Deep Sleep Mode - 12v battery drained dead [update: Mach-E jump started]

[Jim_I]

When I first l got my 2017 Bolt, the 12V AGM battery died. Could jump start it, but it would not hold a charge. And this is in South Florida, where the only temps we worry about are high temps...

Turns out that GM had received a bad batch of these batteries. And they replaced them all.

The MME must have some sort of transport mode which shuts down the parasitic loads. If this was not enabled while being delivered, then it could be a reason why all these batteries are having problems.

If I have this problem even once, I will install a connector in the frunk to connect a jump box. No way I am going to tear open a panel every time just to get to connector points! That needs corrected in the 2022 model.

My 2012 Volt has those jump connectors in the rear storage area. Never had to use them. In fact, I still have the original 12V battery in it!

I am not worried. This will all be taken car of by Ford. This is their flagship EV! They are not going to let it fail.....

Jim

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[tomterky]

I turned the car on this morning and the Power train fault disappeared from the dashboard and no longer appears in the Ford Pass App. I am going to keep an eye on it today. The temperature now is -18 outside, so it will be interesting to see what happens while I'm here at work. Praying it starts or Ford Roadside will be getting a call and straight to the dealer.

 

[The ICTVillain]

I can access the main screen with the car off. It is all about order.

I can guarantee you Ford did extensive testing. Any teething issues are usually some combination of user error, initial production rate build issues, or a recent software update that introduced a vulnerability that wasn’t present during testing.

With that stated, Ford jumped in with two feet by introducing so many variants on day 1. I can’t imagine how much concurrent development and testing occurred to allow them to do so.

 

[GoosePond08]

Good idea!

I just dropped off at the dealer myself. Service Now message is present with the RED ring on the charge port and the powertrain message in the FordPass app.

Oh wow. I am really curious how many 'error prompts' people have received, or worse dead batteries/drivetrain issues.

Let's be realistic, not EVERYONE who has gotten a Mach E is on this website. However, of the select few that have actually gotten it on here (and there aren't many), we're starting to see issues pop up. Which may magnify with the recent winter storm sweeping across the mid-US States that aren't typical winter weather areas.

I have bought first editions of vehicles before, and I understand the risk. But when I did that, I didn't have the power of such a large group to investigate other customer issues so easily together. Showing common pain points will help others bring their issues up sooner.

Also i'm very curious how much that 'delayed' shipment had anything to do with some of these problems.

 

[GoosePond08]

I turned the car on this morning and the Power train fault disappeared from the dashboard and no longer appears in the Ford Pass App. I am going to keep an eye on it today. The temperature now is -18 outside, so it will be interesting to see what happens while I'm here at work. Praying it starts or Ford Roadside will be getting a call and straight to the dealer.

I would be heading straight to the dealer 100% either way.

 

[kdryden99]

I turned the car on this morning and the Power train fault disappeared from the dashboard and no longer appears in the Ford Pass App. I am going to keep an eye on it today. The temperature now is -18 outside, so it will be interesting to see what happens while I'm here at work. Praying it starts or Ford Roadside will be getting a call and straight to the dealer.

Was the car plugged in by any chance? If it was it, could be that the 12v charged overnight hence the message disappearing. If it reappears after a while of driving it could indicate a damaged 12v that is no longer holding its charge.

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

I turned the car on this morning and the Power train fault disappeared from the dashboard and no longer appears in the Ford Pass App. I am going to keep an eye on it today. The temperature now is -18 outside, so it will be interesting to see what happens while I'm here at work. Praying it starts or Ford Roadside will be getting a call and straight to the dealer.

When you had the 12V battery problem has your main traction battery had charge or not to whatever level you had set it?

 

[agoldman]

How many in this one thread have had this issue? geeze. Between this, the Easy Pass problem, the display whine, the PAAK problem and whatever else, I'm really wondering if I should hold off a while.,, I have to be honest and this is all kind of scary and leaning lemonish.

 

[jeffdawgfan]

This reminds me of issues with my electric golf cart and my Ryobi electric mower. The instructions all say to leave those plugged in when not in use. I do that, but have found that the chargers do not keep the batteries topped off. I have had half a dozen deep cycle batteries replaced because of this issue. IT has to do with how the chargers sense the battery voltage and need to charge. To fix that issue, every day I go out and unplug and then replug the chargers on the mower and cart. The chargers top off the battery and then turn off again. I wonder if the Mach E "senses" the 12v battery state of charge in the same way. Nothing kills a 12v battery faster than frequent deep discharges and only partial charges. BTW, I wonder if the MAch E uses a deep cycle battery (you do not need starting amps) rather than a regular short cycle high amp starting battery like an ICE. After reading all this I will probably remove those plastic covers, cut some access holes with a hole saw and make some plugs for the holes. That way I can access the battery easily to charge if necessary. Also, I would think that it would be easy to put an "electronic voltage meter" in the display software so that you could monitor 12v battery voltage.

Anyone that has removed covers and recharged their battery, was it a deep cycle or short cycle high amp battery?

 

[KAustin]

Is there a tracker started on the forum yet for those recieved MME and current issues they've ran into? Something that associates build date and common problems together?

I brought this up over the weekend. No, it has not as yet.

 

[Badger_Prof]

How many in this one thread have had this issue? geeze. Between this, the Easy Pass problem, the display whine, the PAAK problem and whatever else, I'm really wondering if I should hold off a while.,, I have to be homnest and this is all kind of scary and leaning lemonish.

The easy pass thing is not a Mach-E issue--it is a modern car windshield issue.

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

Well like some folks here the earlier cars where build like at the end of november and just delivered, mine was build in January and part of that first batch but will only be deliverd in march, so I agree that one of the things dealer should do is charge that 12V battery that drained energy for around 2-3 months, because even if there's a transport mode there are things that are still draining the 12V battery and ther might be an issue with the transprt mode shutting off the 12 V battery being charge during that period ?

 

[JamieGeek]

How many in this one thread have had this issue? geeze. Between this, the Easy Pass problem, the display whine, the PAAK problem and whatever else, I'm really wondering if I should hold off a while.,, I have to be homnest and this is all kind of scary and leaning lemonish.

It all depends on your tolerance for thse types of issues. This is a brand new car on a brand new platform completely designed ground up. There are bound to be an issue or two. Ford will get to the bottom of these and quickly: The Mach-E is their premier EV and they don't want any unhappy customers.

Also consider the "internet": When people start having issues they go searching for solutions on the internet and find forums such as these and post questions. This has a way of concentrating the issues in a forum and making them look more prevalent than they really are (granted in the case of the Mach-E many of the people were here already excitedly waiting for their car; in addition to that there have been just a few deliveries..wait to the deluge starts LOL). You may ask "where are the happy people?" well they are out driving their cars...

 

[agoldman]

This is not an issue or two, this is serious business, aka "stranded" type of stuff. Plus this is a small sampling with multiple problems. That's not good. I expected some things like the PAAk figity, but this is becoming something more concerning. Sorry, just the way I am left feeling about this. The dead battery, power fault thing is kinda where I draw the line.

 

[kdryden99]

How many in this one thread have had this issue? geeze. Between this, the Easy Pass problem, the display whine, the PAAK problem and whatever else, I'm really wondering if I should hold off a while.,, I have to be honest and this is all kind of scary and leaning lemonish.

In all honesty these issues were to be expected. Lets give Ford time to resolve these. If you were expecting the cars to be 100% right off the bat I think that is unrealistic. I am happy that my car will only be arriving sometime in May/June/July so that these can be worked out by the time I take ownership since this will be my main car.

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