Ford Focus ST '22 Battery Drain!

[Tizer]

This is getting more intriguing. I will check mine out tomorrow but mine is a Mk4 and has only a poverty lighting system and I'm certain that on my car the switch is the Earth return and I don't have a HCM and all the Interior lights are fed from the same feed from the BCM.

It does look like the HCM is causing the problems on your cars.

[alanfp]

22 minutes ago, Gus T said:

. Is 20 mins the precise time for total system shutdown then?

Sorry - that's a VERY approx number of minutes from me. Might actually be a little less.

[unofix]

19 minutes ago, LukeJQuinn said:

plus that bulb is running off the same fuse as the door control switch so it could be keeping more things alive which aren't as obvious

Yes I would agree, the glovebox light may well just be the tip of the iceberg. If it is not so much as remaining on, but rather it is switching back on after the car is locked then it would seem very possible that other equipment may also be turning 'Back on'.

[unofix]

For anyone that is interested and would like, I have the Ford wiring schematics for the following:

Focus 2014_EF9

Focus 2018_EJYE

Focus 2020_ELYE

Focus 2021_EMYE

Just ask and I will upload on to my Google share drive.

[alexp999]

The glovebox switch is directly connected to the bulb isn't it? It's not a "request" switch to the BCM, but actually breaking the contact to the bulb afaik. Schematics should show it.

[unofix]

14 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

The glovebox switch is directly connected to the bulb isn't it?

It is in deed 😀

A very rare occasion these days when a simple good old fashioned switch is used. Although the supply is from a BCM controlled circuit. For the light to be on it needs the switch to be made and the circuit to be live.

[alexp999]

I had a look at my glovebox this morning, I have quite a bit in it and I'm not convinced it is pushing the connector far enough. I'll have to take some stuff out and try videoing it to see if it stays on.

I know my car has had a standby draw test though as I was having the TCU drain fault a few years ago that flattened my battery, so would have thought they'd notice then.

Although it is probably "design intent" if you asked Ford. 🤦‍♂️

[LukeJQuinn]

This morning was interesting. Everything worked as intended. All lights came on and just worked. No FordPass Power alerts and still none by the time I got into the office. Normally within 2 mins of turning the car off I get the pings off the app (still not got any at time of writing) 

(Stop/Start didn't kick in, but I accept it was minus 4 and my journey to work is only 20 mins so the threshold more than likely wouldn't have been met (Heated windscreen was off but heat was set to high after around 5 mins))

Popping out again on lunch to see if the lights etc still turn on and it still has power. Spoke with Ford again and they seem rather embarrassed and have asked for daily updates to see if this in fact is the cause of the issue.  

[Gus T]

14 minutes ago, LukeJQuinn said:

This morning was interesting. Everything worked as intended. All lights came on and just worked. No FordPass Power alerts and still none by the time I got into the office. Normally within 2 mins of turning the car off I get the pings off the app (still not got any at time of writing) 

(Stop/Start didn't kick in, but I accept it was minus 4 and my journey to work is only 20 mins so the threshold more than likely wouldn't have been met (Heated windscreen was off but heat was set to high after around 5 mins))

Popping out again on lunch to see if the lights etc still turn on and it still has power. Spoke with Ford again and they seem rather embarrassed and have asked for daily updates to see if this in fact is the cause of the issue.  

Ford should be paying us all for doing their investigation work 😂. So have you managed to depress the glove box close button thing so that the light is always off?

[Tizer]

Just to confuse things further, and my car is different, I left the Glovebox open when I locked the car this morning and the light did stay on but just for a minute or two, so the circuit must be on a timer.

[LukeJQuinn]

2 hours ago, Gus T said:

Ford should be paying us all for doing their investigation work 😂. So have you managed to depress the glove box close button thing so that the light is always off?

I agree. Went out on lunch and all still on, lights come on, big screen wakes up the lot. Jury is still out as to whether this has fixed it but its looking promising. 

Should also add, spoke with FCC and the parts team at M53 and they have confirmed the part is in fact non excitant and still on order - This is something I expected seeing as its been 1 month and no sign of it. Here's hoping I don't need it after all anyway (fingers crossed)

[LukeJQuinn]

Spoke too soon.....Battery was charged to 14.8V / Full yesterday and this is what it's on now. Noticed the lights turning off pretty quickly etc (of course no stop/start but that is expected). The lowest I've seen it is 12.2V so I think that glove box light has slowed the drain down slightly but not enough to rule out there being an issue.

Plan F is to remove the boot LED (AutoBeam) then charge it up again, then see what it's on tomorrow. Then if its still low, I'm gonna charge it up again, leave the battery disconnected from the car over night and then check the charge level - I want to rule out the battery just being faulty. 

