Dead 12 Volt Battery - 2013 Fusion Hybrid

[acdii]

If it wasnt so damned cold OUt I would run out and look to see if there is an alternator on the car. What always puzzles me is if they have a convertor, why even bother with the 12V battery?

[murphy]

If it wasnt so damned cold OUt I would run out and look to see if there is an alternator on the car. What always puzzles me is if they have a convertor, why even bother with the 12V battery?

It does not have an alternator.

When the car is turned off the high voltage battery is disconnected. Without the 12 volt battery it would be completely dead with no way to turn it back on.

[hermans]

How long ago did you get the battery replaced? Have there been any issues since? Have you "stressed" the new one for an extended amount of time like when you try to master different aspects of MFT?

It was replaced last Sat. No issues. I had to reset my dash and did it in accessory mode. One thing I did find strange. When I reset the dash I had to to the radio and I now have all of the Sirius channels - I mean everything. Before then I only had the basic 6-month try it out trial package. I don't know what happened, but I'm not calling them to find out.

[Kaleido]

I wonder what the difference is between a BXT-67-R battery, (that is the one the car calls for for a Hybrid) and a BXT-99R-390 that I have installed in my car from the factory, that is for a 2.04 overhead cam. I wish they would post the specs on these batteries and not just the part numbers.

[GrySql]

I wonder what the difference is between a BXT-67-R battery, (that is the one the car calls for for a Hybrid) and a BXT-99R-390 that I have installed in my car from the factory, that is for a 2.04 overhead cam. I wish they would post the specs on these batteries and not just the part numbers.

The Ford Parts catalog lists the BXT-99R-390 for the Atkinson engined FFH and a certain standard 2.0L. They are rated at 390 Cold Cranking Amps (CCA).

The BXT batteries hava a longer warranty too.

 

From the Spec's chart:

• 100-month limited pro rata/36-month FREE

replacement on Tested Tough MAX (BXT)

batteries.

• 84-month limited pro rata/18-month FREE

replacement on Motorcraft Tested Tough Plus

Series (BXL) batteries

Edited March 29, 2013 by GrySql

[neod192]

Can someone tell me where in the owner manual it specifies the Fusion Hybrid should have the BXT-99R-390 battery? I downloaded the hybrid manual from motorcraftservice.com and couldn't find any references to the battery type - only how to charge it.

Edited March 28, 2013 by neod192

[murphy]

Can someone tell me where in the owner manual it specifies the Fusion Hybrid should have the BXT-99R-390 battery? I downloaded the hybrid manual from motorcraftservice.com and couldn't find any references to the battery type - only how to charge it.

Page 298

 

It's not the 99R.

 

BXT-96R-500

BXT-96R-590

[GrySql]

My car also has the 99R-390.

The standard Fusion Owner's Manual has the 96R-500 or 590 for the three different gas engines (PG 294).

 

The Ford Parts Catalog and my FFH has the same spec and battery.

I believe an error has crept into the system.

[murphy]

A hybrid vehicle should IMHO have a deep discharge battery since it is used to power the computers and accessories but not used to start the engine.

I have not been able to find any specifications on the proprietary battery that came in my 2010 Fusion Hybrid. I do know that the battery is not available anywhere other than from Ford.

[acdii]

I dont believe that! I'll be right back.

[acdii]

I dont think I would have any problems finding a replacement for this one at Farm & Fleet. The one in the 13 appears to be the same size too.

 

[neod192]

Page 298

 

It's not the 99R.

 

BXT-96R-500

BXT-96R-590

Thanks! I see it now. Well, since the manual for the gas and Hybrid list the same battery, it has to be a mistake :) The battery in the cars has to be the correct one and it's part # BXT-99R-390.

[acdii]

I noticed on mine the past couple times I started it I was getting the low battery warning to turn ignition off or start the car.

[Kaleido]

I wonder at what point the system thinks there is "low battery". I've been having this issue since I got the car and recently I bought a cool battery / charging meter from Amazon. You plug it in the accessory outlet (cigarette lighter hole) and it reads battery voltage when sitting and when running "charging". It always reads in the mid 14's when the car is on, even if the gas motor isn't running. When I shut the car off and pull the key it drops to 12V, or just over. Now when I check it a little later it reads just over 11V to mid 11's.

