2019 Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost 125 Titanium (Mk4 pre facelift)

I have owned the above car for over a year and like it, but the battery has just gone flat again. I do not do a high milage and park the car in the street (so am unable to periodically recharge the battery).  Frustratingly, the car displays many things but the current state of the battery!

Over a period on 56 days since the last flat battery, I have recorded a total distance of 457 miles and 34 starts (an average of 13.4 miles per start). 

Is my low milage likely to be the underlying cause?

The battery has been changed and the car checked for parasitic drain.    

Edited December 7, 2025Dec 7 by ASW
Clarity

1 minute ago, ASW said:

Is my low milage likely to be the underlying cause?

YES !! 👍

You have zero chance of your battery putting up with that kind of use.

I understand that it must be a major problem if you don't have off street parking so that you can regularly charge the battery.

The only option I can see is for you to remove the car battery about once every 4 weeks and put it on charge in the house for a minimum of 12 hours. Clearly not an ideal solution.

Some people say they have had success using a dashboard mounted plug in solar panel. This will depend very much on just how much sunlight there is. Perhaps @TomsFocus can give you a bit more info ?

34 starts in 56 days suggests several drives each week so solar panel would be a lot of hassle in this case.  (Though averaging mileage is of no use at all because it depends more on the time left undriven in between and the distance of each drive separately).

I do have a solar panel on the dash of my car, but it doesn't get driven at all.  Funnily enough I have been meaning to check the car for the past week or so.  I'll try to check tomorrow to see if the battery is still being maintained enough to start without a jump.

Thanks Unofix. Our milege is low because of our age, not sure what more I can add! 

Removing the battery to charge once a moth is not a realistic option.

Any thoughts  about what milage it is necssary to do?

It's not really about mileage as an average or a total.  It's more about the type and frequency of drives.  For a very rough idea, half an hours drive every other day should keep the battery charge good enough to start.  

I would also recommend buying a portable jump starter so you can jump it whenever necessary without needing another car or a breakdown service.  I have a Noco GB40 myself, but it's a few years old now and prices have gone up so there might be better options about.

1 hour ago, ASW said:

Our milege is low because of our age, not sure what more I can add! 

Quite a few of us have found that modern car charging systems and lower mileage post-retirement are unhappy bedfellows.

The old "have a drive to the coast"advice no longer applies and what is needed is mixed driving with opportunity for charging on the overrun and braking. A 100 mile steady drive is of little use, unfortunately.

Luckily I am able to charge at home if necessary, but have also invested in a GB 40 as recommended by Tom "just in case".

Longer term, I wonder if an EV which you could charge at a public charger could be a better option for your situation?

 

 

Here is my recent driving record ... any further comments?

"Quite a few of us have found that modern car charging systems and lower mileage post-retirement are unhappy bedfellows.

The old "have a drive to the coast"advice no longer applies and what is needed is mixed driving with opportunity for charging on the overrun and braking. A 100 mile steady drive is of little use, unfortunately."

Can anyone expand on the above, I try to keep the revs up 2krpm normally and 3krpm when concerned?

"Luckily I am able to charge at home if necessary, but have also invested in a GB 40 as recommended by Tom "just in case".

Yes, do I have one.

Longer term, I wonder if an EV which you could charge at a public charger could be a better option for your situation?"

The problem for me is still where to charge.

 

4 minutes ago, ASW said:

Here is my recent driving record ... any further comments?

Other than "Oh Dear!" not much that I can think of.

Gone are the days that you could say that a Seven mile drive would put back in to the battery the amount of charge to start the car. Modern cars use a 'Smart Charge' system, many would say a very 'Dumb System'.

 

Just had a thought 🤔 🎉🎉

You have a 2019 Focus Mk4 with the 1.0 Ecoboost engine.

Changing the battery to the Yuasa YBX7096 EFB Start Stop Car Battery, and also changing the cars maximum 'State Of Charge' using FORScan from the factory default of 80% up to a new level of 95% might well be enough to keep fully running.

My own car uses the YBX7096 (because mine is a 2.0 Diesel) and I've increased the SOC up to 95% The only time I need to give my battery an occasional charge is in the middle of winter. The rest of the year it manages to maintain a healthy battery.

If only cars could periodically charge the battery when parked up . 

Middle part was while parked up at airport for a week. 

11 hours ago, iantt said:

If only cars could periodically charge the battery when parked up . 

Middle part was while parked up at airport for a week. 

Probably quicker to charge the traction battery from the mains than the 12v battery as well.  Saw something about 20 minutes for a fast charge on one of the new EV adverts recently.  That makes EV far more viable than ICE for people without mains plug access.  Chances are they'll be going to a supermarket or similar for 20 minutes once a week.

