Battery saver message

[mrobinso8]

With this car not sure of anything. That is the battery the manual calls for, and is the same in the 2014 Hybrid Fusion. I downloaded the manual to see it there was a change to address the battery problems. There is room for something bigger back there if one were to get a battery holder to match a replacement. You have to take apart too much to get a clear view and the current battery has a vent tube so you have to watch for that. The Optima batteries are sealed so that is not an issue with one of them. The real issue is not wanting to spend time and money and have it not work out. Wish I could borrow a bigger battery to hook up and test for about a month. Was hoping someone else could save me the frustration.

[murphy]

The battery number is easily visible through the access opening using a flashlight.

It's on the label on the top and at the end of the battery toward the front of the car.

 

390

BXT-99R 390

[Barsoom]

Removed. See below.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Barsoom

[Barsoom]

There is room for something bigger back there if one were to get a battery holder to match a replacement.

 

Actually, I don't think there is. If you keep the panel off and slowly close the trunk, you will see that the trunk hinge bar barely clears the battery as it sweeps past. There is barely any spare height. If you put a taller battery into that compartment, the trunk will not close.

 

In any event the car needs a deep discharge battery, such as an AGM battery, instead of a "starting" battery.

 

Sorry for the double post. I was asking about this to a service advisor. He said that the car needs a cranking battery to turn on and off the ICE. I told him that I thought the ICE started from the generator once the car was started. He said the hybrid 12V actually got a harder use than a typical battery because it's continually cranking the ICE instead of just once when the car is initially started.

 

I'm not sure what to believe about the 12V battery anymore.

[murphy]

 

Actually, I don't think there is. If you keep the panel off and slowly close the trunk, you will see that the trunk hinge bar barely clears the battery as it sweeps past. There is barely any spare height. If you put a taller battery into that compartment, the trunk will not close.

 

 

Sorry for the double post. I was asking about this to a service advisor. He said that the car needs a cranking battery to turn on and off the ICE. I told him that I thought the ICE started from the generator once the car was started. He said the hybrid 12V actually got a harder use than a typical battery because it's continually cranking the ICE instead of just once when the car is initially started.

 

I'm not sure what to believe about the 12V battery anymore.

The FFH does not have a starter motor or an alternator. The 12 volt battery runs the computers, radios, lights, etc.

 

The ICE is started by one of the two motor-generators (I forget which one) using power from the HVB.

The 12 volt battery is charged by a DC to DC converter running off of the HVB.

The HVB is charged by one of the motor-generators (again I forget which one) and by regen either from braking or going down hill.

 

Anyone that tries to tell you that the 12 volt battery starts the ICE hasn't got a clue how an FFH works.

[acdii]

One thing to point out, even if you were to put in a Deep cycle, you still can only use acc for 15 minutes before it shuts off. Then you have to start all over again, built in battery saver settings work on both a timer and voltage.

 

However, I do agree, a Yellow Top Optima would be a better alternative than what is in there now.

[Barsoom]

Thanks, Murphy. That's what I thought.

 

I've been recently experimenting with adding a solar trickle charger, suction cupped to the rear window, and clamped directly to the 12V battery. I had hoped that, since my car sits in a parking lot all day when I'm at work, the charger would put some juice back into the battery while I'm working. What do you think?

 

I'm using a Sunforce 1.8W 125 mA solar panel. Here's the link: http://www.sunforceproducts.com/product_details.php?PRODUCT_ID=65

 

They also make a 2.5W 167 mA version.

 

I also wonder if, on long trips with two cell phones plugged into the accessory outlets, would the extra electricity take some load off of the 12V?

[hybridbear]

So I just got the BS message...It appeared a couple times last week, immediately after turning off the car. I always turn the radio off before shutting off the car, but often turn off the car and then open or close the windows/moonroof. A couple of times last week the battery saver message appeared the instant I turned the key to off and the windows didn't have power.

 

I checked the battery voltage in ET Mode and have been watching it since and it's definitely lower now compared to when newer. It used to be that the battery voltage in ET Mode would show 14.2-14.5 volts. Now it shows between 13.0 and 13.8 volts. The ScanGauge and ET Mode report the exact same result for voltage. Even while the car is on and I'm driving the battery voltage doesn't go above 13.8 volts now. It used to be that when driving it would always show 14.5 volts.

