kaptnk228

We recently bought a 2013 Ford C-Max. The day after the navigation system was fixed, I found our loved C-Max in the driveway dead. I tried starting it with our boat battery but it would not continue to run. I charged the battery until my charger showed 75% and tried to drive it to the dealer 15 mins away. IT DIED ABOUT 8-10 MINS LATER. 60 seconds before it died on the road, the battery light came on. THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. As an Engineer this is what I believe happened. A 12 Volt battery is not 12 Volts but rather it is 12.8 Volts when fully charged and the charging system normally floats 13.5 Volts on the battery. There is no alternator and the system simply uses a transformer type of system to lower the Li Ion battery voltage to the desired DC voltage. PERHAPS THE PROGRAMMER PROGRAMMED THE LOW BATTERY LIGHT TO COME ON AT 12 VOLTS LIKE IT DID IN OUR CASE. IT SHOULD COME ON AT 12.8 VOLTS TO WARN OF A FAILED CHARGING COMPONENT. SMALL PROBLEMS IN AIR PLANES HAVE COST 10,000'S OF PEOPLE THEIR LIVES. WE GOT NO WARNING OF THE FAILURE OF THE CHARGING SYSTEM OR BATTERY UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE CAR DIED. IN THE PAST WE WOULD GET AN ALTERNATOR LIGHT TO COME ON as soon as the charging system failed. I know that there is a battery light NOW simply fix the problem with a simple program update ASAP. WHEN ONE DESIGN'S NEW CONCEPTS SOME OF THE OLD IDEAS MUST BE RE-EVALUATED. THE CHARGER COMPONENT IMHO MUST BE RE-DESIGNED TO BE MULTI-COMPONENT. THAT IS TO SAY FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE 3 OR 4 PARALLEL SYSTEMS WITH INDIVIDUAL WARNING LIGHTS. WHEN ONE SYSTEM FAILS, WE WOULD BE NOTIFIED THAT WE MUST MONITOR THE OTHER TWO. WHEN 2 FAIL IT IS TIME TO REPLACE THAT MODULE. IN THE C-MAX ALL OF YOUR STEERING, BREAKING FLASHERS QUIT WHEN YOU LOSE THE 12 VOLT SYSTEM. THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. Summary: 26 October 2014 1. Immediately fix the warning system of a fault with the 12 volt battery system. 2. Re-design the step down charger to be fault tolerant, ie build at least 3 if not 4 step down devices in parallel so if one or two fail, we will live and can go to dealer to get it replaced. As it is taking over 5 days to get spare parts, this is a good idea. Also design the system to last longer 3.0 RE-DESIGN THE SYSTEM ONCE STARTED TO BE ABLE TO RUN WITHOUT THE 12 VOLT BATTERY UNTIL YOU TURN THE CAR OFF. THIS WILL PREVENT THE MORE SERIOUS CONDITION OF A DEAD CAR AT SPEED LIKE WHAT OCCURRED TO US. 4.0 ALL OWNERS OF THE C-MAX MUST WRITE FORD AND PERHAPS SOME GOVERNMENT SAFETY BRANCH TO LOOK INTO THIS. 5.0 FORD SHOULD ADD ONE OF THEIR GREAT LOOKING PANELS ON THE LEFT SIDE TO MONITOR BATTERY VOLTAGE IE 13.5 VOLTS AND ALSO SHOW ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE WHICH IS ALSO MISSING. This is a relatively small problem with HUGE CONSEQUENCES. IF THIS HAPPENS AT 70 MPH AND YOU DON'T HAVE ANY POWER BRAKES, OR STEERING OH MY GOD!!!! Retired Professional Engineer 26 October 2014 WHAT TO DO UNTIL FORD FIXES THIS PROBLEM? BUY A VOLTAGE METER AND A SMALL ADAPTER TO USE THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER POWER SUPPLY TO MONITOR THE SYSTEM. YOU SHOULD THEN SEE THAT THE CHARGING SYSTEM IS WORKING. A NORMAL CAR BATTERY FULLY CHARGED IS ABOUT 12.8+ VOLTS. A DEAD 12 VOLT BATTERY OCCURS AT ABOUT 12 VOLTS LIKE IT DID IN OUR CASE. The C-Max looks like a great car that just needs a few very important but small changes. PROBLEM FOUND 1. DC/DC MODULE REPLACED 2. BATTERY REPLACED 3. VOLTAGE DROPPED TO 13.5 V BUT THEY REPLACED SOME LARGE AMP FUSE AND NO MORE PROBLEM. Voltage when back to spec of 14.3 V+ 4. No problem for the past month Dec 13 2014 today 5. Using voltmeter in 12 V socket to monitor charging system. We get a strange 12.2 V when the car is turned off but it should be way higher. I just ignore that for now as other thing may be on for a while. No dead battery no problem. 15V will charge battery just fine from the dc/dc module Retired Mechanical Engineer who works on his car for the past 48 years.