[unofix]

Don't be disappointed, 12.6V is the correct level that you should expect. The cars Smart charging system will aim to keep the charge level at 80% unless the SOC has been otherwise adjusted. The battery terminal voltage will still fall back a little further and should in a perfect world level out at 12.42V

Of course in the extreme cold weather you will find that over night that could fall as low as 12.2V but after a drive of 7 or 8 miles it will pick back up to 12.42 (if everything works as Ford planned).

[unofix]

On 11/15/2022 at 8:23 PM, unofix said:

The following is just for information:

FORScan - download is free for laptop use: https://forscan.org/download.html

vLinker FS cable - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-vLinker-Adapter-FORScan-MS-CAN/dp/B0952P4MLP/ref=asc_df_B0952P4MLP/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=534732308385&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1925721049054950249&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006688&hvtargid=pla-1430824679036&psc=1

State Of Charge for 12 Volt car battery:

 

[alexp999]

14.8 is the charging voltage. A brand new 100% charged 12V battery would never actually read over 12.7-12.8V once it’s settled. 12.6 is absolutely fine. I’d only worry if it dropped below 12. 

[Tizer]

1 hour ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Spoke too soon.....Battery was charged to 14.8V / Full yesterday and this is what it's on now. Noticed the lights turning off pretty quickly etc (of course no stop/start but that is expected). The lowest I've seen it is 12.2V so I think that glove box light has slowed the drain down slightly but not enough to rule out there being an issue.

Plan F is to remove the boot LED (AutoBeam) then charge it up again, then see what it's on tomorrow. Then if its still low, I'm gonna charge it up again, leave the battery disconnected from the car over night and then check the charge level - I want to rule out the battery just being faulty. 

With these cars, if the SOC is set to 80% and you charge the battery up to 100%, then drive the car what happens is that the battery not only does not charge when your foot is on the Accelerator, it actively discharges because it is using battery power only to power everything and this continues until the Battery is below its set SOC level. It does charge up aggressively when your foot is off the Accelerator though and might do at Tickover, I can't remember.

Also when checking the Battery Voltage, in order to get a meaningful reading you have to open the Bonnet and come back an hour later and check it then without opening any door or otherwise waking the car up.

[Wino]

2 hours ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Spoke too soon.....Battery was charged to 14.8V / Full yesterday and this is what it's on now. Noticed the lights turning off pretty quickly etc (of course no stop/start but that is expected). The lowest I've seen it is 12.2V so I think that glove box light has slowed the drain down slightly but not enough to rule out there being an issue.

Plan F is to remove the boot LED (AutoBeam) then charge it up again, then see what it's on tomorrow. Then if its still low, I'm gonna charge it up again, leave the battery disconnected from the car over night and then check the charge level - I want to rule out the battery just being faulty. 

Nowt to worry about, that's perfectly fine as explained by others. 

[LukeJQuinn]

Ok thanks, I take that in board but a drive to work is over 8 miles there and on the way home I took it for a run down the motorway - Soon as I turn the engine off, everything goes off and the car looks like its just died. I mean every single light on the thing. So let's ignore the battery charge percentage, the fact is the car is draining quicker than it can put it back in without good reason. Even after a trip to Carlisle the thing wasn't charged enough to keep the radio on when stopping and turning the engine off so lets not get bogged down with that.

Have to disagree, it's not fine........when the battery is that low, not even the big touch screen comes on when driving making upping the temp rather difficult. Trust me, 12.6 for a fully spec'd Focus is not enough in my first hand experience and opinion. 

The error in ForScan is still there stating battery drain so I am not convinced anything is fixed until that error is resolved (cleared 4 times and comes back every time) Will do my Plan F tomorrow if it shows drain again, then G will be to find the fuse for the driver door and remove it - as the error states an issue with the Lock LED Status Light - Battery Circuit Open Short or Open (via the BCM). Thinking remove the fuse, in theory will remove the power to the door and the LED. Then full charge again and leave overnight and drive it. If all works as intended then at least I've narrowed it down and it proves ForScan correct. 

I just am not remotely convinced the headlights are causing this as Ford have said. So if I can help find the issue quicker it saves waiting for a part that won't make a blind bit of difference.

[Ecosport2019]

Just incase this helps your issue at all.

I had a cmax in for a battery draining issue, couldnt find any parasitic drain. 

But the customer would go out shopping etc go back to the car, battery dead!

I spent a long time on this vehicle and noticed a pattern that it only had this issue during the day never at night. Sometimes i would drive it during the day and the blowers would stop working or the screen due to low voltage.

So after testing the battery/charging voltage at various times i noticed that when the vehicle was running with blowers, a/c etc it would charge at around 12.3v but if i had the headlamps on this would go to 13.4v.

So i came to the conclusion that this customers car was only charging at night when the lights on.

Anywhen using pico scope  i noticed that when i scoped the little battery monitor ontop of the negative terminal of the battery it was always 1 volts different to what was messured at the battery Terminals. 

I had no clue if this was normal or not, so i measured our same year courtesy car, it measured the same within .2 of a volt at the battery and at the monitor.

