Plug in to Maintain 12V Battery

[Frebster]

I have a '22 MME AWD ER since April ’22.

I often get a message on FordPass “Plug in to Maintain 12V Battery.”

I usually drive less than 100 miles a week, often a mile a day.

How can I keep the 12V Charged so as not to receive this message and keep my batteries healthy.

I have an Emporia home charger running at 40 AMPs.

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[Mach-Lee]

Turn the car on in your garage occasionally. It will shut off after 30 minutes and charge up the battery in that time.

Or you could get a battery maintainer.

Additionally I’d recommend disabling welcome lighting to reduce the battery drain.

This message is somewhat expected for a car that is barely driven, especially short trips.

 

[ckelley87]

Do you have any accessories installed or things plugged into the USB ports while you aren't driving? I have a dashcam that shuts off shortly after parking but sometimes it freezes and continues to pull power, whenever I get that notification I know it means my dashcam locked up so I go out and reboot it.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Do you have any accessories installed or things plugged into the USB ports while you aren't driving? I have a dashcam that shuts off shortly after parking but sometimes it freezes and continues to pull power, whenever I get that notification I know it means my dashcam locked up so I go out and reboot it.

If the dashcam is wired correctly to switched power it shouldn’t be able to draw any power after 15 minutes of being off.

Always-on dashcams are a no-no on the Mach-E because of the battery drain.

 

[Frebster]

Do you have any accessories installed or things plugged into the USB ports while you aren't driving? I have a dashcam that shuts off shortly after parking but sometimes it freezes and continues to pull power, whenever I get that notification I know it means my dashcam locked up so I go out and reboot it.

No dashcam, only thing plugged in USB is iPhone charging cable.

 

[21st Century Pony]

There's are decent battery maintainers available at Batteries + Bulbs. I got one that plugs into the OBDII port. The 120V cord you will need to power the battery maintainer can be snuck out the bottom of the door across the door threshold's weather seal, making the battery maintainer relatively theft-proof inside the cabin.

 

[ckelley87]

If the dashcam is wired correctly to switched power it shouldn’t be able to draw any power after 15 minutes of being off.

Always-on dashcams are a no-no on the Mach-E because of the battery drain.

I believe I didn't wire it to switched power because I wanted it to be able to record during parking mode, while the dashcam has a battery it is pretty abysmal. I followed this tutorial back in 2021. Luckily, I have not had any issues that have brought the 12v completely down to an unusable state.

 

[Frebster]

Turn the car on in your garage occasionally. It will shut off after 30 minutes and charge up the battery in that time.

Or you could get a battery maintainer.

Additionally I’d recommend disabling welcome lighting to reduce the battery drain.

This message is somewhat expected for a car that is barely driven, especially short trips.

So, you're saying remote start, or turn on car and just walk away for it to charge 12V while in garage?

 

[Mach-Lee]

So, you're saying remote start, or turn on car and just walk away for it to charge 12V while in garage?

You could do remote start and extend after 15 minutes, or turn it on with they key and walk away (take key with you for security).

 

[crownmountain]

These “Plug in to maintain the 12v” messages had essentially stopped a while ago after software updates and a visit to the dealer. Ever since the 6.1 software update they are back with a vengeance. Anyone else seeing this correlation?

 

[Monke]

I don't drive the MME that much and I have never seen this message. It was sitting in a garage for more than 2 weeks once. The current mileage is 4,200 after more than 10 months. I have the similar build (2022 Premium ER AWD).

 

[LinkRS]

In the manual, Ford recommends you set a max charge level (up to 90%) and then plug-in daily. This will keep your 12V topped up.

 

[Frebster]

Do you have any accessories installed or things plugged into the USB ports while you aren't driving? I have a dashcam that shuts off shortly after parking but sometimes it freezes and continues to pull power, whenever I get that notification I know it means my dashcam locked up so I go out and reboot it.

NO

 

[dj_stang]

Turn the car on in your garage occasionally. It will shut off after 30 minutes and charge up the battery in that time.

Or you could get a battery maintainer.

Additionally I’d recommend disabling welcome lighting to reduce the battery drain.

This message is somewhat expected for a car that is barely driven, especially short trips.

Does this apply even if you don’t turn on the car? Is there any technical or otherwise valid reason to not have the car maintain itself while plugged in? Its clearly aware of its own low battery and has the capability to charge it.

I ask because my previous MME had to be jumped via roadside assistance while at my house because the 12V drained while it was plugged in overnight.

 

[Just Lurking]

I often get a message on FordPass “Plug in to Maintain 12V Battery.”

...

How can I keep the 12V Charged so as not to receive this message and keep my batteries healthy.

So this might be a dumb question, but does doing what the alert asks and plugging in not solve the problem?

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