Leaderboard

5 days from my Escape's first anniversary, 16K miles, and aside from several minor recalls (rearview camera, A-pillar trim, PCM update), the car's been perfect. Some owners have had severe problems (stop safely now) which (I think) were addressed by the PCM update. I never saw them. No SYNC issues, and my NAV update installed flawlessly. My only complaints revolve around the block heater. The factory installed the heater, but failed to install the harness. Dealer got it right on their third try, after I pointed out to my service writer how block heaters on their diesels were installed. It now sticks out of the bottom grill. I'm controlling it with a networked switch, and finally realized I should use the scheduling feature - Ford recommends a 3 hr. run - so it runs long enough. My memory always reminds me too late; no point in a 30 min. run. Of course, the C-Max performance was similar... the bomb had a 100K mile fuse. Stay well, Frank

1) What “battery tender” do you have? The Ah rating of a new Ford battery is 43Ah. So, most would say in the bulk charge mode, you want the constant charging current to be no less than 10% of the 43 Ah, say 5A and no more than 25% or say 10 A. The bulk charge state should charge the battery to at least 70% (30 Ah) to no more than 80% (34 Ah) State of Charge. So, bulk charge time will likely be between 3 hours and 7 hours for a completely discharged battery. The remaining 20-30% charge to reach full charge would be in the absorption state of the charger. This usually takes 2 to 3 times as long. So, for a 10 A charger, charge time should be around 10 - 12 hours. For a 5 A charger, the charge time will likely be 18 - 24 hours. 2) A full charged battery with no load on it after resting for 24 hours is 12.6 V for a flooded battery which I assume the Ford battery is. Since you read 12.74 V, there was surface charge on the battery which will be quickly depleted by the load on the battery. 3) Since the battery was connected to load when you measured voltage under hood, the chart below is a better representation of the SOC of the battery. Just opening hood (opening door) puts a several Amp load on battery. My battery voltage is 12.35 V under hood and my 12 V battery SOC is 47%. Based on my current reading, I would recommend using the c/20 curve in the chart below to measure your SOC as the C/20 curve matches my readings. 4) So, using your 2 voltage reading and the C/20 curve below, it appears your SOC dropped about 20% in 1 day (assume 24 hours) or 8.6 Ah in 24 hours which would be a drain of about 360 mA. Normal drain should be less than 50 mA. Your drain is likely 7-10 times normal. 5) I assume dealer (for $295) checked the wiring noted in several recalls for causing battery drain. We know that the APIM and certain associated modules have caused battery drain. I would try pulling fuse 79 in fuse panel under glove box and leave out while you monitor battery drain over 24 hours. Then put fuse back in and monitor. Post your results.