2014 Ford Kuga battery drain.

[mwdj79]

Hello All.

I have a 2014 Ford Kuga Titanium X. It has over the last few weeks started to have a battery power drain causing the battery to be drained enough not to be able to start.

I have read on the forums about the bluetooth module, I have de-bounded all the phones, reset the system and turned it off but there is still a power drain.

I have left the car unlocked over night to see if it is the alarm that causes it, but still a power drain.

I have a tow bar on the car so disconnected it, again it still drains.

I have fitted a new battery just incase the battery was the issue still no success.

Prior to the battery drain issue the car did start experiencing a starting issue, where on the first start of the day it struggled but eventually started - the issue was only on the first start of the day all other starts were fine.

Has anyone got any ideas what it could be or what I could do to resolve the issues?

 

Thanks.

[Luke4efc]

You need to do a parasitic draw test to figure out which circuit is causing the battery drain as you're just guessing atm.

Get a multimeter, remove the negative terminal and put one lead on the battery terminal and the other lead on the negative cable. Set your multimeter to amps and check how much current you have. My guess is you'll have a draw above 200mA if your battery keeps going flat.

Start removing fuses 1 by 1 till the current drops off, then you've identified the circuit at fault.

When you do the test, make sure the doors are locked, all lights etc. are switched off and you've left the car for half an hour ish. You'll get a false reading if you don't, as some of the modules will be awake and drawing current.

[Tdci-Peter]

4 hours ago, mwdj79 said:

It has over the last few weeks started to have a battery power drain causing the battery to be drained enough not to be able to start.

As Luke says, some measurements are needed. At the moment it is impossible to tell whether there is a parasitic power draw while the car is shut down, or the alternaotor is not charging properly, or there is a wiring problem between battery, alternator, starter, engine, or there is a problem with the starter motor, or another problem with the engine.

The simplest way to test for parasitic power draw is to make sure the battery is fully charged, then leave the car locked, but with some way to measure battery voltage, like an extension cable on a power socket. and monitor the voltage a couple of times a day over several days to see if it keeps on dropping. It should settle slowly to around 12.5, maybe 12.6 with a good battery, maybe a bit less with an older battery. If you have to open a door, it will affect measurements, so keep it consistent. Car batteries have a long memory of past charge or discharge events, and take a long time to settle to a stable voltage.

When it comes to charging and starting, again voltage gives some clues. Over 14v is needed to fully charge a battery. How quickly the engine spins over when cranking gives clues as to whether there is a starter motor or wiring problem. If battery voltage stays high and the engine turns over slowly, then suspect motor or its wiring. If battery voltage drops a lot (9v or less) when cranking, then it could be poor battery (but it is new, I believe), discharged battery, or a starter motor problem.

[mwdj79]

Thank you Luke4efc and Tdci-Peter your help is very much appreciated, I will try this at the weekend and let you know what happens. Again thank you.

[Oma]

I have just raised the same issue with battery drain did you get yours sorted ?