What upgrade. We had all upgrades done on Last Thursday and I haven't yet seen any battery monitoring or coolant monitoring system display. Here is my case: We recently bought a 2013 Ford C-Max. The day after the navigation system was fixed, I found our loved C-Max in the driveway dead. I tried starting it with our boat battery but it would not continue to run. I charged the battery until my charger showed 75% and tried to drive it to the dealer 15 mins away. IT DIED ABOUT 8-10 MINS LATER. 60 seconds before it died on the road, the battery light came on. THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. As an Engineer this is what I believe happened. A 12 Volt battery is not 12 Volts but rather it is 12.8 Volts when fully charged and the charging system normally floats 13.5 Volts on the battery. There is no alternator and the system simply uses a transformer type of system to lower the Li Ion battery voltage to the desired DC voltage. PERHAPS THE PROGRAMMER PROGRAMMED THE LOW BATTERY LIGHT TO COME ON AT 12 VOLTS LIKE IT DID IN OUR CASE. IT SHOULD COME ON AT 12.8 VOLTS TO WARN OF A FAILED CHARGING COMPONENT. SMALL PROBLEMS IN AIR PLANES HAVE COST 10,000'S OF PEOPLE THEIR LIVES. WE GOT NO WARNING OF THE FAILURE OF THE CHARGING SYSTEM OR BATTERY UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE CAR DIED. IN THE PAST WE WOULD GET AN ALTERNATOR LIGHT TO COME ON as soon as the charging system failed. I know that there is a battery light NOW simply fix the problem with a simple program update ASAP. WHEN ONE DESIGN'S NEW CONCEPTS SOME OF THE OLD IDEAS MUST BE RE-EVALUATED. THE CHARGER COMPONENT IMHO MUST BE RE-DESIGNED TO BE MULTI-COMPONENT. THAT IS TO SAY FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE 3 OR 4 PARALLEL SYSTEMS WITH INDIVIDUAL WARNING LIGHTS. WHEN ONE SYSTEM FAILS, WE WOULD BE NOTIFIED THAT WE MUST MONITOR THE OTHER TWO. WHEN 2 FAIL IT IS TIME TO REPLACE THAT MODULE. IN THE C-MAX ALL OF YOUR STEERING, BREAKING FLASHERS QUIT WHEN YOU LOSE THE 12 VOLT SYSTEM. THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. Summary: 26 October 2014 1. Immediately fix the warning system of a fault with the 12 volt battery system. 2. Re-design the step down charger to be fault tolerant, ie build at least 3 if not 4 step down devices in parallel so if one or two fail, we will live and can go to dealer to get it replaced. As it is taking over 5 days to get spare parts, this is a good idea. Also design the system to last longer 3.0 RE-DESIGN THE SYSTEM ONCE STARTED TO BE ABLE TO RUN WITHOUT THE 12 VOLT BATTERY UNTIL YOU TURN THE CAR OFF. THIS WILL PREVENT THE MORE SERIOUS CONDITION OF A DEAD CAR AT SPEED LIKE WHAT OCCURRED TO US. 4.0 ALL OWNERS OF THE C-MAX MUST WRITE FORD AND PERHAPS SOME GOVERNMENT SAFETY BRANCH TO LOOK INTO THIS. 5.0 FORD SHOULD ADD ONE OF THEIR GREAT LOOKING PANELS ON THE LEFT SIDE TO MONITOR BATTERY VOLTAGE IE 13.5 VOLTS AND ALSO SHOW ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE WHICH IS ALSO MISSING. This is a relatively small problem with HUGE CONSEQUENCES. IF THIS HAPPENS AT 70 MPH AND YOU DON'T HAVE ANY POWER BRAKES, OR STEERING OH MY GOD!!!! Retired Professional Engineer 26 October 2014 WHAT TO DO UNTIL FORD FIXES THIS PROBLEM? BUY A VOLTAGE METER AND A SMALL ADAPTER TO USE THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER POWER SUPPLY TO MONITOR THE SYSTEM. YOU SHOULD THEN SEE THAT THE CHARGING SYSTEM IS WORKING. A NORMAL CAR BATTERY FULLY CHARGED IS ABOUT 12.8+ VOLTS. A DEAD 12 VOLT BATTERY OCCURS AT ABOUT 12 VOLTS LIKE IT DID IN OUR CASE. The C-Max looks like a great car that just needs a few very important but small changes. Retired Mechanical Engineer who works on his car for the past 48 years.

