Hi all, I have a mk4.5 focus. It’s a 22 plate and has done 2k miles. I do a lot of short journeys (20-25mins) to work daily. My battery never seems to get any charge. The Ford app started to tell me that the car was in deep sleep to preserve battery life. The same thing would be displayed when I turn the car off when arriving at my destination on the screen. At 1st I thought it was due to short drives but last week I went on a long 1hr 40min drive and when I reached the destination the car told me it was going into battery saver mode again. No matter what distance I travel it doesn’t seem to get any juice. I took it into Ford yesterday who had it all day and charged the battery whilst it was there. However today after work I’ve got the same issues again. Surely a battery can’t drain that much over night! Has anyone else had similar problems?

Is it actually charging, battery or alternator issue poss, get them checked.

@Jimpster when I dropped it to them yesterday they found nothing wrong. They charged it for a bit and ran some diagnostics and then charged it up a bit again. 

Sounds like you've either got a BMS fault or a battery drain.  These are known for not charging much (in order to reduce emissions) but assuming Ford fully charged the battery, it shouldn't drop straight into deep sleep again that quickly.

Contact Ford again and tell them what's happened.  If they can't find any modules draining the battery and the BMS is the correct one and not faulty, I'd be pushing for a replacement battery under warranty...

Hello Tom,

Firstly you are amongst a few thousand here that have similar problems. It is important to understand that due to emission limitations your alternator will never charge your battery more than 80% even if you drive to the moon and back.

In your particular case I do suspect you may have a defective battery. However in 99% of all cases the battery is fine and just requires the correct charging. If the dealer truly did fully charge your battery and the following day you still have low battery problems then it can only be (a) faulty battery (b) parasitic current draw

To help identify the possible fault I recommend you full charge the battery yourself using a Smart Charger. It is very important that the battery is charged while still connected to the vehicle. Connect the positive lead to the battery positive terminal, and connect the negative lead to the chassis earth point - NOT the battery terminal. Charge the battery for a full 12 hours. Then measure the battery voltage 1 hour after you take it off charge, it should be at least 12.60 Volts.

Search this forum for "State Of Charge" for more info on the subject

8 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Sounds like you've either got a BMS fault or a battery drain.  These are known for not charging much (in order to reduce emissions) but assuming Ford fully charged the battery, it shouldn't drop straight into deep sleep again that quickly.

Contact Ford again and tell them what's happened.  If they can't find any modules draining the battery and the BMS is the correct one and not faulty, I'd be pushing for a replacement battery under warranty...

I’ve called them again. It’s booked in for Wednesday next week as I’m off work that day. I’ll see what they say

 

5 minutes ago, unofix said:

Hello Tom,

Firstly you are amongst a few thousand here that have similar problems. It is important to understand that due to emission limitations your alternator will never charge your battery more than 80% even if you drive to the moon and back.

In your particular case I do suspect you may have a defective battery. However in 99% of all cases the battery is fine and just requires the correct charging. If the dealer truly did fully charge your battery and the following day you still have low battery problems then it can only be (a) faulty battery (b) parasitic current draw

To help identify the possible fault I recommend you full charge the battery yourself using a Smart Charger. It is very important that the battery is charged while still connected to the vehicle. Connect the positive lead to the battery positive terminal, and connect the negative lead to the chassis earth point - NOT the battery terminal. Charger the battery for a full 12 hours. Then measure the battery voltage 1 hour after you take it off charge, it should be at least 12.60 Volts.

Search this forum for "State Of Charge" for more info on the subject

Ford wanted it over night but we’re unable to give me a loan car. I started work at 4am today so I needed the car back. I honestly don’t know how long it was on charge. However when I picked the car up Start/stop still wasn’t working and after some digging apparently that doesn’t work if the battery level drops below 70% so it’s deffo not been fully charged

The problem can be solved by adjusting the SOC from the default and setting it at 95% which many (including myself) have done.

I don’t think this is related to soc 

I do shorter journeys, haven’t changed my soc from the default 80% and don’t have deep sleep issues. 

4 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

I don’t think this is related to soc 

I do shorter journeys, haven’t changed my soc from the default 80% and don’t have deep sleep issues. 

