Lighting bug (?) issue/option, including run-time battery protection

[lrymal]

I had a scare the other day. I'm used to GM. This is the FIRST Ford I have ever owned. My GM vehicles will not leave lights on forever if the headlight switch is manually set to parking lights. I think they time out after 15 minutes, to protect the battery from discharging.

 

As far as I can tell, this is not the case with my FFH. I can't remember why I manually set the lamp switch to parking light mode but I did so, forgot about it, went into the house and the lamps shined for hours. Discharge of the battery was complete and the car was dead.

 

My first reaction was a mild-panic. I recalled the manual stating about warranty issues if the high voltage battery is totally discharged and worried that SOMEHOW it had discharged. But, no, that wasn't the case, only the 12 volt battery was discharged. Now, I know why there is a separate battery for purposes besides electrical propulsion.

 

My second reaction was surprise. Frequently, when going to the airforce base in Shreveport, we are told to turn off headlights and use the parking lights. In spite of all the chimes, I get sloppy and forget to turn off the lights when leaving the car. Not so anymore! But, I never worried about it with the GM stuff.

 

Third reaction was RELIEF. My FFH was absolutely stone-cold dead. That will create a helpless feeling. I couldn't get a second vehicle in position to jump off from, so had to use a battery charger. Nothing unique about this charger--cheap. But, in only five minutes, enough charge had been pushed into the 12 volt battery that my FFH came back to life, resurrected. With an ICE-only car, this could have taken nearly an hour.

 

Fourth reaction was--> lesson learned. This ain't a GM vehicle. The parking lights will not time out. Not sure about the headlights, I don't want to test that. The lamp rotary switch is in full-view. Do not leave it any position but 0 or AUTO. Don't be sloppy and those chimes are ringing for a reason.

 

Finally, hi-jacking my own thread..... if your FFH has DRL enabled, and you are from a GM background, the 0 on the rotary switch will NOT turn off your DRL as it does on the GM, at least not on my dealer-enabled FFH. I might be missing something, haven't dug any deeper other than surrendering to the idea that they cannot be turned off.

Edited March 9, 2010 by lrymal

[akirby]

Ford has had battery saver on it's vehicles for years now. If you leave even an interior map light on, it will turn it off after 10 or 15 minutes to save the battery.

 

Battery saver

The battery saver will shut off the lamps 30 minutes after the ignition

has been turned to the 1 (off) position.

• If the dome lamps were turned on using the panel dimmer control, the

battery saver will shut them off 30 minutes after the ignition has been

turned to the off position.

• If the courtesy lamps were turned on because one of the vehicle doors

or the trunk was opened, the battery saver will shut off them off

10 minutes after the ignition has been turned to the off position.

• The battery saver will shut off the headlamps 10 minutes after the

ignition has been turned to the off position.

 

Perhaps you left the ignition on? Or maybe the parking lights aren't included in battery saver?

Edited March 9, 2010 by akirby

[FFHdriver]

Ford has had battery saver on it's vehicles for years now. If you leave even an interior map light on, it will turn it off after 10 or 15 minutes to save the battery.

 

Battery saver

The battery saver will shut off the lamps 30 minutes after the ignition

has been turned to the 1 (off) position.

• If the dome lamps were turned on using the panel dimmer control, the

battery saver will shut them off 30 minutes after the ignition has been

turned to the off position.

• If the courtesy lamps were turned on because one of the vehicle doors

or the trunk was opened, the battery saver will shut off them off

10 minutes after the ignition has been turned to the off position.

• The battery saver will shut off the headlamps 10 minutes after the

ignition has been turned to the off position.

 

Perhaps you left the ignition on? Or maybe the parking lights aren't included in battery saver?

If you want parking lights on for safety while the car is parked, it doesn't make sense for them to time out. ??????

[akirby]

If you want parking lights on for safety while the car is parked, it doesn't make sense for them to time out. ??????

 

Well there you go. Same probably goes for the flashers. Works as designed.

[lrymal]

Well there you go. Same probably goes for the flashers. Works as designed.

No doubt, just surprised me. The GM brand vehicles have the parking lights timing out, though, and I was just used to that (dealer disable option). Not knocking anything, just surprised me, and of course I was irritated that I left the parking light selection to "on".

[lrymal]

Perhaps you left the ignition on? Or maybe the parking lights aren't included in battery saver?

Not so on leaving the ignition on.... Obviously, parking lights aren't included since I left them on via the switch and the battery was dead.

[Oman]

Ford considers the parking lamps to be a safety item. They don't turn them off with the battery saver. Some states require them to be on when the car is parked in various public / street locations but most people don't care.

 

Jon

 

 

Not so on leaving the ignition on.... Obviously, parking lights aren't included since I left them on via the switch and the battery was dead.

[lrymal]

Ford considers the parking lamps to be a safety item. They don't turn them off with the battery saver. Some states require them to be on when the car is parked in various public / street locations but most people don't care.

Probably why GM has it with a dealer enable/disable option.... ah well.