Had to get her Towed in last night.

[thmullan]

So for a second time since taking ownership of this car almost 3 weeks ago, I have had to have it returned to the dealer......last night on a flat deck.
The beauty broke down about an 90 mins from where I live. 

First.....came out from shopping to find almost zero power to the car and all errors and warning lights blinking and beeping.
I disconnected the battery for a while in the hopes that a re-set would allow me to start it but no dice.  Same errors, sync shutting down, lights flashing etc. 
Got a boost and it started just fine and all was good.  I ran the car for about two hours consecutively before I shut it off again.  Turned it off once for a period of about 30 minutes and it fired up just fine.  Ran it for about another hour doing errands etc by this point it was time for dinner so the kids and I stopped at a restaurant, about 90 minutes later tried to fire it up and it was pretty much dead again except this time it was trying to turn over but it just wouldn't.  It would surge, cough, sputter and choke for a while until it finally died.  Called a friend 90 minutes away with a flatdeck and we loaded it up and dropped it at the dealership where I bought it.

I love this car! But I am not sure I want it back as my confidence in it is shaken. 

The first time this happened it went into limp mode, dealer re-flashed it and it had been fine since.
I may have to work out a deal on a different vehicle and save myself the headache.

 

[jbeez]

I haven't heard of anyone else having this issue. Could your battery have a bad cell or faulty charging system? What year and how many miles are on it?

 

[MightBeASynth]

This kind of stuff really sounds a lot like a battery issue. Either bad battery, corrosion or bad ground somewhere.

 

[thmullan]

I haven't heard of anyone else having this issue. Could your battery have a bad cell or faulty charging system? What year and how many miles are on it?

That's my first thought and hopefully the case.
2014 with 56,000kms. 
I would have liked to look into it a little further but by the time we dropped it it was 2am and I had to be up for work at 5:30. 

 

[thmullan]

This kind of stuff really sounds a lot like a battery issue. Either bad battery, corrosion or bad ground somewhere.

Both terminals were clean and the main ground was also clean. 
I thought electrical at first but after all the chugging and burping I am thinking otherwise it a combination of problems. 

 

[wraitherx]

Similar issues happened with me. Turned out to be the battery. Terminals were clean and everything except when I checked voltage it was 10.4. Jumped it and it was back up with the alternator turning in a 14.2. Let it sit overnight and it was down to 6.5. Confirmed my suspicions of the battery and a draw test turned up nothing. took it to the dealer and changed out the battery at 32k. My '11 had the same issue with a dying cell and about the same mileage it was replaced. Sounds like that where your problem lies and hopefully that's what it is.

 

[thmullan]

Thank you!

Me too

 

[ZSHO]

The battery is certainly a weak point on this platform and had mine replaced under warranty for an upgraded MC-BXT-75-850 which is a heavy duty battery for sure....also you can always check the voltage level on the left side of your instrument cluster via "engineering mode"with the vehicle off.  Z 

 

[thmullan]

The battery is certainly a weak point on this platform and had mine changed under warranty for an upgraded MC-BXT-75-850 which is a heavy duty battery for sure....also you can always check the voltage level on the left side of your instrument cluster via "engineering mode"with the vehicle off.  Z 

Damn!  I was scrolling through all the settings last night looking for a voltage display and I don't recall seeing engineering mode  :-[ :-[

 

[SHOdded]

Battery most likely, just to echo everyone in this thread.  If they think the battery is fine, make sure they test it properly (digital load tester) rather than an analog tester.

 

[wraitherx]

Battery most likely, just to echo everyone in this thread.  If they think the battery is fine, make sure they test it properly (digital load tester) rather than an analog tester.

+1 digital load tester. Keep us updated.

Z- how do you access said "engineer mode"?

 

[FoMoCoSHO]

The battery is certainly a weak point on this platform and had mine replaced under warranty for an upgraded MC-BXT-75-850 which is a heavy duty battery for sure....

I'm on my 3rd battery, lol.

 

[wraitherx]

Nvm, found it.
Here you go OP. How to get into engineering mode.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JkoUOAFC3aM

 

[ZSHO]

13+SHO--Engineering Mode  Its a fairly simple process,with the vehicle off press the push button start once and while in accessory mode hold the OK button on the left side of the steering wheel for five seconds,while holding the ok button press the push button start again which is ignition mode,at this point you will be in engineering mode and the speedometer will perform a sweep test,then just use the up/down buttons on the left side of the steering wheel to navigate you through the options,also the build date,battery voltage and more can be obtained in this mode.  Z

 

[thmullan]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies, video and instructions. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ZSHO]

The battery is certainly a weak point on this platform and had mine replaced under warranty for an upgraded MC-BXT-75-850 which is a heavy duty battery for sure....

I'm on my 3rd battery, lol.

Its amazing its only a TEN dollar and TEN pound difference between the 650 and 850 battery and you would think they would improvise after the 3rd battery or at least give you a 750 like our PI Predecessor to maybe troubleshoot the issue unless in fact one of the modules does not like to sleep and is draining the battery slowly and if so they need to step UP there game a bit and find out the underlying cause rather than replacing battery's and certainly dont wait until the 3yr-36k is up,just my 2 cent.  Z

 

[sholxgt]

My car is on its third battery also.  Another 650.  When it's my dime, I'll go for the 850.

 

[FoMoCoSHO]

The battery is certainly a weak point on this platform and had mine replaced under warranty for an upgraded MC-BXT-75-850 which is a heavy duty battery for sure....

I'm on my 3rd battery, lol.

Its amazing its only a TEN dollar and TEN pound difference between the 650 and 850 battery and you would think they would improvise after the 3rd battery or at least give you a 750 like our PI Predecessor to maybe troubleshoot the issue unless in fact one of the modules does not like to sleep and is draining the battery slowly and if so they need to step UP there game a bit and find out the underlying cause rather than replacing battery's and certainly dont wait until the 3yr-36k is up,just my 2 cent.  Z

It is so random and intermittent I have no idea how we'd track it down.

It's not an issue when the car is regularly driven and a part of me thinks its the MX....but then I go months with it plugged in with no issue so IDK.

Giving someone an upgraded part under warranty is a Ford no go and I would never ask the Mrs to violate any Ford policy, I'm not special and $10.00 isn't worth causing a bruhaha if there's a Ford audit. I will just pony up for a monster when the failure occurs outside of warranty.

 

[r1crusher]

My time was more valuable than the cost of an 850 vs. several free 650's.  Not to mention if it dies while on a trip or nowhere near a dealership or in the dead of night or not having a car potentially in the worst case scenario.

That's just me of course.

 

[MightBeASynth]

My time was more valuable than the cost of an 850 vs. several free 650's.  Not to mention if it dies while on a trip or nowhere near a dealership or in the dead of night or not having a car potentially in the worst case scenario.

That's just me of course.

This was my logic too, I don't have time for the car to randomly fail and go through that whole process. With my luck it would happen at the very worst time possible. I went ahead and swapped for an AGM style at about 11k miles.