I’ve got a dash cam hardwired in but other than that everything is standard. Don’t believe the dash cam could be so draining though surely

26 minutes ago, LNDR Tom said:

I’ve got a dash cam hardwired in but other than that everything is standard. Don’t believe the dash cam could be so draining though surely

Depends how it is wired in.

Is it connected to a switched live or permanent live?

If permanent does it have low battery protection?

Fuse 3 is good for switched live.

8 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Depends how it is wired in.

Is it connected to a switched live or permanent live?

If permanent does it have low battery protection?

Fuse 3 is good for switched live.

Not sure. Someone did it for me. I could try and find out though. However it has low battery protection on the dash cam which was installed with it

Just now, LNDR Tom said:

Not sure. Someone did it for me. I could try and find out though. However it has low battery protection on the dash cam which was installed with it

Is the low battery protection adjustable? If the cam is connected to permanent live it could be draining the battery below what the Ford warning is configured for.

Does it turn off when you lock the car or keep running?

3 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Is the low battery protection adjustable? If the cam is connected to permanent live it could be draining the battery below what the Ford warning is configured for.

Does it turn off when you lock the car or keep running?

Turns off but comes on if it detects motion close by. Then switches off again

Just now, LNDR Tom said:

Turns off but comes on if it detects motion close by. Then switches off again

Which means it is powered and "on" all the time, so could be the cause of the issues.

I'd try unplugging it for a bit and see if the problems stop.

Otherwise if it's found to be the dashcam the dealer could end up charging you.

Just now, LNDR Tom said:

Turns off but comes on if it detects motion close by. Then switches off again

That’s the fuse board apparently for my model if that helps? I don’t understand electrics much so don’t know if there’s any that it should 100% not be in 😂

Just now, LNDR Tom said:

That’s the fuse board apparently for my model if that helps? I don’t understand electrics much so don’t know if there’s any that it should 100% not be in 😂

Mine is tapped in to Fuse 3, goes off with the igntion though.

2 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Mine is tapped in to Fuse 3, goes off with the igntion though.

What’s parking control module? Is that the beeping you get when parking?

Just now, LNDR Tom said:

What’s parking control module? Is that the beeping you get when parking?

Yeah.

It was just in a convenient location and is switched live.

2 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Yeah.

It was just in a convenient location and is switched live.

👍🏻 so when the cars off it has no power whatsoever until the cars fired up? I only ask that coz the dash cam I brought for the parking mode features so I could record anything that happens when the cars on its own

1 minute ago, LNDR Tom said:

👍🏻 so when the cars off it has no power whatsoever until the cars fired up? I only ask that coz the dash cam I brought for the parking mode features so I could record anything that happens when the cars on its own

No, mine has no power when the car is off.

If you want to use parking features then it is going to drain a bit of power all the time.

I personally would try it unplugged (at least when parked) to see if it is the cause of your deep sleep issue, it's supposed to only need to do this if parked up for well over a week.

You could always have a battery bank hooked up to power the cam when the car is off.

Or it may turn out to be something else, it's just an easy thing to eliminate.

5 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

No, mine has no power when the car is off.

If you want to use parking features then it is going to drain a bit of power all the time.

I personally would try it unplugged (at least when parked) to see if it is the cause of your deep sleep issue, it's supposed to only need to do this if parked up for well over a week.

You could always have a battery bank hooked up to power the cam when the car is off.

Or it may turn out to be something else, it's just an easy thing to eliminate.

I’ll try it. Assume if I just unplug the dash cam that’s enough? Or does it need to be pulled out the fuse box? 
 

 

Just now, LNDR Tom said:

I’ll try it. Assume if I just unplug the dash cam that’s enough? Or does it need to be pulled out the fuse box? 
 

 

It should be enough to just unplug the cam, the adapter will only use a negligible amount.

9 hours ago, alexp999 said:

I don’t think this is related to soc

I totally agree, which is indeed why I said :-

9 hours ago, unofix said:

In your particular case I do suspect you may have a defective battery. However in 99% of all cases the battery is fine and just requires the correct charging. If the dealer truly did fully charge your battery and the following day you still have low battery problems then it can only be (a) faulty battery (b) parasitic current draw