2020 Battery Drain (NOT PHEV)

[Edge of Reason]

Hi,

My 2020 ST Line X Ecoblue 2 Litre AWD, doesn’t seem to be holding battery charge and I’m not sure why. Other than the fact my stop/start rarely operates, I haven’t really noticed the drain but I keep getting notifications via the Ford Pass app that “Remote features have been disabled to preserve battery” with the following blurb..

”Your Kuga ST Line X equipped with FordPass(TM) Connect has entered Deep Sleep mode to conserve battery energy. Remote features including start/stop and lock/unlock may be temporarily unavailable because your battery charge level is low. 
 
You can easily fix this yourself by going for a longer ride. Make sure to keep your air conditioning and accessories off during this drive to recharge your battery faster. 
 
If your vehicle doesn’t start: - Jump start it then take it for a drive to recharge the battery - Contact your preferred dealer for further service if needed.”

At times when I’ve been washing my car or topping up screen wash etc, I have noticed the car making all sorts of clicks and noises despite it not having been started up, so wondered if this is normal or if it may have some connection. Unfortunately I don’t have a multi meter so have no way of measuring battery voltage. I have the car on a trickle charge just now to see if this makes any odds. I should say that the vast majority of my journeys are short ones, so probably not best at keeping the battery charged up, particularly coupled with the cold conditions recently so the heated seat and steering wheel have been used a fair bit. I’m hoping it’s just my use rather than anything untoward but thought I’d ask in case there was a known issue. I’m aware of issues with the PHEV battery drain, but the 12V battery in the PHEV is different to the non hybrid cars like mine. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. 

[Ian48]

Hi,

I have a 2020 2.0 Ecoblue Titanium which has loads of elecrical gremlins.   Has already been in because BLIS (blindspot information system) was not working, one of the parking sensors was hyperactive, washer fluid low warning comes on every 10 minutes.  BLIS seems to be fixed, took 4 days and they said it involved replacement of brackets rather than anything electrical.  Other faults persist.  Stop/Start never works and locking via the keyless touch sensors works 50% of time - so is pointless trying.  Having read on other forums seems this could be due to the car being reluctant to fully charge battery as this consumes engine power!!  If the battery charge or battery condition is at the marginal level the car starts to shut off functionality of fringe functions.  Seems the system is not fit for purpose if this is the case as even a long run does not charge the battery full, only to the level the car sees fit.  Booked in again early February so will update with new post then 

[unofix]

13 minutes ago, Ian48 said:

Stop/Start never works

Goodness me !!!!  

I've never heard of such a thing

[unofix]

15 minutes ago, Ian48 said:

Booked in again early February so will update with new post then

Which Ford dealer are you using ?

If you want the car fixed and to work as it should change the SOC to 95%, charge the battery fully, reset the BMS and live happy ever after.

[Edge of Reason]

What’s the SOC ?

[unofix]

battery SOC = State Of Charge.

In the UK cars are currently factory set with a SOC of 80% meaning the maximum level that the alternator will charge the battery is 80% of the capacity

[unofix]

On 1/15/2022 at 11:26 AM, Edge of Reason said:

I have the car on a trickle charge just now to see if this makes any odds.

Make sure that the positive of the charger is connected directly to the battery positive terminal and very importantly that the negative lead is connected to the chassis earth point and NOT to the battery negative terminal, otherwise the BMS (battery Monitoring System) will not know that the battery has been charged and will have the wrong SOC.

[Edge of Reason]

9 hours ago, unofix said:

Make sure that the positive of the charger is connected directly to the battery positive terminal and very importantly that the negative lead is connected to the chassis earth point and NOT to the battery negative terminal, otherwise the BMS (Battery Monitoring System) will not know that the battery has been charged and will have the wrong SOC.

Oops. Well doing it the ‘normal’ way got me a day of no warnings. Today however it came back. I’ve never had an issue actually starting the car, but you never know. I’m just paranoid that one day I’ll get ‘click’ and nothing more. 
 

So charging it your way will bypass the SOC to a higher level. Then I need to reset the BMS. I’m sure I’ve read that somewhere. Would you care to remind me how that’s done please ?

[unofix]

No. Doing it your way is confusing the SOC, because the BMS is installed in the negative lead. 

Connect to the chassis so that the charge going back in to the battery is measured by the BMS. 

Will post BMS reset details tomorrow, there seems to be an issue with the procedure for some models that I want to check. 

[Edge of Reason]

@unofix I’ve put the car back on charge today using the earth connection rather than the battery terminal. Hopefully I can get the BMS reset later. 

[unofix]

Hi Ian,

Once your battery has had a good charge (better if you can leave it over night) then reset the BMS as per this video. Follow the directions carefully and the battery light will flash to confirm reset, it can take up to 8 seconds. Also it seems on some models it is very important that you sit in the drivers seat with the door closed, not sure why.

 

[unofix]

If the above reset does not work for your model then this one should work:

 

[Edge of Reason]

Cheers.  I’ll try them. Thanks. 

[Edge of Reason]

@unofix  For my 2020 Kuga ST Line X with AWD, it was the second method  (the video with the Fiesta ST) that worked to reset my BMS. 

