Under The Mach-E Hood / Frunk: motor components, electrical control hardware, and DIY maintenance point

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

The battery in the picture is made in China.

RE: 7 years.

Does anyone have info on the reliability of Chinese vehicle batteries?

nope

 

[SnBGC]

Yes, you're right that you likely only need 100W or so to get the computer running. But battery life depends on many things. Given that you can't get into the MME if the 12V goes flat, so even a portable charger won't help if the car is locked, I'd probably replace it more rather than less often.

So, it turns out a portable jump charger is just fine.....just so long as it's not locked in the car.

I REALLY wish Ford would've gone with a lock cylinder in the rear lift gate and then cut a code into the key blank that appears to exist in the key fob. That way I could store a portable jumper battery under the rear floor and get to It if needed.

My wife's C-Max Energi 12v battery died last weekend. 2013 model.....that was its 2nd battery, changed last in Nov 2016. Her 12v is in the rear compartment....buried under plastic panel covers. Maybe 12 screws and 3 or 4 pieces to remove to get the battery out.

Problem is I can't open the rear lift gate because the popper wont function with the dead battery. So I had to extract the key from the fob, unlock the driver's door, pull the cable handle to pop the hood, locate the jumper terminals for the jumper battery clamps.

With that.....the vehicle started and was driveable but since it was already in my driveway, I just popped open the lift gate and proceeded to remove the battery.

If that would have happened out in the wild.....then open the driver's door with key, reach around the B pillar to open the rear passenger door, fold down the rear seat and climb back there to retrieve the jumper battery pack (because I wasn't wise enough to store it in the compartment under the front driver's seat), connect to the jumper terminals under the hood, start the car and drive to help.

The on board computer modules need a min voltage to wake up.

The MME method to access the battery via front compartment space is nice but doesnt allow the driver to help themself....it requires external help. Someone to come to your aid with another battery and cables. Not ideal.

Here are photos from the process last week.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I don't think the capacitor is even needed on egress. The switch is mechanical if you pull it back far enough.... I think.

Correct.

 

[All Hat No Cattle]

nope

Uh-oh.

We can maybe hope that is a pre-production picture. If not, remoting a couple of jumper wires to an easy access point would be a mod to consider down the road.

But before we jump to conclusions, I would have to see what actually happens if the 12 V battery fails on a locked car.

Does the Owner's Manual refer to jumping that battery? What charges that battery?

And, no, I do not have an Owner's Manual.

 

[generaltso]

And, no, I do not have an Owner's Manual.

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...wners-Manual-version-1_om_EN-US_09_2020-1.pdf

 

[macchiaz-o]

Uh-oh.

We can maybe hope that is a pre-production picture. If not, remoting a couple of jumper wires to an easy access point would be a mod to consider down the road.

But before we jump to conclusions, I would have to see what actually happens if the 12 V battery fails on a locked car.

Does the Owner's Manual refer to jumping that battery? What charges that battery?

And, no, I do not have an Owner's Manual.

The answers to everything except life, the universe, and everything else:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...manuals-and-web-sites-for-mach-e-owners.1660/

 

[All Hat No Cattle]

The answers to everything except life, the universe, and everything else:

Oh, great! LOL. Something else to read. Thanks a bunch. LOL.

 

[SnBGC]

Uh-oh.

We can maybe hope that is a pre-production picture. If not, remoting a couple of jumper wires to an easy access point would be a mod to consider down the road.

But before we jump to conclusions, I would have to see what actually happens if the 12 V battery fails on a locked car.

Does the Owner's Manual refer to jumping that battery? What charges that battery?

And, no, I do not have an Owner's Manual.

The Low Voltage Battery (LVB 12v) is charged by the High Voltage Battery via DC to DC converter once the vehicle systems are started and the contactors close.

 

[ChasingCoral]

The Low Voltage Battery (LVB 12v) is charged by the High Voltage Battery via DC to DC converter once the vehicle systems are started and the contactors close.

This points to another specification I have yet to see: what is the charging rate on this system that charges the low voltage battery off the high voltage battery. On my Leaf it is 1kW.

 

[DBC]

But before we jump to conclusions, I would have to see what actually happens if the 12 V battery fails on a locked car.

AFAIK you can jump it from outside -- that's in the manual which you don't have but will -- but you can't get into the car.

Obviously an issue if the equipment needed to start is inside. If there was a way to unlock you could carry a jumpbox in the frunk and all issues would disappear. A key to the frunk would also solve the problem.

 

[NoMoShocks]

I like big frunks and I cannot lie?

 

[generaltso]

AFAIK you can jump it from

You need to get into the frunk to jump it, but the wires behind the panel in the bumper can be energized to get the frunk open.

 

[macchiaz-o]

OK, on a serious note: The Mach-e 12v battery will be much smaller than you might expect. Why? As noted, it doesn't have to "crank" the Mach-e. I would also expect 7+ years of life out of it.

I would put the size somewhere between a "typical" car/truck battery and a motorcycle battery.

I found the weight and dimensions. (See PDF, attached.)

As you stated, Mustang Mach-E's BHAGM-H3 battery is LIGHTER and SMALLER than typical. Compared to the already fairly small, stock BXT-96R-500 battery in my Fiesta (4-cylinder, 1.6L NA), the Mach-E battery has 12% less mass and 16% less volume.

I live in Phoenix, where it's really common for lead acid batteries on ICE vehicles to only survive 1 or 2 summers. So battery maintenance on the Mach-E is of particular interest to me.

I do hope you're right about it lasting a long time... But I'm a little disappointed to see that it's a Motorcraft "Fleet Tough / Extra" battery instead of something with a better warranty like the "Tested Tough Max" that Ford chose to use in the Fiesta.

Not only does the Mach-E battery cost more, but it's warranty is far less. 2 year replacement, 3 year prorated, compared to 3 year replacement and over 8 years prorated.

I guess we'll just have to drive for several years and see how people are doing in terms of needing replacements.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Shrek is for adults only ?

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Shrek is for adults only ?

I feel like that's an accurate assessment, tbh. ?

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