How long can you leave a Mach-E parked in your garage before 12v battery dies?

[dliunatic]

I fully intend on driving the heck out of the car, but out of curiosity how long can you leave an EV like the Mach-E in a garage without driving it before the 12v battery dies?

Does it run into the same issue where with a gasoline car the 12v battery would die if you don't drive it?

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[eltonlin]

I fully intend on driving the heck out of the car, but out of curiosity how long can you leave an EV like the Mach-E in a garage without driving it before the 12v battery dies?

Does it run into the same issue where with a gasoline car the 12v battery would die if you don't drive it?

Ford recommends that you disconnect the 12V battery if storing the car more than 30 days (really more to preserve the high voltage batteries).

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...&userMarket=USA&div=f&vFilteringEnabled=False

 

[JellyBelly]

Ford recommends that you disconnect the 12V battery if storing the car more than 30 days (really more to preserve the high voltage batteries).

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...&userMarket=USA&div=f&vFilteringEnabled=False

or you could leave the car connected to your charger (30 days or how ever long you dont use)and if so does the ford recommendation still apply?

 

[eltonlin]

or you could leave the car connected to your charger (30 days or how ever long you dont use)and if so does the ford recommendation still apply?

Good point. "Storing" appears to connote shoving the car into some storage unit or parking lot as the manual recommends at least a 50% SOC when "storing" the car.

 

[RyZt]

recommends at least a 50% SOC

The manual recommends "approximately 50%", not "at least 50%".

 

[sockmeister]

I fully intend on driving the heck out of the car, but out of curiosity how long can you leave an EV like the Mach-E in a garage without driving it before the 12v battery dies?

Does it run into the same issue where with a gasoline car the 12v battery would die if you don't drive it?

The high voltage battery will periodically be used to recharge the 12V battery while it's sitting. Of course, this will very gradually drain the high voltage battery, and it seems like, according to Ford, the time when this drain becomes significant is around 30 days.

My ICR battery would go flat after two weeks if I didn't drive it.

I'd be curious to see how much a Mach-E battery drops every 24 hours of sitting. I'm gonna guess 1-2%.

 

[JamieGeek]

The high voltage battery will periodically be used to recharge the 12V battery while it's sitting. Of course, this will very gradually drain the high voltage battery, and it seems like, according to Ford, the time when this drain becomes significant is around 30 days.

My ICR battery would go flat after two weeks if I didn't drive it.

I'd be curious to see how much a Mach-E battery drops every 24 hours of sitting. I'm gonna guess 1-2%.

Will it? I'm not sure it will. Ford EV's to date have disconnected the HVB when the car is "off".

The Focus Electric had issues with long term parking with it plugged in--the 12V battery would go dead.

My solution was to program the preconditioning. When I would go on vacation I would let the car precondition itself once a week. This meant that the vehicle would fire up, close the contactors, and use power from the wall to warm everything up (and charge the 12V battery).

You could easily do this with the Mach-E with the addition of setting the max charge to 50% leaving it plugged into the wall.

I see no reason why the car couldn't be left this way indefinately.

 

[Shayne]

Will it? I'm not sure it will. Ford EV's to date have disconnected the HVB when the car is "off".

The Focus Electric had issues with long term parking with it plugged in--the 12V battery would go dead.

My solution was to program the preconditioning. When I would go on vacation I would let the car precondition itself once a week. This meant that the vehicle would fire up, close the contactors, and use power from the wall to warm everything up (and charge the 12V battery).

You could easily do this with the Mach-E with the addition of setting the max charge to 50% leaving it plugged into the wall.

I see no reason why the car couldn't be left this way indefinately.

One would think it could be programed to be smart enough to do that itself without us having to set a schedule (of who knows what). If it is plugged in does it keep itself warm or will it just sit there and let its batteries become soaked for days (and is that ok at a week of -20C parked)? I was hoping you could leave it plugged in and it would maintain itself; including charging the 12V. Understand it is a power draw from the house but a sound maintenance one. Guess you can precondition it every day in the cold but Ford should have monitoring and a better idea then the users. Balance efficiency with maintaining for us since we are all connected now. That is one question I still am not clear on; what is required from us for best practices. Was hoping the vehicle will just deal with it.

 

[JamieGeek]

One would think it could be programed to be smart enough to do that itself without us having to set a schedule (of who knows what). If it is plugged in does it keep itself warm or will it just sit there and let its batteries become soaked for days (and is that ok at a week of -20C parked)? I was hoping you could leave it plugged in and it would maintain itself; including charging the 12V. Understand it is a power draw from the house but a sound maintenance one. Guess you can precondition it every day in the cold but Ford should have monitoring and a better idea then the users. Balance efficiency with maintaining for us since we are all connected now. That is one question I still am not clear on; what is required from us for best practices. Was hoping the vehicle will just deal with it.

