drdiesel1

I find it highly unlikely anyone could confuse the C-Max with a Toyota :lol2:

8.1 inches isn't a lot, but in Prius terms it's a barge that handles like a bowling ball :spend:

Typical salesman BS. They'll try anything to get you to buy a car NOW :drop: I would look at trade in price and offer them that. Most of the time, they want too much and that's why they still have em. Make sure you don't buy a leftover 13 at or near the price of a 14. Check the rebates too. Maybe you could find an Energi for close to the same price with rebates.

Dealers will always try to rob you on a trade. It's how they make big money. On average, they offer $3K under trade value. That way, they can sell it for trade value or more to the next buyer and make $3K to $5K on it. Remember, they can get it financed for the new buyer, so they'll get more for it. As stated above, you'll need a private sale to get close to trade value. You should just keep it and make your wife ride on the roof :lol: :shift: You'll be sorry when it's gone. I was and had to buy another one. That was a long 4 months without my C-Max :play:

This would be a great idea. I don't own a Hybrid, but maybe I can still add to it. Your number 3 isn't a function of the car. For a replacement we could add #3 EVAP system leak detection. The number 2 on the list would be a suspected sticking relay for the HVB cooling fan and not necessarily a control module coming on after the cars been parked. As others have stated, they heard the fan running long after it should have been turned off. This issue would be a focal point for me and shouldn't be difficult to verify. I find the K.I.S.S. method works best when bug hunting electrical gremlins. "Keep It Simple Stupid" :lol:

It's a process of elimination and it's never easy, but it can be done with persistence ;)

Considering you said the meter shuts off after 15 min. You're unable to monitor long term. This would be key to finding the high amperage battery killer. Without a way to monitor it long term, you're kinda stuck with not knowing. I've never known of an amp clamp that can read below 500 milliamps, unless it's an expensive micro amp clamp.

dmk2000: You could have a bad fan relay staying on. It's not uncommon for relays to fail and cause the load to remain active until power is cycled on. I don't have that relay location, but if you can find it's location and next time you hear that fan running after it should have turned off, you could tap on the relay without cycling the key and see if the fan shuts down. This would verify a stuck relay.

I see you're using a clamp type amp meter to read parasitic load. Unfortunately, unless it's a Micro ($500 to $700 bucks on average) amp clamp, it's incapable of reading below 500 milliamps. You can read down to 1 M/A with a DVOM setup inline with the battery on the 10 amp scale. Some meters even offer M/A readout, so you don't need to covert it. Most systems top out around 35 M/A. I have come across a few trucks that read 50 M/A's and never cause problems (they have much larger batteries) with starting, even after a few weeks. On smaller systems like the C-Max, my limit would be the 35 M/A threshold. Anything above that will cause battery problems. If anyone is interested in how to setup a DVOM to read a parasitic draw, I can explain it or even do a short video. If anyone is interested, just post the request in this thread. The cars systems will go to sleep without locking the car. Some modules can take as long as 40 min. to sleep. They never shut off, so there is a voltage draw from every module to retain memory. It's called KAM. Keep Alive Memory. This is what your meter can not read and makes you think there's not a problem with an amperage draw on the system. I would bet the car has at least a 20 M/A draw all the time after the modules sleep.

CMax-Traveler. What was the process you used to check for a parasitic draw ? Thanks.

Unfortunately I don't care about your inability to understand anything or what, I post. You clearly are unaware and blabber on about things you know nothing about. My advice isn't for you, so just carry on with the clueless ramblings and wild guessing about what's wrong with your car. ***mod edited stop the personal attack crap**** :thumbsup: @drdiesel1 @adrianL - you know, take this personal attack crap to the PM, I don't want to read it and neither do other posters. We have a serious issue here and if you can't CONTRIBUTE positively - shut the f*ck up. DD - this is the last warning I am going to give you. You've been banzored before and most part, you've behaved since returning but theres only so much I will tolerate and you've crossed the line with your personal attack. So you now have an official warning. Next time, you're on the perma-ban bus leaving town. Please think through your words before clicking on Post, you know better.

You'll need to have it checked out first. It could be a bad battery.

No. The CCA info was info found in the spec data for the car. They didn't list the reserve data. CCA gives me an idea of the size and power capability of the battery and it's small. Too small IMO.

Vehicle charging systems are designed to replenish what's use. Not to recharge. Recharging can only be done with a battery charger. I've had cars operate fine with a SOC of 70%, but they had a larger battery. It's not a problem to have a SOC of 70%, but dropping under that starts to allow the battery to become weak and easily discharged. This will shorten battery life and could cause starting problems. The C-Max battery has a very low rating of 390 CCA. It's pretty small IMO. Most ICE vehicle have a charging output around 14.6 on average. This works well to keep a battery SOC level around 70% to 85%. The best I've seen on my 2014 NRG was 14.4V on my Scan Gauge II. My 2013 NRG would never go past 14.2V. It would hover around 14V. IMO, 14.6V is an optimal rate.