[acdii]

That sounds low. It should be reading at least 12. something when not in use. My wife has our 10 right now or I would do a comparison between the 2 cars with my load meter.

[B25Nut]

For the past month I've been getting the Battery Saver message almost constantly, so last week I had my dealer check it out. I have put my 12v on a trickle charge twice with the BS message coming back in two days, so when the dealer said they just charged the battery and it was fine, I was a little upset. But I'm glad I didn't make a big issue of it. The message has not been seen for a week now, and I am now getting 2 mpg better mileage. On my 600+mile trip this past weekend, the HV SOC rarely got below 70% unless I intentionally drained it going up a grade. My FFH was more effecient while cruising in the 65-70 mph range.

Before the trip I did increase the tire pressure from 34 psi to 39 psi, and the temperatures while driving ranged from 52-65 degrees, so these may be a factor, but seeing my lifetime average now at 37.5 instead of the 35.4 from two weeks ago makes me feel much better. I have a feeling the dealer did more than just charge the battery, since they had it all day.

[GrySql]

B25Nut, that is good news! :)

[gkinla]

With my 2013 Fusion Hybrid I had been having the same battery saver messages appear and two weeks ago it happened every time I put the ignition in accessory or pulled the key. The dealer had been trying to find a solution and was puzzled. I tasked my service advisor to find a solution. One week later he called me and told me to bring the car in to replace the 12 V battery. This was after the battery checked out from previous visits. He spoke with the hybrid tech at some length, the tech had learned that replacing the 12 V battery was the solution. It's been one week since the replacement and the problem hasn't repeated. I hope this was the final cure.

[corncobs]

Here is something I have learned today even after reading the FFH manual twice.

 

!!!The 12V DC Power Points in our cars are not turned off after you shut off the car!!!

 

As stated on page 144 of the manual if you have something plugged in it will continue to discharge the battery.

 

I was wondering about the 12V plug I had in my front power point for charging my phone still showing the little blue light after turning off the car. Today was even more obvious since I connected my ambient lighting to the power point in the center cubby and they wouldn't turn off after parking the car. I'm not sure what the deal was yesterday when I wired it but I could swear they turned off when turning off the car.

Anyway I didn’t do anything about the fact and let things go there way I kept checking and the lights turned off after a few hours.

 

The car started fine but after reading all the reports about the “Battery saver message” and the window one touch up functionality being lost I checked the windows leaving work and to no surprise the windows didn't work anymore. Luckily being knowlegable enough thru this forum I reset the windows and everything is fine again.

Now I also know why I had the window problem before; the little USB charging plugg was draining my battery.

 

Some; maybe all of you might say what a fool but I want my foolishness be a warning to everyone else maybe seeing similar behavior.

[acdii]

I dont see any fools here! :) Good detective work though. In the 10 the power point does shut off, so I was surprised by your finding.

[neod192]

I thought that accessory power does shut off after 10 minutes or so.

[corncobs]

No not really and I thought the same. From what I have "tested" it was more like two hours and it might depend on the load. Based on what I saw yesterday I would guess that higher loads lead to faster discharge lead to faster battery saver shut down.

BTW the 110V outlet is shut down as soon you open the door just like the radio. That's what I'm currently using to power my ambient lights ;-))

[gkinla]

After reading the new posts this morning, I went out to look into the car and see if the indicator light was on on the 12v to USB power adapter, it was off. I opened the door the light stayed off until I turned the key. After turning off the engine, leaving the car and locking the doors, the light on the 12v port stayed on, I kept checking every 10 minutes, after one hour the light finally turned off.

 

I use an old iPhone as a iPod and it is continuously plugged into one of the USB ports in the center console. When I get into the car I can hear the double buzz when the power is applied to the iPhone, this is before I turn the key, so I know this port is dead until I open the door.

 

I also noticed that the 112v power port shuts off as soon as the door is opened.

[B25Nut]

Would a flash drive constantly plugged into the USB have any significant voltage drain?

[fusionTX]

Would a flash drive constantly plugged into the USB have any significant voltage drain?

A friend of mine who has a Prius was constantly having problems with his 12 volt battery. He finally was fed up and took it to the shop and had them keep it for several days, so they could see the battery would drain on its own. It turns out he had a flash drive connected to a USB port that was draining his battery. It didn't hurt too much when he drove it every day, but every time he left it at the airport, it would be dead when he came back.