Just about everything you ever wanted to know about the FFH battery

[B25Nut]

No BS problems to report four weeks after giving the 12v a good charge.

[B25Nut]

The BS Message appeared again when I pulled into my garage tonight. I charged it while I installed my hood struts. The battery was at 60% and 12.2 v. I guess I can live with a Plug-In (every six weeks) Hybrid.

[swingdj]

I picked up the Schumacher 15 amp Charger from Amazon -- $50. Battery was at 68% on a '14 HiTi, five months old, 6,000 miles. Charged to 100% in a little less than an hour.

[mwr]

I must be missing something here. Why is it necessary (or desirable) to get an external charger for the 12v battery?

[murphy]

I must be missing something here. Why is it necessary (or desirable) to get an external charger for the 12v battery?

If you don't drive the car every day, with at least one 10 mile trip, the 12 volt battery will not stay charged due to the electronics in the car always being on.

I sometimes drive only once per week so the 12 volt battery is maintaining the electronics for a week without being recharged.

[mwr]

If you don't drive the car every day, with at least one 10 mile trip, the 12 volt battery will not stay charged due to the electronics in the car always being on.

I sometimes drive only once per week so the 12 volt battery is maintaining the electronics for a week without being recharged.

You mean that if you're gone for a two-week vacation, when you come back your 12v battery is dead? That just doesn't sound right (I hope).

[corncobs]

You mean that if you're gone for a two-week vacation, when you come back your 12v battery is dead? That just doesn't sound right (I hope).

Not really dead but you might see the BS (battery safer) message on MFT that just means the car is protecting the 12V battery from becoming completely discharged.

 

I had no issues after 2.5 month sitting in my garage. She turned right on when we got home.

[mwr]

Not really dead but you might see the BS (battery safer) message on MFT that just means the car is protecting the 12V battery from becoming completely discharged.

 

I had no issues after 2.5 month sitting in my garage. She turned right on when we got home.

That sounds more like it should be. Then why the need/desire for external chargers?

[corncobs]

That sounds more like it should be. Then why the need/desire for external chargers?

Some people just don't like to see the BS message. Some of them drive just short trip not giving the car enough time to keep the charge high. A few others might have defective batteries a known issue from early 2013.

 

So that has triggered some people to charge it externally every few weeks just to avoid the BS message when getting out if the car.

[Easy Rider]

You mean that if you're gone for a two-week vacation, when you come back your 12v battery is dead? That just doesn't sound right (I hope).

Apparently you haven't been following the 12 V battery discussions.

 

Yes, it is absolutely true and it is not limited to Ford hybrids either.

 

Because the 12 V battery does not actually run a starter motor like a conventional car, the manufacturers thought they could get away with a much smaller battery in the hybrids.

For most people, that works. For some it doesn't.

 

In addition to patterns of low usage or prolonged non-usage leaving the battery almost dead.......leaving it chronically low like that reduces it's life expectancy too.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Easy Rider

[Easy Rider]

I picked up the Schumacher 15 amp Charger from Amazon -- $50.

 

Does that model also have an automatic "maintenance" mode ??

 

If not, a 15 amp charger is too much to leave connected much past the full charge point.

[murphy]

That sounds more like it should be. Then why the need/desire for external chargers?

Because it is very bad for a wet cell lead acid "starter" battery to be to be taken to a very low charge level. Sometimes it destroys the battery because of the way the plates are constructed. "Starter" batteries are designed to provide a short burst of high current and then be immediately recharged. That is not the way this car uses the 12 volt battery. It's the wrong battery for the car but the correct battery costs about twice as much.

[mwr]

Because it is very bad for a wet cell lead acid "starter" battery to be to be taken to a very low charge level. Sometimes it destroys the battery because of the way the plates are constructed. "Starter" batteries are designed to provide a short burst of high current and then be immediately recharged. That is not the way this car uses the 12 volt battery. It's the wrong battery for the car but the correct battery costs about twice as much.

Can you just buy a correct replacement battery to solve the problem?

[murphy]

Can you just buy a correct replacement battery to solve the problem?

I never found any other battery that would fit. It's a Ford proprietary battery that no one else makes.

 

I replaced mine with an Optima Yellow Top D35 battery.

It involved removing the battery tray from the car and cutting the rear edge off of it so the battery would fit.

[mwr]

I never found any other battery that would fit. It's a Ford proprietary battery that no one else makes.

 

I replaced mine with an Optima Yellow Top D35 battery.

It involved removing the battery tray from the car and cutting the rear edge off of it so the battery would fit.

What difference did you notice after you did that?

[murphy]

I never get the battery saver message anymore.

The 12 volt power ports stay powered for 70 minutes after turning the car off instead of shutting off immediately.

I can turn the radio on, with the car not in run mode, without it immediately triggering the battery saver function.

There is no longer any chance of sulfuric acid coming out the vent and dripping on my garage floor. (It's a maintenance free battery but it is not a sealed maintenance free battery).

My battery won't be destroyed by a low charge level because it's an AGM battery and not a wet cell lead acid battery.

 

I had this exact same problem with my 2010 Fusion Hybrid except it didn't have the battery saver protection, it just let the battery die.

[mwr]

This article says the 2014 Fusion with 1.6-liter EcoBoost four plus Auto Start-Stop has "a more powerful 12-volt lead-acid absorbed glass matt (AGM) battery".

http://hybridcars.com/2014-ford-fusion-with-stop-start-overview

 

Wonder why they didn't put an AGM battery in the FFH?

[murphy]

 

Wonder why they didn't put an AGM battery in the FFH?

Because it costs at least twice as much as the one they install.

[Easy Rider]

Can you just buy a correct replacement battery to solve the problem?

 

Making a higher capacity battery fit is difficult....at best.

 

Even deep discharge designed ones don't like to be LEFT low for long periods.

 

The best solution......IF your driving patterns are one of the few that actually HAS a problem......is an automatic maintenance charger applied at least once a week, or continuously during long periods of non-use.

 

And finally.......if you aren't having a problem yet AND you drive your hybrid at least 10 miles every 3 days or so AND you don't leave it sit unused for weeks at a time......then there likely is NOTHING to worry about.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Easy Rider

[Easy Rider]

 

Wonder why they didn't put an AGM battery in the FFH?

 

Are you really sure that they didn't ??

I would look......if it wasn't such a pain in the butt to get to.

 

And if the usage pattern is such that the battery consistently stays low on charge, the AGM won't really solve the problem, it will just prolong it a bit before the battery fails completely.