Misadventures and a bricked car

[valeriol]

something does not seem right. The HVB should maintain the LVB once it hits certain wickets.

i shipped my MME across the country for 5 days. In that process it started with an LVB of 50%. I disabled the alarm, but of course the trucks first stop they had to cycle the cars. And so basically the alarm was draining the battery across the country. Once the LVB hit 30%, the HVB charged the LVB to 95%.

sounds like you have some other drain that is causing LVB to fall too low too fast for HVB to charge.

That's my feeling too. If the 46% reading at start was true, it should not have drained with less than 5 minutes of stop and about 5 minutes of driving in between.

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[Scarpia]

Very unfortunate and very frustrating, sorry to see that happened.

Not to be pedantic, but the term "bricked” has crept into the vernacular and gets thrown around pretty loosely nowadays. The original connotation referred to when a device, usually a phone, could not be revived by any means, generally due to a bad or interrupted software update. It couldn't be restarted, restored, or resuscitated - dead in the water with no way to use it.

That’s a far cry from this situation. The car simply won't start until the battery gets charged or replaced. If you ran out of gas, or got a flat tire, would you say the car was bricked?

 

[zvez]

Thanks, I will look.

here's a vid on accessing frunk with dead battery. Also, if you can't get doors to open you might try the rear hatch.

 

[mccdeuce]

That's my feeling too. If the 46% reading at start was true, it should not have drained with less than 5 minutes of stop and about 5 minutes of driving in between.

While ignition is off, if LVB reaches 40% then the vehicle waits 48 hours, before the DC-DC transfers 300 Wh of energy to recharge the LVB. If the LVB reaches 30%, then the vehicle immediately transfers energy.

so potentially something preventing DC to DC? Or a rapid drain from 46% to something below the level for the MME to function properly.

doesn’t help the past situation but hopefully for diagnosing.

 

[valeriol]

Very unfortunate and very frustrating, sorry to see that happened.

Not to be pedantic, but the term "bricked” has crept into the vernacular and gets thrown around pretty loosely nowadays. The original connotation referred to when a device, usually a phone, could not be revived by any means, generally due to a bad or interrupted software update. It couldn't be restarted, restored, or resuscitated - dead in the water with no way to use it.

That’s a far cry from this situation. The car simply won't start until the battery gets charged or replaced. If you ran out of gas, or got a flat tire, would you say the car was bricked?

You're right, bricked is an exaggeration ... "temporarily bricked" ?

 

[valeriol]

here's a vid on accessing frunk with dead battery. Also, if you can't get doors to open you might try the rear hatch.

Thanks, I was familiar on how to do it, I just didn't have a power source. From now on I will carry the lithium booster just for that.
As for the rear hatch, I saw an explanation on how to open it without power, but I couldn't figure out where the panel you remove is. Once I get the car back I'll do a little more exploration.

 

[valeriol]

On a happier note I got an email from Ford with a case number and they say they will act as point of contact with the dealership.
?

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

That's my feeling too. If the 46% reading at start was true, it should not have drained with less than 5 minutes of stop and about 5 minutes of driving in between.

The 46% is from the last time the car contacted the FP servers and updated them. This typically happens only when you take a specific action with the car (like refreshing FP, unlocking the car, remote starting, etc). If it had been parked for awhile and you’d not done anything that caused the car to send stuff to the FP servers, then the 46% was likely high.

 

[Marc S]

I have a 2021 as well. The LVB used in the Mach E can have a short life span. Especially with the NY weather. Probably needs replacement

 

[valeriol]

I have a 2021 as well. The LVB used in the Mach E can have a short life span. Especially with the NY weather. Probably needs replacement

Not sure about that, the car spends most of it's time inside an enclosed parking garage where the temperature never drops below 50 e never goes above 85.

Now my app talks to the car again, so they must've revived it. Hopefully tomorrow the dealer will tell me if there are any other issues.

 

[Marc S]

Well regardless I stand by the need for a battery replacement

 

[valeriol]

Well regardless I stand by the need for a battery replacement

Turns out you we right, bad LVB. Good call.

I'm amazed that a battery would last less than 3 years in a car that is garaged most of the time. Considering the number of people who have complained about this, it makes you wonder what kind of cheap batteries is Ford installing ? They certainly saved much less than $100 on a car that costs over $50K.

 

[RobbertPatrison]

Turns out you we right, bad LVB. Good call.

I'm amazed that a battery would last less than 3 years in a car that is garaged most of the time. Considering the number of people who have complained about this, it makes you wonder what kind of cheap batteries is Ford installing ? They certainly saved much less than $100 on a car that costs over $50K.

I'm on my 3rd 12V battery already in less than 2 years. The previous two were replaced under warranty for free. The car is in California with mild weather, always garaged.

The problem is the Mach-e's insomnia. It wears out any 12V battery each time you switch the car off. After locking the car, it takes ~30 minutes to go to deep sleep. During that time it burns 30 watts even when lights are off. In the first hour, I measured that the battery may drain 10%. There is no good reason for the car to stay awake when it is off.
Overnight it may lose another 20%: sometimes less, sometimes more. If you drive 4X per day it will cycle the battery up and down constantly. No wonder it needs frequent replacement.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Turns out you we right, bad LVB. Good call.

I'm amazed that a battery would last less than 3 years in a car that is garaged most of the time. Considering the number of people who have complained about this, it makes you wonder what kind of cheap batteries is Ford installing ? They certainly saved much less than $100 on a car that costs over $50K.

The batteries they are using are fine. It's how they are managed which is the problem. Hopefully they will be releasing some 12V improvements soon.

 

[valeriol]

I'm on my 3rd 12V battery already in less than 2 years. The previous two were replaced under warranty for free. The car is in California with mild weather, always garaged.

The problem is the Mach-e's insomnia. It wears out any 12V battery each time you switch the car off. After locking the car, it takes ~30 minutes to go to deep sleep. During that time it burns 30 watts even when lights are off. In the first hour, I measured that the battery may drain 10%. There is no good reason for the car to stay awake when it is off.
Overnight it may lose another 20%: sometimes less, sometimes more. If you drive 4X per day it will cycle the battery up and down constantly. No wonder it needs frequent replacement.

Interesting, why does it require 30 minutes to go to sleep ? Wonder if there’s any way to adjust that.

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