We have a 2013 Ford C-Max. November 2017, the 12V was dead. It was jump started in order to get to the mechanic. He tested the battery and said it was fine. But we thought maybe since it was old, we’d just replace the 12V.
Since November 2017, it has died four more times. We usually get a symptom, like the radio won’t turn on, or cell phone won’t connect. At that point, the 12V might test at 10-11V. We put it in the garage.
But the next morning, all is dead. So it gets jump started and taken to Ford, who then tells us that nothing is wrong with the 12V battery.
December 2018, it happened again and was taken to Ford. We had found on the internet about a service bulletin that was available back in 2014-2015 for free. We had never gotten that. So it was done in December 2018. And charged for it.
That actually made it worse and the next time it died was only a month later.
We would trade this in on something newer and not a Ford. But it just doesn’t seem to be the right thing to do. Some poor kid will buy it at a reduced cost and get totally screwed.
Have the car checked for a parasitic drain. Your Ford dealer knows how to do this. I suspect some thing is failing and drawing too much current when the car is off.
Yes, from what we have gleaned, ‘something’ is draining the 12V.
I will look in to ‘parasitic drain’.
Our arrangement currently is to bring it directly to Service once I lose something, like the radio, without turning off the engine. If the pattern repeats, it should be totally dead by the next morning.
The plan is to look at it before the car is shut down.
In terms of trading it in, what do you care if the next owner gets “totally screwed” ? It is that person’s responsibility to get a pre-purchase inspection before purchasing the car.
Having invested nearly $1k to fix this problem, our current arrangement is that Ford pays for one hour, we pay for a second hour. $130. We have opened a case number with Ford.
All I know is this . . . whoever it is you’ve been dealing with at Seabreeze Ford is not getting a handle on the situation. That sounds like incompetence to me.
could be the service writer hasn’t been writing up the customer’s complaint in a way that accurately describes the situation
could be the particular mechanic who’s been working on your car is woefully inadequate in regards to electrical diagnosis
how skilled are you?
If you have a decent digital multimeter, you could probably figure this out yourself
there are many videos out there, that describe in great detail how to perform a proper parasitic draw test
I care. It’s not the right thing to do. But my husband feels as you do.
My
husband bought a new gadget to test the battery. It can charge it as well as check how many volts are left. But we’ve since discovered that Ford needs to ‘see’ it when I get the first symptoms and before it is shut down. Once shut down, it is dead the next day. So it’s been charged when Ford sees it and finds nothing.
My husband is quite good at cars. I’ll find those videos and present to him and see what happens.
Thanks !
SaraDaino:
Seabreeze Ford is highly rated.
With all due respect, who cares?
All I know is this . . . whoever it is you’ve been dealing with at Seabreeze Ford is not getting a handle on the situation. That sounds like incompetence to me.
could be the service writer hasn’t been writing up the customer’s complaint in a way that accurately describes the situation
could be the particular mechanic who’s been working on your car is woefully inadequate in regards to electrical diagnosis
how skilled are you?
If you have a decent digital multimeter, you could probably figure this out yourself
there are many videos out there, that describe in great detail how to perform a proper parasitic draw test
A parasitic draw occurs when the vehicle is parked however you stated that the voltage dropped while driving resulting in a discharged battery before you parked the vehicle, that would be a problem with the inverter/converter assembly or the cables and wiring.
An inverter/converter assembly is expensive so it is understandable that they don’t want to replace one based on speculation. To bring the vehicle to the shop when the problem is occurring will help with the diagnoses.
It is now April 1st. My husband has been checking the 12V battery every few weeks. Only once did he see the voltage dropping slightly. So he charged it, which completely destroyed the concept of bringing it in to the dealership to have it checked while in process of losing voltage.
The case file I made with Ford-Detroit is still open, I guess. Just my dumb luck it hasn’t happened again.
So I will keep the C-Max for now; or maybe even give it to my son along with that charger thing my husband bought that keeps it running. He’s knowledgeable about cars.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts on this. Yes it must have a parasitic draw, but hopefully our band-aid on this will keep it running for a long time. It is a 2013 with 55k miles on it, and has otherwise been an excellent car for us.