To be fair to Ford: It is possible that they considered all this for the Mach-E given their Focus Electric experience and did just that. It would be the intelligent thing to do (also if they did they should have put a note somewhere in the owner's manual that its "safe" to simply leave the car plugged in long term).

 

[Shayne]

To be fair to Ford: It is possible that they considered all this for the Mach-E given their Focus Electric experience and did just that. It would be the intelligent thing to do (also if they did they should have put a note somewhere in the owner's manual that its "safe" to simply leave the car plugged in long term).

No doubt and I also will give them the benefit of the doubt but have no idea. Would be nice to know if their is some interaction on our part we understand what it is for best practices. I think asking my dealer that question would be an exercise in futility. What do we do if it is parked, plugged in for a week, in freezing temperatures? Anything required from the user?

 

[dliunatic]

I wonder how this is handled from a Tesla perspective as a point of comparison?

 

[Shayne]

I wonder how this is handled from a Tesla perspective as a point of comparison?

Are they even comparable? How would we know if they are both programed the same? I would say if a precondition interval was Ford's recommendation which could vary dependent with ambient temperatures was required by the users it would be in the manual? If I can write a schedule on my phone Ford can do the same from the cloud. Most likely can overwrite whatever I schedule. I hope they have a schedule that is temp probe (and 12v) dependent.

 

[sockmeister]

Will it? I'm not sure it will. Ford EV's to date have disconnected the HVB when the car is "off".

The Focus Electric had issues with long term parking with it plugged in--the 12V battery would go dead.

My solution was to program the preconditioning. When I would go on vacation I would let the car precondition itself once a week. This meant that the vehicle would fire up, close the contactors, and use power from the wall to warm everything up (and charge the 12V battery).

You could easily do this with the Mach-E with the addition of setting the max charge to 50% leaving it plugged into the wall.

I see no reason why the car couldn't be left this way indefinately.

EDIT: @zhackwyatt found the manual page where I remembered reading this before.

"Note:When you leave your vehicle left
unplugged, it periodically uses energy from
the high voltage battery to recharge the 12
volt accessory battery when needed.
In order to preserve the high voltage
battery state of health and longevity, we
have some helpful suggestions and best
practices to follow for maintaining the
health of your high voltage battery."


–--------------------------
You might be right, I think I recalled this thread incorrectly:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...r-future-mach-e-or-when-not-driving-much.723/
In which he states that the 12v battery will steadily drain and should be disconnected if stored for more than 30 days.

Even still, it seems the HV battery has the potential to lose a couple % per month if left in storage, according to this article which references the i-Pace.
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...nd-its-battery-healthy-with-these-simple-tips

 

[zhackwyatt]

Will it? I'm not sure it will. Ford EV's to date have disconnected the HVB when the car is "off".

The Focus Electric had issues with long term parking with it plugged in--the 12V battery would go dead.

My solution was to program the preconditioning. When I would go on vacation I would let the car precondition itself once a week. This meant that the vehicle would fire up, close the contactors, and use power from the wall to warm everything up (and charge the 12V battery).

You could easily do this with the Mach-E with the addition of setting the max charge to 50% leaving it plugged into the wall.

I see no reason why the car couldn't be left this way indefinately.

Page 149 of the manual:

Note:When you leave your vehicle left unplugged, it periodically uses energy from the high voltage battery to recharge the 12 volt accessory battery when needed​

Also this information message is in 170:

Message: Plugin to Maintain 12v Battery: Indicates that HV battery can no longer support 12V battery due to low range left. Plug In your vehicle to charge the high voltage battery and maintain the 12V battery at a healthy state.​

You are correct, a departure from earlier Ford EVs.

 

[Shayne]

Page 149 of the manual:

Note:When you leave your vehicle left unplugged, it periodically uses energy from the high voltage battery to recharge the 12 volt accessory battery when needed​

Also this information message is in 170:

Message: Plugin to Maintain 12v Battery: Indicates that HV battery can no longer support 12V battery due to low range left. Plug In your vehicle to charge the high voltage battery and maintain the 12V battery at a healthy state.​

You are correct, a departure from earlier Ford EVs.

Does it use a sensor to maintain under ambient conditions also if/when required? Did you see advice on best practices in the manual? Guess leave it and forget it if it is plugged in and has power?

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