 

Perhaps my 12V battery is dying now after all this time. Other users whose cars were built within days of ours have all had 12V battery issues and we haven't so far. Perhaps our issues were just late in exhibiting themselves. I am keeping a set of jumper cables in the spare tire space under the trunk floor just in case now.

Edited October 16, 2013 by hybridbear

[murphy]

The voltage will be over 14 volts when the 12 volt battery is being charged.

When the 12 volt battery is fully charged it will be around 13.2 volts.

[hybridbear]

The voltage will be over 14 volts when the 12 volt battery is being charged.

When the 12 volt battery is fully charged it will be around 13.2 volts.

Hmmm, I'm not seeing the voltage show higher than 13.8 now, even when driving while the DC-DC converter is charging the 12V battery.

[murphy]

The closer it gets to full charge the lower the charging voltage will be. They don't want to overcharge the battery.

 

Think about how you would fill a glass with water exactly to the brim without spilling any.

[hybridbear]

The closer it gets to full charge the lower the charging voltage will be. They don't want to overcharge the battery.

 

Think about how you would fill a glass with water exactly to the brim without spilling any.

I didn't know the readout on the dash and on the SGII was showing how much charging is being done, I thought it is reading the current voltage of the battery.

[murphy]

I didn't know the readout on the dash and on the SGII was showing how much charging is being done, I thought it is reading the current voltage of the battery.

It is the voltage of the battery terminals. The only way to flow current into a battery is to put a higher voltage on the terminals than the batteries current voltage. The higher the applied voltage the faster it will charge up to the point where it starts to cause the battery to outgas hydrogen.

[acdii]

A load tester will tell you the current state of the battery. If you can get your paws on one, disconnect the battery and load test it. That should tell you if the battery is bad, or if there is an inverter issue

[milleron]

I started getting the battery-saver message a couple of months ago. I asked the dealer to find out what was wrong when I had the car in there for something else. He assured me that it "tested OK" and was "to spec." Well, I've never been able to leave the car on accessory for more than a few minutes.

I purchased a good Schumacher charger, and it told me that the battery was badly discharged with a resting voltage of only 11.9. It charge up, but it took it about 7 hours at 15 A! That was about two weeks ago. I tested it again to see if it was holding its charge, and it showed a resting voltage of only 12.1, indicative of a pretty bad discharge. This time, however, it refused to take a full charge. The Schumacher got it from 52% charged up to about 70%, then errored out. On the second try, it started at 52%, never went any higher, and then errored out. The Schumacher, by the way, has the ability to detect sulfation and put the battery through a desulfation cycle, but it didn't do that in this case.

 

When having my PCM update done, I informed my service dude, they rechecked, and when I picked up the car, he told me "Your battery's bad. Come back in the AM, and we'll put in a new one." At last! An admission of a faulty 12V!

 

If there is something wrong with the charging system, could it damage an otherwise good battery to the point where it could not be charged? In other words, if this battery won't hold a charge, should I accept a third one or demand that the charging system be checked?

 

My car was manufactured April 9th

[gkinla]

So I just got the BS message...It appeared a couple times last week, immediately after turning off the car. I always turn the radio off before shutting off the car, but often turn off the car and then open or close the windows/moonroof. A couple of times last week the battery saver message appeared the instant I turned the key to off and the windows didn't have power.

 

I checked the battery voltage in ET Mode and have been watching it since and it's definitely lower now compared to when newer. It used to be that the battery voltage in ET Mode would show 14.2-14.5 volts. Now it shows between 13.0 and 13.8 volts. The ScanGauge and ET Mode report the exact same result for voltage. Even while the car is on and I'm driving the battery voltage doesn't go above 13.8 volts now. It used to be that when driving it would always show 14.5 volts.

 

Perhaps my 12V battery is dying now after all this time. Other users whose cars were built within days of ours have all had 12V battery issues and we haven't so far. Perhaps our issues were just late in exhibiting themselves. I am keeping a set of jumper cables in the spare tire space under the trunk floor just in case now.

 

My build date was 11/28/12, see post 11 in this topic regarding my BS messages. I haven't seen this message appear since the LVB replacement.

