2022 Fiesta 1.0 petrol Active X auto.  Climate control.  It's done 20k miles. (Friend's car)

Probably 4 times out of 5 the aircon only blows ambient air through the vents regardless of settings (eg blower speed , man/auto and set temperature). This has happened on long journeys so it's had plenty of time to cool down. But surely you should feel cold air within 30 seconds, anyway??

It's still within its 3 yr warranty so going into Ford dealer to investigate but I'd be grateful if anyone has got any ideas what it might be - forewarned is fore-armed. 

Thanks.

Check Battery SOC

 

 

Ah. Thanks. Could well be the case, but I've never fully understood this - if the alternator is charging the battery at 14v, isn't it 14v that the accessories see (in this case the aircon)? Or does the car check the SOC when the alternator is not running and then decide which features to disable?

Secondly, what is the practical solution. Surely Ford don't expect all their affected customers (including older drivers with mobility issues) to buy a batt charger, attach it to the batt terminals, leave an extension lead going out through their lounge window and across the pavement to charge the battery overnight. But presumably that's what Ford are likely to suggest? Or will they say "After every 10 minute journey go on a 20 mile drive to charge the battery". Neither of those seem to be reasonable solutions to me.

7 hours ago, alanfp said:

does the car check the SOC when the alternator is not running and then decide which features to disable

The car checks SOC at all times, and decides which features to disable. It isn't checking voltage. It is possible to increase the target SOC using ForScan which improves the chances of the battery having an adequate SOC.

Now, we have a copyrighted SOC bar chart, now, where is it??

Oh yes, here we go copyright @unofix

14 hours ago, alanfp said:

Surely Ford don't expect all their affected customers (including older drivers with mobility issues) to buy a batt charger, attach it to the batt terminals, leave an extension lead going out through their lounge window

I run mine through the front door letterbox😀

14 hours ago, alanfp said:

.. Surely Ford don't expect all their affected customers (including older drivers with mobility issues) to buy a batt charger, attach it to the batt terminals, leave an extension lead going out through their lounge window and across the pavement to charge the battery overnight

But the government do! LOL They are making ICE illegal, and expect us all to do just that to charge up those ridiculous EVs 🤣

Thanks all for your input.

Ford did indeed  confirm (in writing) that the SOC needed to be >75% for the aircon to work and that my friend needed to buy and use a battery charger or drive an additional, unnecessary 20+ miles each time she uses her little runabout. (In fact the dealer said Ford regard 20 miles as a 'short' journey).

The readout from Ford stated voltage 12.4 (green tick on the health check sheet) and they confirmed that if the batt was faulty they would have replaced it under warranty.  But the SOC was apparently 14%. Obviously it disabled the aircon, but it was clearly enough to start the engine without any problem, and the keyless door entry worked OK. But

These figures seem to be quite different from what I would expect from Unofix's chart. So my main question is: how can my friend know if she needs to top up the SOC? Is measuring the voltage good enough? And in practical terms (cos she's not going to get under the bonnet with a voltmeter every week) would one of these be of any help as an indication?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127205755490?chn=ps&_ul=GB&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1AJVebHRGQ_ebRYcYdrgc5A46&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=127205755490&targetid=2425733423477&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1006864&poi=&campaignid=21697391927&mkgroupid=162558106770&rlsatarget=pla-2425733423477&abcId=10027104&merchantid=9670714&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21697391927&gbraid=0AAAAAD_Lr1c91XF8rEvuUnBueIDCskO1Q&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-4XFBhCBARIsAAdNOktxJoDLfjd_qLRcvhTDGu0v3ttEhp2TKxD3PdMIMQnDkyEE9z5t7qAaAgN-EALw_wcB

 

1 hour ago, alanfp said:

  But the SOC was apparently 14%. Obviously it disabled the aircon, but it was clearly enough to start the engine without any problem, and the keyless door entry worked OK.

With a SOC of only 14% I would not expect the car to start. Could they have perhaps said 40% ???🤔

Keyless entry will work on the drivers door only once the SOC falls below 55%

1 hour ago, alanfp said:

(cos she's not going to get under the bonnet with a voltmeter every week)

Your friend is going to have to get under the bonnet at least ever 3 weeks regardless to charge the battery. There is no magic answer if the car is doing almost no miles.

You can fit a higher capacity battery (usually the one from the diesel model) and if it is available in the BCM settings, you can use FORScan to set the SOC charge to 95% This will help to lengthen the time between needing to charge the battery.

On 8/14/2025 at 11:21 PM, alanfp said:

if the alternator is charging the battery at 14v, isn't it 14v that the accessories see (in this case the aircon)? Or does the car check the SOC when the alternator is not running and then decide which features to disable?

The battery mostly gets charged on the engine over run, not while you are driving at a constant speed, so as I very often say "you could drive to the Moon and back and you will still not have fully charged the battery"

The BMS is designed to only charge the battery to an SOC of 80%