Yes, that's the same charger with less amperage output and will work just fine. I charge anytime. You can let this type of charger run without worrying about it. It usually takes an hour or two depending on how low the battery is. Let it run until the green charged light comes on and you're good to go.

It's also my understanding the EPS is adaptive too.

Keep telling yourself it won't help :victory: If you think a static voltage reading is proof of a batteries charge state, you need to rethink that one. You're readout proves nada. You need to test the battery before making statements that have ZERO foundation of any problems with your 12V system problem. You also need to verify the very likely hood of a parasitic draw on that battery. You can't just claim it was properly charged without getting proper data from the battery. You can ignore any advice you like, but you can't ignore that fact you don't understand what's really wrong with your car and why this is happening without proper diagnosis of the problem. Otherwise, it's wild guess time, as you so clearly are happy to report as knowledge of the cause of failure. All it really does is make it more confusing for anyone reading this post. You're contributing to internet myths and DIY misinformation without any proof.

Yes. Most vehicles are anywhere from 70% to 85%. A few even have 95%. 70% is an acceptable lower limit. I like to see 85%. At 85%, I can just service it every 6 months as normal. My wife's car battery lasted 8 tears to the month by maintaining the battery every 6 months. I don't know why people can't understand batteries should be serviced too ? I guess it comes from the maintenance free days of Delco's green eye batteries. They might be sealed and never need water, but they should be properly charged every 6 months to stay healthy longer. Of course it requires the proper charger to handle the battery. You can't use the old school gross chargers. They'll cook the battery if not monitored properly. This is why we use the micro processor style charges today. They work great and allow the proper charge voltages to cell balance the battery. They never over/under charge and also have a desulfate mode to condition the battery plates as well.

35 bucks it what I see as additional on my PG&E bill, so that's a great deal you have with the management.

You also need to understand the battery will be drained (low SOC) and over time it becomes weak to the point it fails when it can't recover from the load. IF the dealers are keeping these cars for multiple days, then they should have no problem driving and monitoring them overnight for the time the vehicle is in the shop. It's not a sudden dead battery problem. It's a long term issue that the owner never notices until the battery becomes unable to start the car after being drained over time. Without knowing the SOC curve over time, it makes it look like sudden failure and I can assure you, it's not. It's a long-term draw that force the battery to fail. Batteries don't fail overnight unless they have a bad cell.

Batteries require maintenance too. For some reason the SOC drops below optimum levels on these cars. Probably due to heavy demand from all the electrical loads. It seems like the DC/DC converter just can't keep up with the demand. I always charge my batteries on all my vehicles at least every 6 months. The C-Max requires it more often, so I just do it. It's not a big deal to hook up the charger once a month and just let it run until it's done. It's a simple way to keep the battery in good health and reduce the chances of having a dead one on your hands. You can use the charger to look at SOC and determine your own charging requirements. It's not rocket science. 55 bucks is cheap insurance against low/dead battery problems. The 12V battery is the gateway to the cars operation.

You'll need a Ford dealer to pull up the Oasis information. It will only provide the Ford service history info. Anything done outside of the Ford service department will not show up. It will have all Ford warranty repairs ever performed on the car at any Ford dealer.

But, you just said it's been fixed...........Why continue to bash on it ;) Prii's are scrap-metal :spend: I like how Toyota tried to sweep their problems under the rug by trying to bribe their way our of the deaths related to the problems with the unwanted acceleration as well as avoid a national recall. I wouldn't buy a POS Toyota for any reason, so expect me to hammer it when you tout that turd on this forum. Toyota's are a POS, and that's everyone of them. Junk cars. Stupid Americans buy the overpriced Lexus brand by the millions. What a waste of good money :spend: for a crappy underwhelming glorified, Toyota.

Yes, for the price difference the SEL is a nice setup. Glad you were able to sort it out and get it setup to you liking.

Great to hear you enjoy the C-Max. Due to the fact this car has been sitting around for over a year, I would advise you to properly charge that 12V battery with the proper micro processor charger. Even if it's not dead, it's probably been low for way to long. I use and recommend this charger. For the 55 bucks to purchase it, you'll get piece of mind with knowing your battery is properly charged. You can use it to monitor the SOC and make sure it's always up to snuff and you'll know if it's dying out on you. Charger....http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SSC-1500A-CA-SpeedCharge-Charger-Battery/dp/B000H961YI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1409031776&sr=8-2&keywords=marine+1500+charger It's easy to use and pretty much fool-proof. Just hook it up to the power and ground studs under the hood and let it rip. Here's an image of the power and ground stud locations under the hood.