david795 Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin#95 Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david795 Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david795 Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 Tried the above suggestion, didn't seem to work 😕 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liamstears Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLews Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsk Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david795 Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david795 Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liamstears Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david795 Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david795 Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke4efc Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 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). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Essex Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) 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, 2023 by Nick Essex More Photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Essex Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 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.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unofix Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Essex Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 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 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unofix Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Essex Posted June 26, 2023 Share Posted June 26, 2023 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 ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Essex Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 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 ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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