13 hours ago, ASW said:

Can anyone expand on the above, I try to keep the revs up 2krpm normally and 3krpm when concerned?

I thought that was pretty clear. No benefit in sticking to steady rpm for charging purposes. Lots of variation is better.

13 hours ago, ASW said:

The problem for me is still where to charge.

 

I know parts of Yorkshire are "charger deserts" but assumed from the reference to on-street parking you were somewhere vaguely urban-ish. 

I would have little difficulty accessing chargers at supermarkets, out of town shopping centres, filling stations, Park and Ride sites, etc when at home, i couldn't in the upper Dales (where I spend a lot of time), though.

You could certainly charge the traction battery of an EV at a rapid charger while doing a supermarket shop. I need 12 hours to do a full charge on my 12v battery at home.

I'm a bit curious about just "FLAT". Normally the car will throw up a message such as "systems off to save battery", and other signs of low battery will appear. No start/stop is the most common, but also no courtesy or boot lights, remote locking not working on some doors, etc.

 

Would unplugging the smart charge plug from the alternator get the alternator to run in dumb mode and charge the battery properly like they always used to, or does this cause other problems? Never tried it myself.

19 hours ago, ASW said:

2019 Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost 125 Titanium (Mk4 pre facelift)

'Over a period on 56 days since the last flat battery, I have recorded a total distance of 457 miles and 34 starts (an average of 13.4 miles per start). 

Is my low milage likely to be the underlying cause?

The battery has been changed and the car checked for parasitic drain.'

You say the battery has been changed,

1. What Make, Model, Type of battery was fitted?

2. Was it fully charged (to 100%) before fitting?

3. Was a BMS (Battery Monitoring System) reset carried out after fitting?

You are a worse case scenario, but I also do very little mileage, irregularly, in my 2016 Focus ST250, and the Start/Stop normally works along with everything else. I have heated seats, steering wheel as well as the normal heated screens, and because of using these in the Winter, I use a smart battery charger to maintain a decent battery charge.

A car starting battery should be kept charged to as near maximum as possible. It is not designed for deep discharging (as opposed to a leisure battery, which is!).

Allowing deep discharging will eventually start sulfation damage and accelerate cell deterioration in the battery.

You must keep a high level of battery charge, or you will shorten it’s life.

Here’s an AI (Grok) summary for “Looking after a car starting battery.”

Not necessarily the best, but some good advice!

‘1. Keep it Charged:

The #1 killer of car batteries is sitting partially discharged.

Drive the car at least 20–30 minutes once a week (or put it on a maintainer).

If the car sits for weeks, use a smart charger/maintainer (e.g., CTEK, NOCO Genius, Battery Tender). Plug it in whenever the car is parked in the garage.

Voltage should never drop below ~12.4 V for long; below 12.0 V starts sulphation damage.’

One other obvious thing, if you do short drives, it’s best not to have high drain items like Heated Screens, Heated Seats, Heater Blowers (full on!), Heated Steering Wheels, etc., on during these drives!

25 minutes ago, pcaouolte said:

Would unplugging the smart charge plug from the alternator get the alternator to run in dumb mode and charge the battery properly like they always used to, or does this cause other problems? Never tried it myself.

No.  That only charges around 13.6v.  Not enough to fully charge the battery, it's just a failsafe backup for short term.

20 hours ago, unofix said:

You have zero chance of your battery putting up with that kind of use.

This is making me wonder how my battery is putting up. I mainly use my Fiesta for around town for shortish journeys but try to do a somewhat longer drive at least once a week to get rid of moisture in the oil and supposedly charge the battery. I'll have to double check the voltage at rest but last time it was holding ~12.5v+. Now I'm wondering whether the "longer" weekly journey I carry out is even long enough... it's roughly 30-45 minutes for 10-15 miles. What do you think?

20 hours ago, ASW said:

457 miles and 34 starts (an average of 13.4 miles per start)

Where are you viewing the start count? Unless you are keeping track manually, I can compare my average to yours since I mostly do town driving.

22 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I do have a solar panel on the dash of my car, but it doesn't get driven at all.  Funnily enough I have been meaning to check the car for the past week or so.  I'll try to check tomorrow to see if the battery is still being maintained enough to start without a jump.

Checked today...battery was flat.  Enough charge to unlock, but not not enough to crank.  Lost track of how many weeks it's been now but the panel did work over summer, just not once we reached winter.

Jump started with the GB40 and idled for about 20 minutes.  Hopefully that'll keep it going into next year at least.