Just to recap, it’s ignition on, lights on (not auto), then headlamp flash x 5, then foot brake x 3, wait a few seconds and the battery symbol on the dash flashes 3 times. 
 

I’ll see what happens in the next few days to see if I still get a warning, or if stop start works or not. It’s been rather cold so it takes a bit to get up to operating temperature plus heated screens etc, might restrict operation. Thanks for your help. 

[unofix]

I hope things work out for you. Thanks for the information on which method works on your model, there has been a few issues regarding the reset on some models recently.

In the long term you should use FORScan and adjust the SOC to 90 or 95% and then you will probably not need to keep charging the battery.

[Edge of Reason]

I’ve never tried forscan in fear of making a very expensive brick on the drive.  If I did more mileage it would help I’m sure. 

[unofix]

You could buy (about £7) the android mobile version to practice and learn with. It can NOT programme your car, so other than reading and resetting DTC's and things like service reminders you can really only view settings.

[Edge of Reason]

I have an iPhone but I’m sure it’s available for IOS too. Thanks. 

[Tizer]

1 hour ago, Edge of Reason said:

I have an iPhone but I’m sure it’s available for IOS too. Thanks. 

It is but iPhones are more fussy about which wireless adaptors work with them and contrary to popular belief the phone versions do everything that the Laptop versions do except Programming and Output Control Mode.

[Ian48]

Ref post by  unofix  Tuesday at 03:52 PM  

Booked at Lookers Gateshead - unfortunately I bought the car 6 months old from a garage in Yorkshire so I have lost the dealer continuity and working to resolve under Ford warranty.  Will discuss the SOC thresholds with them when I leave the car.  They have requested I leave the evening before so they should be able to check battery state then and the next morning.  At this stage uncomfortable trying to adjust anything myself as I don’t really understand it enough.

 

Another possible symptom is that the engine is revving very high on cold mornings, sometimes to over 3000rpm at 50mph under very gentle acceleration.  (It's an auto so no manual control).  This is only for about 3 miles then drops to normal behaviour.  This coincided with recall work to check the DPF early November so not sure if it is:

1.       Normal cold weather behaviour – it’s my first automatic

2.       The car revving high to charge the battery to replace charge used starting and get back to a minimum charge

3.       Have they adjusted settings /software as part of DPF work, correctly or not?.

 

 

[Edge of Reason]

My Kuga (also automatic) revs higher on cold mornings. I queried this and was told it’s to get the vehicle up to operating temperature quicker. Once there is a little warmth in the engine it does rev normally. Never revs high in summer months. It tends to sit around 2000 on cold morning holding gears longer. Ticks over normally, just when driving it does this. 

[Ian48]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for that.  Good to I know it is normal.  Doesn’t adversely affect the driving, just feels unconventional to have the engine revving so hard when cold. 

cheers Ian

 

[C from SF]

I have an AWD XL Maverick that I only drive on weekends. After 2 months of ownership, when I went to use the car Saturday morning (last drive was the previous Sunday), the battery was totally dead. The FordPass App said it was in deep sleep - got the same detailed messaged provided at the start of this stream about being disabled to conserve battery and jump start the battery if the car doesn't start. I have a feeling the Ford Pass App had been draining the car battery for 2 months… So Ford service came and jump started it (great service) but after that I turned the Ford Pass and the System Wifi OFF in the car, so it wouldn't drain the battery again. While Ford Pass remote/phone info & features is nice, it is not worth the inconvenience of a dead battery.

[unofix]

The Ford Pass App does not run your battery down, as you will find out when your battery still goes flat. The fact that the app sent you a warning saying that the car was going in to deep sleep should have been enough for you to realise that the battery was reaching a critical level and required charging.

[JSDP]

On 1/18/2022 at 3:35 PM, Ian48 said:

Hi,

I have a 2020 2.0 Ecoblue Titanium which has loads of elecrical gremlins.   Has already been in because BLIS (blindspot information system) was not working, one of the parking sensors was hyperactive, washer fluid low warning comes on every 10 minutes.  BLIS seems to be fixed, took 4 days and they said it involved replacement of brackets rather than anything electrical.  Other faults persist.  Stop/Start never works and locking via the keyless touch sensors works 50% of time - so is pointless trying.  Having read on other forums seems this could be due to the car being reluctant to fully charge battery as this consumes engine power!!  If the battery charge or battery condition is at the marginal level the car starts to shut off functionality of fringe functions.  Seems the system is not fit for purpose if this is the case as even a long run does not charge the battery full, only to the level the car sees fit.  Booked in again early February so will update with new post then 

I have the auto of the same year and model, same issues. Start stop is first to go off,  Bliss on drivers side goes on and off.

today battery went flat o/n. Called Ford recovery,  put jump start kit on, got it going, carried out drain test,  found too higher current drain ! Couldn’t tell what was causing it so it’s got to go back to the dealer.

This is my 4th Kuga and have to say very disappointing, seems everything is right on the limit. Sadly if this can’t get sorted time to get rid of it. Can’t afford an unreliable car.