Hi all, 

My battery has died quite a few times since I bought it in 2018, if I dont drive it for more than a 10-14 days but I never bothered to do anything about it because service checks have shown that battery is OK. 

Due to the recent situation I've not been driving it as much so have noticed this more commonly but it seems now even if I only leave it for 3-4 days it runs out of charge. 

I did a paristic drain test to see where the majority of the drain was coming from and found it to relate to fuses F21-24 which all relate to the audio unit /instrument cluster (F21 in particular) - drawing about 0.65A. 

F21 is the Audio Control Module so it seems an issue relating to the Audio unit. I can hear that there is a ticking noise from the audio area that comes and goes every 10 mins or so, so it seems like something is staying on. 

Does anyone know how I can fix this?

Thanks in advance.

David

David

Copied from the internet. Might help.

You've probably solved this by now but for others benefit.

I have been having this same problem with my wife's car, it is being caused by the ignition not turning off properly, when you take the key out listen for the normal (fairly loud) click, i'm guessing that the times it's gone flat it hasn't clicked and the radio has stayed on.

A good long squirt of WD40 down the ignition barrel sorted ours out.
 

59 minutes ago, Kevin#95 said:

David

Copied from the internet. Might help.

You've probably solved this by now but for others benefit.

I have been having this same problem with my wife's car, it is being caused by the ignition not turning off properly, when you take the key out listen for the normal (fairly loud) click, i'm guessing that the times it's gone flat it hasn't clicked and the radio has stayed on.

A good long squirt of WD40 down the ignition barrel sorted ours out.
 

Cheers for that but out of interest any idea why the ignition may nit be turning off the stereo? 

Tried the above suggestion, didn't seem to work 😕

I wonder if its a faulty ACM?

Reason I say this is I had a problem with mine that I noticed every few mins it was making a noise sounding like it was trying to spin a CD and wonder if this is the noise you are referring to? Does it sound like its coming from the CD drive? You should be able to feel the vibration too if so...

If so maybe a replacement ACM could fix it...

I had heard that there's a firmware bug where if the stereo is switched off when you turn the engine off that the bluetooth module doesn't power down properly and so drains the battery.

I found this out because the battery on mine went completely flat several times when I hadn't had any issues with it before.

I haven't been able (or willing) to test this out but the stereo had been switched off before the battery went flat every time so it might be worth testing it out of you're able.

You could be right James. Many moons ago one of my titanium Fiesta's had a flat battery a couple of times.I was told there was a bug and to leave my radio switched on all the time to stop the battery going flat (ie the radio would be on when I turned the ignition off). A couple of weeks later Ford brought out a fix after that no more problems.

Thanks for your input everyone. 

I rarely turn the radio off so its always on when I turm the car back on. I installed the latest SW from Ford site (V5.11 I think it was) but didn't seem to make a difference, battery was still draining. Only issue was that I don't think my car created a log file on my USB stick as it is meant to do, so don't know if that means the update wasn't completed? 

19 hours ago, liamstears said:

I wonder if its a faulty ACM?

Reason I say this is I had a problem with mine that I noticed every few mins it was making a noise sounding like it was trying to spin a CD and wonder if this is the noise you are referring to? Does it sound like its coming from the CD drive? You should be able to feel the vibration too if so...

If so maybe a replacement ACM could fix it...

Its from a very similar location but its almost like something is continuously switching on and off like a tick. 

Thats my next thought but I wanted to exhaust all other alternatives first. 

Seems like alot of people had a similar issue fixed with a software fix but it didn't seem to work for me unless I did something wrong. 

Any luck tracking this down?

You saying tick makes me wonder if it's the linkage on the heating as this is in the same sort of area...

This issue has returned on my car again, presumably more noticeable as I'm working from home again and the colder weather. 

It still looks to be relating to the Bluetooth/Sync/Instrument Cluster from the fuses I've pulled behind the glove box although I'm still getting a current drain of about 100mA even after I've pulled the main 4 suspected fuses (was ~500mA before I pulled the fuses). 