I have taken the the easy way out with this problem. Fitted a Rewire DB1 tracker to car which reads battery voltage. Upped SOC to 95%. Get up in the morning and check voltage via tracker. If it is below 12.24 Volts take it for 10 to 15 mile trip on country roads. I anticipate corners and use a lot of "regen braking". Next morning voltage around 12.46 volts. With this and shopping trips I only have to do the top-up trip about once a fortnight

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

 the panel did work over summer, just not once we reached winter.

mmmm.......... Do you think Ed Milliband knows that solar power is seasonable ? He's only just found out that it doesn't work at night 🤣

He could be our next Prime Minister according to 49% of the Labour party 😂😂

8 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I thought that was pretty clear. No benefit in sticking to steady rpm for charging purposes. Lots of variation is better.

I know parts of Yorkshire are "charger deserts" but assumed from the reference to on-street parking you were somewhere vaguely urban-ish. 

I would have little difficulty accessing chargers at supermarkets, out of town shopping centres, filling stations, Park and Ride sites, etc when at home, i couldn't in the upper Dales (where I spend a lot of time), though.

You could certainly charge the traction battery of an EV at a rapid charger while doing a supermarket shop. I need 12 hours to do a full charge on my 12v battery at home.

I'm a bit curious about just "FLAT". Normally the car will throw up a message such as "systems off to save battery", and other signs of low battery will appear. No start/stop is the most common, but also no courtesy or boot lights, remote locking not working on some doors, etc.

 

"No benefit in sticking to steady rpm for charging purposes. Lots of variation is better" - Would be interested to better understand this advice (and why it is the case).

Typically my Focus does not offer stop/start presumably because the battery has insufficent charge.  Not aware of other warnings - just no remote unlocking at the end. 

6 hours ago, YOG said:

You say the battery has been changed,

1. What Make, Model, Type of battery was fitted?

2. Was it fully charged (to 100%) before fitting?

3. Was a BMS (Battery Monitoring System) reset carried out after fitting?

You are a worse case scenario, but I also do very little mileage, irregularly, in my 2016 Focus ST250, and the Start/Stop normally works along with everything else. I have heated seats, steering wheel as well as the normal heated screens, and because of using these in the Winter, I use a smart battery charger to maintain a decent battery charge.

A car starting battery should be kept charged to as near maximum as possible. It is not designed for deep discharging (as opposed to a leisure battery, which is!).

Allowing deep discharging will eventually start sulfation damage and accelerate cell deterioration in the battery.

You must keep a high level of battery charge, or you will shorten it’s life.

Here’s an AI (Grok) summary for “Looking after a car starting battery.”

Not necessarily the best, but some good advice!

‘1. Keep it Charged:

The #1 killer of car batteries is sitting partially discharged.

Drive the car at least 20–30 minutes once a week (or put it on a maintainer).

If the car sits for weeks, use a smart charger/maintainer (e.g., CTEK, NOCO Genius, Battery Tender). Plug it in whenever the car is parked in the garage.

Voltage should never drop below ~12.4 V for long; below 12.0 V starts sulphation damage.’

One other obvious thing, if you do short drives, it’s best not to have high drain items like Heated Screens, Heated Seats, Heater Blowers (full on!), Heated Steering Wheels, etc., on during these drives!

1. KwikFit AFB100 12V ECM BATTERY

2 & 3. I believe so.

"in the Winter, I use a smart battery charger to maintain a decent battery charge" I would like be able to but street parking!

 

5 hours ago, landfall said:

Where are you viewing the start count? Unless you are keeping track manually, I can compare my average to yours since I mostly do town driving.

I kepted a manual count - can it be automated?

2 hours ago, jsk said:

I have taken the the easy way out with this problem. Fitted a Rewire DB1 tracker to car which reads battery voltage. Upped SOC to 95%. Get up in the morning and check voltage via tracker. If it is below 12.24 Volts take it for 10 to 15 mile trip on country roads. I anticipate corners and use a lot of "regen braking". Next morning voltage around 12.46 volts. With this and shopping trips I only have to do the top-up trip about once a fortnight

Not keen on adding (yet) more electrics (!), but an in car batery voltage check would be useful. 

47 minutes ago, ASW said:

Lots of variation is better

The battery is charged most when decelerating with the car in gear or going down a hill with the car in gear (it uses the alternator to add load to slow the car and charge the battery).

The battery is charged the least when accelerating or going uphill (it reduces the alternator activity to reduce load on the engine).

The battery might be charged a tiny amount when driving normally on a flat road (but it probably won't be as the alternator is switched off whenever possible to improve mpg and reduce the gassing of polar bears).

This is a simplified list. The main purpose of the smart part of the charging system is to save fuel and reduce emissions, not to keep the battery charged.