[hybridbear]

My build date was 11/28/12, see post 11 in this topic regarding my BS messages. I haven't seen this message appear since the LVB replacement.

Thanks GK. I'm not going to say anything to the dealer yet since it's been only a couple of times that it's happened so far. I haven't seen any more BS messages in the past week. I continue to see lower read-outs for the 12V battery voltage both from ET Mode and the ScanGauge which sounds like the battery is losing capacity. However, yesterday it showed 14.1 volts while driving which is higher than it had been. Perhaps something had run down the charge of the 12V battery and it needed a number of trips of driving to recharge.

[acdii]

Since I rarely ever do short trips, could be why I never saw BS messages in either car, except the one time when I had first got the first car. It is possible that the charging system is low capacity and trickles charges vs slamming high current into it.

[BlueZips]

So this message popped up on my screen today, yay! :love_shower: Was wondering when I make an appointment to get this fixed, will they be replacing the battery or trying to fix/ch arge it? My build date is 12/19/12 for those who are keeping track.

[mrobinso8]

They will probably tell you it is normal or the usb drive. I have had two battery replacements and the dealer is lost. Call Ford Customer Service and get a case number which will at least document the problem. This week I am supposed to get a visit from the Ford Field Service Engineer. My car was built 10 Dec 12 and got it's first new battery the 20th of January. This was after I argued with the technician that the bs message was not normal. After a test got the new battery. I actually solved problem for about 6 weeks and I have been going round and round with them since. I give up for awhile but when I loose my settings for usb, windows, radio, etc I get mad and start again. PS after bs message the car went dead twice. Do not lock car when too far away from home.

[B25Nut]

When I had all my updates done in August my dealer performed TSB 13-5-1 that addressed the BS Message issue. After three weeks it came back. My FFH was built 10-24-12 and still has the original battery, which was found to be good after I had it tested independently. Getting a good battery charger has reduced the occurrence to about every 4-6 weeks. The last occurred early last week, after which the charger showed the battery had a 50% capacity after driving 8 miles on the highway, which is strange.

This may be related to the USB, which I always have plugged in. Its light always turns on whenever I open a door. Do others that don't use a USB experience the BS message? The problem has never caused my FFH to go dead, and it's the one remaining quirk in my car. I have just accepted it and I charge the battery up when needed. I feel it's not worth a trip to my dealer solely dedicated to it. Besides, it's giving me practice for my next car, which will probably be a plug-in. Adding the struts to the hood have made it an easier procedure.

[murphy]

If you have lots of short drives it may not be enough to keep the 12 volt battery charged.

The rule of thumb a very very long time ago was that it took 25 miles of driving to restore the energy removed by cranking the engine.

The battry is not used to "crank" the engine but it is a much smaller battery than is usually used.

I replaced the small battery in my Energi with the full size battery that is used in the standard Fusion. It wasn't easy. I had to saw the end out of the battery tray. I have not had a BS messages since I did that.

 

 

OT: There was a B25 flyover at the Nascar race in Phoenix last Saturday and a B17 flyover at the race on Sunday.

[B25Nut]

OT: There was a B25 flyover at the Nascar race in Phoenix last Saturday and a B17 flyover at the race on Sunday.

Sweet! They also did that at the Brickyard 400 and got a great response from NASCAR fans. I bet the B-25 was louder!

[aaronj1159]

This may be related to the USB, which I always have plugged in. Its light always turns on whenever I open a door. Do others that don't use a USB experience the BS message? The problem has never caused my FFH to go dead, and it's the one remaining quirk in my car. I have just accepted it and I charge the battery up when needed. I feel it's not worth a trip to my dealer solely dedicated to it. Besides, it's giving me practice for my next car, which will probably be a plug-in. Adding the struts to the hood have made it an easier procedure.

 

I too always keep my USB plugged in and occasionally get the BS message. Mostly after multiple short drives. I've never charged it though, and never had any other issues related to the message, just the message itself (and the more aggressive startup chime that comes with it)

[BlueZips]

Nope, I do not keep a usb plugged in, but my commute is only about 11 miles highway to work. So should I even bother taking it to the dealer or just buy a battery charger? I have a battery tender, dont know if that will work?