Any idea what else could be causing this additional 100mA?

I'm tempted to buy a new Audio Control Module now but just wanted to check again before I do.

 

Thanks! 

I've read online that it could be relating to a software issue in the FCDIM (screen module), which makes sense ss the screen is periodically turning on and off when the engine is off and doord locked. 

Any idea how I can update the SW of FCDIM? 

 

Link to source: https://www.justanswer.com/uk-ford/96yag-ford-fiesta-fiesta-1-2-11-plate-left-week.html

You'll always have a small current draw, even with the car locked etc. After all, the alarm needs to stay alive 24/7.

You can rule the Bluetooth module out by unplugging it and seeing if the draw drops off. Having said that if you're having the screen come on/off randomly then it's probably not the Bluetooth.

The software may be updated by Ford, however I can tell you now it would be cheaper to buy a new stereo than pay for them to update it (which has a high chance of making no difference whatsoever).

I also have this problem . Big current drain when Car was turned off...

After finally tracing it down to Fuse 21 (Audio System) in glove box 

I have pulled fuse 21 and at It’s stopped the current drain. ( I have no Radio , I can turn stereo on , screen comes on , but no sound ) 

I will continue to investigate and I will update you on my findings, 

 

 

Edited June 23, 20232 yr by Nick Essex
More Photos

3 hours ago, Nick Essex said:

I also have this problem . Big current drain when Car was turned off...

After finally tracing it down to Fuse 21 (Audio System) in glove box 

I have pulled fuse 21 and at It’s stopped the current drain. ( I have no Radio , I can turn stereo on , screen comes on , but no sound ) 

I will continue to investigate and I will update you on my findings, 

Update - Unplugged Sync and Bluetooth Unit

Today Unplugged Sync and Bluetooth unit (photo 4) still got the drain... 

The quest continues....

 

 

 

 

 

Have you used FORScan to see which modules are remaining awake ?

On a 2013 Fiesta my thoughts would be with the usual faulty solder joints on the instrument cluster which keeps the Canbus alive.

Great advice as always Unofix, I have always read your posts with great interest.  I think I’ll buy one from Amazon, Would there be any you recommend ?

 

 

5 hours ago, Nick Essex said:

 I think I’ll buy one from Amazon, Would there be any you recommend ?

Hi Nick, if you are going to use FORScan on a windows laptop (which is the best option for full diagnostics) I'd recommend the 'vLinker FS' which can normally be bought from Amazon for £29.99. Sadly at the moment they have pushed the price up to  £34.99 just so in a weeks time they can advertise it as a sale. So if you can wait you will get it cheaper.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-vLinker-Adapter-FORScan-MS-CAN/dp/B0952P4MLP

Many Thanks for your advice Unofix,

I will take your advice and invest in a 'vLinker FS'

Today I put a switch on the Audio circuit ( Fuse 21 )  with a amp meter , So for now I can measure the current and break the circuit to the Audio and stop the drain ( drain happens even when the audio unit  is switched to OFF ) so this stops this for now.

I will update with any new info .....

 

 

16 hours ago, Nick Essex said:

 

Today I put a switch on the Audio circuit ( Fuse 21 )  with an amp meter , So for now I can measure the current and break the circuit to the Audio and stop the drain ( drain happens when audio unit  is switched OFF and car is OFF - photo 1 ) so this stops this for now - ( photo 2)

I will update with any new info .....

 

 

 

 

 

So it’s been 2 years since I fitted this switch .

Its basically a switch to fuse 21 which was slowly drawing power from the battery. 

If I need Radio On while the car is running I turn it On and I turn it off when I exit the car.

The big thing I’ve noticed is I  the Start/Stop works again , even when the car has not been driven for a while.

 

 

6 hours ago, Nick Essex said:

2 years since I fitted this switch .

Love the switch 👍

Even better I love the location of it 🤣😂🤣

Conversely that would annoy the hell out of me!

Though I do appreciate the effort that's gone into finding a solution.

43 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Conversely that would annoy the hell out of me!

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