So i decided to replace the battery monitor earth lead and the voltage became roughly equal and cured the fault.

Hasn't been back after a month🤞

[Tizer]

10 minutes ago, Ecosport2019 said:

So i decided to replace the battery monitor earth lead and the voltage became roughly equal and cured the fault.

I believe that same part has been problematic on the Mk4 Focus and has been upgraded by Ford several times since my car was built.

I don't think that is the OP's problem though.

[alexp999]

51 minutes ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Ok thanks, I take that in board but a drive to work is over 8 miles there and on the way home I took it for a run down the motorway - Soon as I turn the engine off, everything goes off and the car looks like its just died. I mean every single light on the thing. So let's ignore the battery charge percentage, the fact is the car is draining quicker than it can put it back in without good reason. Even after a trip to Carlisle the thing wasn't charged enough to keep the radio on when stopping and turning the engine off so lets not get bogged down with that.

Have to disagree, it's not fine........when the battery is that low, not even the big touch screen comes on when driving making upping the temp rather difficult. Trust me, 12.6 for a fully spec'd Focus is not enough in my first hand experience and opinion. 

The error in ForScan is still there stating battery drain so I am not convinced anything is fixed until that error is resolved (cleared 4 times and comes back every time) Will do my Plan F tomorrow if it shows drain again, then G will be to find the fuse for the driver door and remove it - as the error states an issue with the Lock LED Status Light - Battery Circuit Open Short or Open (via the BCM). Thinking remove the fuse, in theory will remove the power to the door and the LED. Then full charge again and leave overnight and drive it. If all works as intended then at least I've narrowed it down and it proves ForScan correct. 

I just am not remotely convinced the headlights are causing this as Ford have said. So if I can help find the issue quicker it saves waiting for a part that won't make a blind bit of difference.

12.6 is fine. Mines spends most of its time around 12.4. 

[unofix]

1 hour ago, LukeJQuinn said:

I just am not remotely convinced the headlights are causing this as Ford have said. So if I can help find the issue quicker it saves waiting for a part that won't make a blind bit of difference.

Neither am I 👍

The circuit that controls the lights been active when it should be asleep is a far more likely issue.

I know this might sound an odd request but can you take a few photos of (a) the car battery, (b) the BMS module, and (c) the battery terminals / leads. It would be especially useful to be able to see the part number of the BMS.

[LukeJQuinn]

Will get those pictures for you. Just an FYI - went to it this morning and totally dead to the point the car chugged about 3 times to start. Before starting it, standard stuff of zero lights on outside or inside. 

So that has drained from full to below a certain voltage to the point it can hardly start. I've ruled out any L.E.D bulbs I've installed, the glove box catch being faulty (it is but still has the screw in it so that's ruled out)

Next plan is to disconnect the battery from the car, charge it up full and leave it disconnected over night - then check the charge next morning. This way it either proves or disproves a dud battery - which could be possible as I've read online the failure rate for even brand new ones is high ish. 

[LukeJQuinn]

11 hours ago, Ecosport2019 said:

Just incase this helps your issue at all.

I had a cmax in for a battery draining issue, couldnt find any parasitic drain. 

But the customer would go out shopping etc go back to the car, battery dead!

I spent a long time on this vehicle and noticed a pattern that it only had this issue during the day never at night. Sometimes i would drive it during the day and the blowers would stop working or the screen due to low voltage.

So after testing the battery/charging voltage at various times i noticed that when the vehicle was running with blowers, a/c etc it would charge at around 12.3v but if i had the headlamps on this would go to 13.4v.

So i came to the conclusion that this customers car was only charging at night when the lights on.

Anywhen using pico scope  i noticed that when i scoped the little battery monitor ontop of the negative terminal of the battery it was always 1 volts different to what was messured at the battery Terminals. 

I had no clue if this was normal or not, so i measured our same year courtesy car, it measured the same within .2 of a volt at the battery and at the monitor.

So i decided to replace the battery monitor earth lead and the voltage became roughly equal and cured the fault.

Hasn't been back after a month🤞

@Ecosport2019 Cheers mate! I will most certainly mention that to the Ford garage. Never heard of that before I doubt they've already tested for that.

[alexp999]

12 minutes ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Will get those pictures for you. Just an FYI - went to it this morning and totally dead to the point the car chugged about 3 times to start. Before starting it, standard stuff of zero lights on outside or inside. 

So that has drained from full to below a certain voltage to the point it can hardly start. I've ruled out any L.E.D bulbs I've installed, the glove box catch being faulty (it is but still has the screw in it so that's ruled out)

Next plan is to disconnect the battery from the car, charge it up full and leave it disconnected over night - then check the charge next morning. This way it either proves or disproves a dud battery - which could be possible as I've read online the failure rate for even brand new ones is high ish. 

It's not totally dead if it started though?