$265 including battery ? that would be amazing considering the battery is $211 at my dealership.
How many miles did you have on your mme?I ran my original battery 39 months... tested shortly before 36 months hoping for warranty replacement, but it still tested ok. 'Great' SoH in fact... So I thought I'd charge to 100% and test monthly until it had a problem; thinking that since these little batteries are not cranking a starter they might last a lot longer than 36 mo warranty.
They don't ;(
They can fail suddenly, and without warning....
Possibly leaving you stranded somewhere if you are not prepared. I was lucky mine failed while I was at a jobsite in town and not out at one of my jobs in the booneys. I drove to the site, got out of the car, and the doors locked behind me! PAAK 'unlock' didn't work, Door pillar code bar did not 'light up', so I was stuck. Thank God I had my phone in my pocket and not locked inside the car!
Fortunately, I had several 12v batteries at home (for my solar business), and my wife was able to bring a battery, and a set of jumper cables to get me back on the road...
- used the spare 12v and the front bumper access port connections to pop the hood- jumpered the spare battery to the MME connection points, which was easy since I have access holes over the 12v+, 12v-, and HV disconnect. but, I ended up popping off the drivers side beauty cover so I could close the hood over the jumper cables.- and was able to start the car and get to my dealership, where they had a h3 35ah battery on the shelf ($211 + $16 core charge)
I *could* have run with the spare jumpered in if a proper replacement was not available, but I'd recommend to anyone that when you battery hits 36 months, you ought to buy a replacement and carry it with you, along with jumper cables.
So, being a diehard DIYer, I thought I'd document the remove-replacement procedure in case anybody else wants to be prepared to handle it without a tow to a dealership.
=============== DIY remove-replace the 12v ===========
removal procedure starts in service manual page 1999-2001
section 414-01, if you want the factory pictures. The process is:
- remove rear and side 'beauty covers'
- remove Tub - mostly 10mm, and a screwdriver to pop access panels
- remove cross brace - 18mm
- remove/replace battery - 10mm
- reset BCM with dealer 'Scan Tool' , or, follow 'home reset procedure'
Resetting tells the computer you have a brand new battery at 100% heath.
Reset new battery ONLY after charging it to 100%.
The easiest way to charge the new 12v to 100% is:
- turn MME ON
- Turn Vehicle>Settings>auto-off = DISabled
- turn Headlights, A/c, Heat, fan OFF
- .... and leave MME on overnight
- ODB2+Carscanner, or voltmeter, should verify that battery is 100% and
resting at 'float' voltage of 13.2v by morning
THEN, you can 'reset' the BCM to the new 100% capacity by:
- turn MME 'off' once LVB has been charged to 100%
- Press the START button without pressing the brake (ACCESSORY mode)
- Flash the high beams with the stalk 5x
- Press the brake pedal 3x
- Battery icon on instrument cluster should flash 3x to indicate reset
- Turn OFF the car
- Turn OFF Fordpass and Bluetooth if you use PAAK so car-phone are not communicating
- Park the vehicle undisturbed for 6+ hours to allow the BCM to verify the battery SoC and quiescent load
and here are the pictures...
37k
as long as it is 35ah, h3 size, and has a solid 3 yr warranty
If you drive a lot, it would probably be easier on your battery since it would stay charged more of the time rather than short trips. But right around 36 months, I would have a spare. You could even use lithium for a spare since it would be a lot lighter to haul around and it would not self-discharge nearly as fast as AGM
Uh, keeping something in the frunk is not going to help if your 12V goes low.
Yeah O.K.
Yeah I was thinking of a same physical size lithium battery when the time comes.
I would not suggest Li as a permanent swap unless you NEVER drive with exterior temps below freezing. Li batteries should not be charged below 32F.
it only takes a LITTLE jump from any external 12v to pop the hood. If you have a decent size spare in the Frunk, you CAN jumper that on top of the dead 12v and at least make it to town or garage to complete the swap with a new 12v-35 ah H3 size AGM.
Yep, was surprised myself. Gerald Jones Ford in Augusta is a great EV dealership. They provide a mobile service which is what they did for my battery replacement. On time and done quickly. They also just did my recall on my car as well. Picked up car and delivered it back to me at 8:30 the next morning.
Wow kudos to that dealership, sounds like they have their s*** together and are really supporting. I have suggested proactive calls to owners at the 36-month Mark by my local dealership, we will see if they follow through on that one.
