Mach-E Long term storage

[Bagus]

I found this in the owners manual:

CHARGING THE 12V BATTERY

Your vehicle has a high voltage to low voltage energy transfer feature that keeps the 12-volt battery charged by the high voltage battery. If the 12-volt battery level is low, the high voltage battery transfers energy to the 12-volt battery when the vehicle is off.
12-volt battery depletion can still occur if the high voltage battery state of charge is low. See Preserving Your High Voltage Battery

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[fpavlo1]

That is great information. Thanks! So we don’t nEed to worry about a battery trender.

 

[mkhuffman]

That is great information. Thanks! So we don’t nEed to worry about a battery trender.

Except I don't think we can assume the LVB is maintained when the car goes into deep sleep. Ford recommends disconnecting the LVB when storing the car for a reason. A battery tender is easier than disconncting the LVB, IMO. If I ever store my car, I will attach a battery maintainer.

 

[TsunmiBob]

Recently returned to my 2022 Mach-E after four months of storage in my garage (in the AZ heat) with no issues. My setup:
- When I left, battery was at 40%
- Plugged in Level 1 into my 110V outlet
- Set the Max Charge level to 70%
- Set preferred charge times to 2am-3am on weekdays.

When I hit 70% charge, I waited a week and moved to 80%. Worked just fine on my arrival back. (Note, neighbor with Mach E did the same thing with similar results). No messing with unplugging 12V or anything like that.

Do you think the 110v charging acts like a trickle charge for a ICE battery?

 

[Maquis]

Recently returned to my 2022 Mach-E after four months of storage in my garage (in the AZ heat) with no issues. My setup:
- When I left, battery was at 40%
- Plugged in Level 1 into my 110V outlet
- Set the Max Charge level to 70%
- Set preferred charge times to 2am-3am on weekdays.

When I hit 70% charge, I waited a week and moved to 80%. Worked just fine on my arrival back. (Note, neighbor with Mach E did the same thing with similar results). No messing with unplugging 12V or anything like that.

Do you think the 110v charging acts like a trickle charge for a ICE battery?

The car should maintain the 12V battery as long as it doesn’t go into deep sleep. It sounds like you had enough going on that it never went into deep sleep.

 

[mkhuffman]

Recently returned to my 2022 Mach-E after four months of storage in my garage (in the AZ heat) with no issues. My setup:
- When I left, battery was at 40%
- Plugged in Level 1 into my 110V outlet
- Set the Max Charge level to 70%
- Set preferred charge times to 2am-3am on weekdays.

When I hit 70% charge, I waited a week and moved to 80%. Worked just fine on my arrival back. (Note, neighbor with Mach E did the same thing with similar results). No messing with unplugging 12V or anything like that.

Do you think the 110v charging acts like a trickle charge for a ICE battery?

This is very smart. I think you could do the same thing with a L2 EVSE.

The only problem is leaving it plugged in exposes the car to the stray thunderstorm, and possible lightening damage.

 

[Debangor]

It will not. The EV will charge up, then charge the 12v. Then, it's done. It will sit for most of the 6 months, not charging. Once in a blue moon, it will tap the charger to charge the HVB, and then should charge the 12v, but not regularly.

If it were me, I would put the 12v on a battery tender leaving it connected (negative to body ground) if I was leaving it for 6 months.

I am leaving my MME for 6 months in an unheated garage in upstate NY. I plan to hook the 12 volt battery to a tender and leave the car at a 50% charge. Would it be better to leave it plugged into a 110 volt or 240 volt outlet? I am concerned that if I leave it plugged into the 240 V charger that if the power goes out there is no one there to hit the button to turn it back on.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I am leaving my MME for 6 months in an unheated garage in upstate NY. I plan to hook the 12 volt battery to a tender and leave the car at a 50% charge. Would it be better to leave it plugged into a 110 volt or 240 volt outlet? I am concerned that if I leave it plugged into the 240 V charger that if the power goes out there is no one there to hit the button to turn it back on.

Leave the J1772 unplugged (battery will only lose a couple percent from 50%) and just leave the Tender connected. Get one that automatically resumes after power outage.

 

[Debangor]

Leave the J1772 unplugged (battery will only lose a couple percent from 50%) and just leave the Tender connected. Get one that automatically resumes after power outage.

You wouldn’t plug in the big battery? I’ve always been told that it should be left at 50% and plugged in.

 

[SigSauer]

Never heard of a battery tender until I read this thread. Interesting.

I keep a battery tender connected to my Model A Ford all winter. It will click on and charge the battery then turn itself off.

 

[mkhuffman]

You wouldn’t plug in the big battery? I’ve always been told that it should be left at 50% and plugged in.

I am sure Lee will answer also but I wouldn't keep my car plugged in. There is no reason to and Ford does not recommend plugging it in when in long term storage. Ford actually recommends disconnecting the LVB but I would use a tender instead.

 

[RickMachE]

You wouldn’t plug in the big battery? I’ve always been told that it should be left at 50% and plugged in.

Don't know who told you that, but the manual tells you to leave it unplugged.

 

[ArthurDOB]

I keep a battery tender connected to my Model A Ford all winter. It will click on and charge the battery then turn itself off.

Model A Ford? Awesome. You're living the dream!

 

[SONEWBE]

I learned the hard way that keeping the car charging for an extended time (3 months in my case) can lead to two issues:

1. If auto-update is enabled, a software update can reset your charge setting to 100% which is a big problem for HVB health.
2. If you turn off auto-updating, you may miss critical updates that can only be installed via FDRS.

Now, I leave the car unplugged and keep the LVB on a battery tender.

 

[kennethjk]

I learned the hard way that keeping the car charging for an extended time (3 months in my case) can lead to two issues:

1. If auto-update is enabled, a software update can reset your charge setting to 100% which is a big problem for HVB health.
2. If you turn off auto-updating, you may miss critical updates that can only be installed via FDRS.

Now, I leave the car unplugged and keep the LVB on a battery tender.

Do you really think the car will get updates when not driven for weeks or months at a time?

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