bagne]

Seems like this thread is lifting two, very different issues, one being a cold weather problem and the other being "something" that is draining the battery (irrespective of the weather). If it is the weather then you should try a battery that has a good reputation for lasting in cold weather situations, such as the Optima Red Top battery.

Another option is to move to Sothern California . . . we don't have that issue here. ?

All other non-weather possibilities should be checked directly with Ford as recommended in other posts. For now I think you should simply make sure the instrument cluster is off before leaving your vehicle, and hopefully you can eliminate that issue as the culprit in your struggle.

 

[kltye]

If this were happening to me, I'd grab my OBD-II adapter, launch CarScanner, turn the car off, and check a) if the LVB is being charged at all, and b) the LVB voltage. But that's just me

 

[Shayne]

I live in Manitoba,Canada. I have towed my car 3 times in winters. My dealership replaced the batteries and the issue is still the same. It goes upto -30 and the car dies within 15/20 mins when left outside. The dealership gave up on the issue and i'm left with this piece of junk. Does anybody happen to live in extreme cold and has ever faced issue as mine? Someone please guide me on the matter! Thanks!

Yes it does not like the cold in Ontario either. 3 times for me. Pampering it now . Mach-e dies again, and again

It's a real shame y'all are running into this. I thought they had solved this issue with software updates after I had one of the first such system crashes a year ago.
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...e-battery-lvb-followed-by-stuck-in-park.3490/

You and me and me two times since exactly the same scenarios as the first time last Febuary so you should understand what is happening. Brand new vehicle you have no confidence in and can not depend on is not fun. It is a shame as the vehicle is the best I have ever driven just does not sit well yet. Hope they are aware and working on it as this is something people can not live with.

 

[Dhruval Shah]

Evs like Hyundai Kona and Model 3 seems to work perfect in this weather so Its definitely something wrong with Mach-E and not all the EVs. Hope they're working towards fixing it soon!

 

[Badger_Prof]

If I keep my car unplugged even for a while in this temps, 12v battery dies instantly.

Wind chill does not really matter much to a car other than it will cool to the actual temp with wind more quickly. That should not be happening with your 12v battery. Here in Wisconsin, we have been down to -19F (-28C) this month while I have had my Mach-E outside at times. It has only spent a few hours at a time outside and not plugged in at those temps but I have never had a 12v battery issue. I am one week short of first anniversary with my car. It saw -20F last winter and -19F this winter. Never a problem. Can't say what would happen if it were left out for longer than a few hours.

 

[Zeromarine]

Evs like Hyundai Kona and Model 3 seems to work perfect in this weather so Its definitely something wrong with Mach-E and not all the EVs. Hope they're working towards fixing it soon!

Curious what dealer ? What town etc?

 

[Dhruval Shah]

Curious what dealer ? What town etc?

Mid-Town Ford,Winnipeg,MB,Canada

 

[Zeromarine]

Mid-Town Ford,Winnipeg,MB,Canada

Lots of dealers in Winnipeg I’d try another. I’m from a small town near Winnipeg been to a few over the years, wouldn’t hurt doing that.

 

[Shayne]

So, you have discovered an inconvenient work-around. Like others who plug in block warmers when parked, bring an EVSE and park where you can plug it in.

Ima guess that you are in that statistically small group that shouldn't buy a MME yet. The next advancement in battery technology may, or may not be the solution to -30* environments.

I'd waste no time in working with Ford directly.

Not small with northern half of the northern states, Norway etc.

Want to clarify that my problem (and now others) has nothing to do with EV's in the cold or if they work right now as they definitely do. This is a problem/defect in 12V maintenance (with a good triggered drain plugged in) in some vehicles right now that needs to be fixed. We have had 12V's up here for a while now and they work just fine. It is not a new tech thing it is the 12V battery which all vehicles have. This has nothing to do with the HV battery or how an ev runs in the cold. Lets not let a lead acid 12V battery deter people from adopting ev's. 85% of a 100 KWh battery plugged into 240 V here; they should be able to figure it out.

Drove in and out of the city yesterday -27C to -30C and it was quite, comfortable, good tunes, with all that torque that it has. Amazing car to highway drive. 70 Km, 1.25 hr departure and the 12V was at only 80% SOC when I got back. Why?

Edit: Has anyone seen the MME charge their 12V battery to 100%. Like dumb alternators?

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