We recently bought a 2013 Ford C-Max. The day after the navigation system was fixed, I found our loved C-Max in the driveway dead. I tried starting it with our boat battery but it would not continue to run. I charged the battery until my charger showed 75% and tried to drive it to the dealer 15 mins away. IT DIED ABOUT 8-10 MINS LATER. 60 seconds before it died on the road, the battery light came on. THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. As an Engineer this is what I believe happened. A 12 Volt battery is not 12 Volts but rather it is 12.8 Volts when fully charged and the charging system normally floats 13.5 Volts on the battery. There is no alternator and the system simply uses a transformer type of system to lower the Li Ion battery voltage to the desired DC voltage. PERHAPS THE PROGRAMMER PROGRAMMED THE LOW BATTERY LIGHT TO COME ON AT 12 VOLTS LIKE IT DID IN OUR CASE. IT SHOULD COME ON AT 12.8 VOLTS TO WARN OF A FAILED CHARGING COMPONENT. SMALL PROBLEMS IN AIR PLANES HAVE COST 10,000'S OF PEOPLE THEIR LIVES. WE GOT NO WARNING OF THE FAILURE OF THE CHARGING SYSTEM OR BATTERY UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE CAR DIED. IN THE PAST WE WOULD GET AN ALTERNATOR LIGHT TO COME ON as soon as the charging system failed. I know that there is a battery light NOW simply fix the problem with a simple program update ASAP. WHEN ONE DESIGN'S NEW CONCEPTS SOME OF THE OLD IDEAS MUST BE RE-EVALUATED. THE CHARGER COMPONENT IMHO MUST BE RE-DESIGNED TO BE MULTI-COMPONENT. THAT IS TO SAY FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE 3 OR 4 PARALLEL SYSTEMS WITH INDIVIDUAL WARNING LIGHTS. WHEN ONE SYSTEM FAILS, WE WOULD BE NOTIFIED THAT WE MUST MONITOR THE OTHER TWO. WHEN 2 FAIL IT IS TIME TO REPLACE THAT MODULE. IN THE C-MAX ALL OF YOUR STEERING, BREAKING FLASHERS QUIT WHEN YOU LOSE THE 12 VOLT SYSTEM. THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. Summary: 26 October 2014 1. Immediately fix the warning system of a fault with the 12 volt battery system. 2. Re-design the step down charger to be fault tolerant, ie build at least 3 if not 4 step down devices in parallel so if one or two fail, we will live and can go to dealer to get it replaced. As it is taking over 5 days to get spare parts, this is a good idea. Also design the system to last longer 3.0 RE-DESIGN THE SYSTEM ONCE STARTED TO BE ABLE TO RUN WITHOUT THE 12 VOLT BATTERY UNTIL YOU TURN THE CAR OFF. THIS WILL PREVENT THE MORE SERIOUS CONDITION OF A DEAD CAR AT SPEED LIKE WHAT OCCURRED TO US. 4.0 ALL OWNERS OF THE C-MAX MUST WRITE FORD AND PERHAPS SOME GOVERNMENT SAFETY BRANCH TO LOOK INTO THIS. 5.0 FORD SHOULD ADD ONE OF THEIR GREAT LOOKING PANELS ON THE LEFT SIDE TO MONITOR BATTERY VOLTAGE IE 13.5 VOLTS AND ALSO SHOW ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE WHICH IS ALSO MISSING. This is a relatively small problem with HUGE CONSEQUENCES. IF THIS HAPPENS AT 70 MPH AND YOU DON'T HAVE ANY POWER BRAKES, OR STEERING OH MY GOD!!!! Retired Professional Engineer 26 October 2014 WHAT TO DO UNTIL FORD FIXES THIS PROBLEM? BUY A VOLTAGE METER AND A SMALL ADAPTER TO USE THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER POWER SUPPLY TO MONITOR THE SYSTEM. YOU SHOULD THEN SEE THAT THE CHARGING SYSTEM IS WORKING. A NORMAL CAR BATTERY FULLY CHARGED IS ABOUT 12.8+ VOLTS. A DEAD 12 VOLT BATTERY OCCURS AT ABOUT 12 VOLTS LIKE IT DID IN OUR CASE. The C-Max looks like a great car that just needs a few very important but small changes. Retired Mechanical Engineer who works on his car for the past 48 years.

We are new C-Max SEL owners (used 2013 20k miles), less than one week. So far a small trip last night with some hwy and city 49.5 MPG and small trip this am 47 mpg. 1. Improve passenger seat to raise or lower (wife is 5'?). Lumbar controls and electric controls for both front seats would be good idea as we have this in our 1999 Jimmy Envoy. 2. Like the power massage in the new Lincoln (Detroit show 2014). Still awaiting for new software upgrade and repairs to gps, rear pass door handle does not work and can't get high beam to stay on. Do like all of the screens but having problem deleting mykey (push the okay button but nothing happens.) I am sure LED's will be in new cars. It sure is quiet and I normally can't easily tell if the engine is on. 3. Include a CAR JACK AND WRENCH TO TIGHTEN LUG NUTS. If the lug nuts come loose, then your fingers are not good enough to tighten them until you get home. I will store my bar wrench and socket for now. I will need to get a scissor 1 1/2 ton jack from Wally Mart. Will add more recommendations when we think about them.