Mach E left us stranded

[bpbailey]

Came back from a week long trip very late Saturday night. Made it to the airport offsite parking lot, and the car was sluggish to wake up (not uncommon after 7+ days). The back door didn’t want to open and I knew we were in for it when the rear hatch popped open but didn’t raise up and there were no interior lights.

Tried starting the car and knew immediately - the 12v battery was dead - lights randomly came on and off, the center console went to the “powered off to save battery”, Stop Safely Now and a slew of door, camera, brake and other errors on the IPC.

We’d been up for 20 hours at that point, it was 1am, my daughter got stuck on the flight and was puking every few minutes, the weather was colder than forecast so I’m outside in the 40s in shorts - just not a great time for this.

The parking lot had a jump cart but the operator was off getting gas so I pulled the frunk panels while I waited for him to come back. Hooked it up and started the car (save a stop safely error and red ! turtle - the car was running but maybe a bit sluggish). Made it home at nearly 2am. Put the windows down so I could get back in and plugged in and everything went back to normal the next morning.

The battery was only 3 months old and tested fine. I put it on a charger for half a day and reset the BMS in case it was set improperly when the battery was replaced but I suspect some module hung up and didn’t go to sleep, drawing a small but constant load. (No, I don’t have any after market accessories plugged in to drain power).

No idea if that happens often - I drive it often and long and charge every night typically so a small drain wouldn’t normally drain it this low.

Still, not a great experience and we likely won’t bring the Mach E to the airport for long trips again because I’m not sure I can trust it when I need it most. Can’t even imagine what this would be like for an average consumer that isn’t familiar with the 12v issues, how they manifest, how to get to the battery and jump it.

Now to go find some new frunk panel clips because I’m down 4

I agree with what others have said that there must be something else going on with your MME (battery draining). In December, I left my MME for 16 days in a cruise parking lot and returned to find that I had plenty of LVB "juice" to start the car normally...and that was with a LVB that was nearly 3 years old at the time.

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[Herbknowsit]

A zipper if regular access is required??‍

Sure seems easy and cheap for Ford to have their plastic panel supplier put hinged or clipped access door in. Totally nuts to have to go through all the rigmarole to get at 12v

 

[A-A-Ron]

I agree with what others have said that there must be something else going on with your MME (battery draining). In December, I left my MME for 16 days in a cruise parking lot and returned to find that I had plenty of LVB "juice" to start the car normally...and that was with a LVB that was nearly 3 years old at the time.

I’ve left it many times at the airport with no problem. Very likely it is related to the CSP program for the gateway module waking the system up repeatedly, draining the battery

 

[Teslaeata]

Sure seems easy and cheap for Ford to have their plastic panel supplier put hinged or clipped access door in. Totally nuts to have to go through all the rigmarole to get at 12v

Probably why they do it, they don’t want people messing around with things they don’t understand and screwing up the battery management systems??‍

 

[Space_Pony]

Probably why they do it, they don’t want people messing around with things they don’t understand and screwing up the battery management systems??‍

If the LVB batteries are failing in 3 years and leaving drivers stranded then it sounds like Ford doesn't know or understand the car they built.

 

[Teslaeata]

If the LVB batteries are failing in 3 years and leaving drivers stranded then it sounds like Ford doesn't know or understand the car they built.

An interesting viewpoint.

 

[hack-e]

I finally had my 12V battery fail today, just 2 weeks shy of 3 year ownership. I knew from reading these forums that the onslaught of error messages were likely the 12V battery, so I found a local Ford parts store and bummed a ride off a co-worker to take me over to get the replacement. I was already familiar with getting access to the battery to replace (didn't lose a single clip). All back to normal in about 2 hr 15 min, including drive to get new battery.

 

[ipca204]

I finally had my 12V battery fail today, just 2 weeks shy of 3 year ownership. I knew from reading these forums that the onslaught of error messages were likely the 12V battery, so I found a local Ford parts store and bummed a ride off a co-worker to take me over to get the replacement. I was already familiar with getting access to the battery to replace (didn't lose a single clip). All back to normal in about 2 hr 15 min, including drive to get new battery.

yep, all the people in the thread i satrted asking who has the oldest original 12v battery that have NOT replaced it at close to the 3 year mark are playing russian roulette with their cars at this time, imo.

 

[Mike G]

I don't think I want to ever have to leave my MME or Lightning at airport long term parking (I have an ICE Expedition backup for that), but if I did, I'd make sure to press the "Off" button on the extra remote attached to my keyfob that disconnects my 12V battery. It's also great if you ever need to do a complete "reboot" on the car. And you won't lose any panel clips this way.....

I got it from Amazon. I put one on the MME after we all went through the "gateway bug" late last fall that was causing lockouts. I put one on my Lightning as well but that battery is a lot easier to get to. Better to have it before you need it.

 

[bdeweese]

I don't think I want to ever have to leave my MME or Lightning at airport long term parking (I have an ICE Expedition backup for that), but if I did, I'd make sure to press the "Off" button on the extra remote attached to my keyfob that disconnects my 12V battery. It's also great if you ever need to do a complete "reboot" on the car. And you won't lose any panel clips this way.....

I got it from Amazon. I put one on the MME after we all went through the "gateway bug" late last fall that was causing lockouts. I put one on my Lightning as well but that battery is a lot easier to get to. Better to have it before you need it.

That’s the first I’ve seen one of these. Seems like a great idea. Also an added theft deterrent.

When off, other than no updates, no alarm, etc. - any other drawbacks to leaving the 12v disconnected for extended periods? Can see a lot of upside.

 

[Mike G]

That’s the first I’ve seen one of these. Seems like a great idea. Also an added theft deterrent.

When off, other than no updates, no alarm, etc. - any other drawbacks to leaving the 12v disconnected for extended periods? Can see a lot of upside.

Nothing comes to mind really. I haven't had to leave it disconnected for any length of time, but unless @Mach-Lee can envision a suboptimal scenario, I don't think it's gonna hurt anything.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Nothing comes to mind really. I haven't had to leave it disconnected for any length of time, but unless @Mach-Lee can envision a suboptimal scenario, I don't think it's gonna hurt anything.

Nope, it would reboot all the modules, clear some codes, and resets some adaptive strategies, but that would probably be fine for occasional use. I just would recommend you do not use it frequently.

 

[bdeweese]

Nope, it would reboot all the modules, clear some codes, and resets some adaptive strategies, but that would probably be fine for occasional use. I just would recommend you do not use it frequently.

Thanks. Good info! Will be away from home for about 3 weeks (not taking car). Have a ‘24 that’s less than a few months old. Not worried about 12v battery failure - but curious as to best practices for how to leave the car during an “away” period?

The car will be at home in garage with L2 charger. Should I leave it plugged in and charged, unplugged, battery disconnected, etc.? Thx!

 

[Mach-Lee]

Thanks. Good info! Will be away from home for about 3 weeks (not taking car). Have a ‘24 that’s less than a few months old. Not worried about 12v battery failure - but curious as to best practices for how to leave the car during an “away” period?

The car will be at home in garage with L2 charger. Should I leave it plugged in and charged, unplugged, battery disconnected, etc.? Thx!

Personally, I would just leave it unplugged and unlocked, that’s it. 12 V still connected.

 

[bdeweese]

Thx Lee!!

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