garageman402

I just acquired a 2014 Energi from my sister-in-law who, sadly, cannot drive anymore, & I'm learning more & more about this car. My sis-in-law never plugged it in, she drove it in hybrid mode all the time. She bought it in 2017 with 22k miles, when I got it had 33k, lol. She always took it to the dealer for service, oil change every 6 months, all the recalls, & I see a fairly new Motorcraft 12v battery in there. In later years, the only time it ran was to the pharmacy & back. When I first got it, we drove home (50 miles) at night, mainly using ICE but not really running it hard. One day after picking up my 6 year old granddaughter, we got on the main road & she said "you gotta go fast grandpa", so I pushed it a little harder. OMG, the smokescreen I left behind me, I looked like a skywriter! It dissipated for the most part but could see a little lingering smoke. I thought I blew something up, got it home, checked the oil, full & very clean. I can just assume I blew out the water built up in the exhaust from all those years of putting around town. I did that again, got a little bit of vapor blowing out. Since then we have taken a fairly long trip using ICE only (EV later mode), no more skywriting, lol.

That's what that button is for! So I can use that button to hold the speed on a downhill while increasing regen without using the brake pedal? Would shifting to "Low" have the same effect? Will hill descent control disengage upon stepping on the throttle? Is there any way to tell when the friction brakes start applying? I have noticed the light on the 120v charger stops blinking showing full charge but if I leave it plugged in, it will start blinking again, is that from the DC-DC charging the 12v? I have had it plugged in now for over 24 hours & the light has remained solid. I presume the 12v is now fully charged as well. I think my sis-in-law drove super short trips a lot. In addition to her never plugging it in, I think that contributed to the 12v battery's demise. Now I know how to keep it topped up! Yes, the 2014 has this, along with a line that rises & falls showing charge & discharge. Using the cruise control makes the green ECO light come on, will that provide more regen than manually trying to maintain constant speed? One other question I have. There is an indicator on the lower right corner of the radio control panel just below & to the right of the volume/tuning knob. There is a symbol associated with this in the shape of a lock, sometimes the yellow light is on, sometimes off. What is this indicator? It looks like a button, but it does not depress. Thanks for all your answers, I really appreciate the help!! This is quite a learning curve.

So there's no conventional "starter" to start the ICE? I just acquired a 2014 Energi from my sister-in-law who, sadly, cannot drive anymore, & I'm learning more & more about this car. So, what, basically does the 12v battery do? It has regular starter sized cables coming off it, why would it need those large cables if there's no starter? Would a deep cycle battery be a better choice for this application? From reading this forum, there is no alternator to keep the 12v charged? So there's a DC-DC trickle charger that runs when the car is on. Does it also charge when it's plugged in? I've also noticed you can't use EV later if the battery has no miles left on it. Also it automatically uses the EV at "idle" & take offs, then switches to ICE. ICE shuts off when coasting too. My sis-in-law never plugged it in, she drove it in hybrid mode all the time & she had problems with the 12v right from the start, now I know why. She bought it in 2017 with 22k miles, when I got it had 33k, lol. She always took it to the dealer for service, oil change every 6 months, all the recalls, & I see a fairly new Motorcraft 12v battery in there. In later years, the only time it ran was to the pharmacy & back. When I first got it, we drove home (50 miles) at night, mainly using ICE but not really running it hard. One day after picking up my 6 year old granddaughter, we got on the main road & she said "you gotta go fast grandpa", so I pushed it a little harder. OMG, the smokescreen I left behind me, I looked like a skywriter! It dissipated for the most part but could see a little lingering smoke. I thought I blew something up, got it home, checked the oil, full & very clean. I can just assume I blew out the water built up in the exhaust from all those years of putting around town. I did that again, got a little bit of vapor blowing out. Since then we have taken a fairly long trip using ICE only (EV later mode), no more skywriting, lol. What is the second battery gauge for? I notice when the charge goes out of the HVB, another battery monitor appears, is that "hybrid" mode? Does it only regenerate while braking or will it charge while coasting? On our long trip I went down a steep grade for a few miles, riding the brake pedal lightly all the way down. Got 3 miles worth of charge out of that! At the bottom I pulled over to feel the brake rotors, the rear ones were cold, actually cold, the fronts were barely warm, you could hold you hand on it. So riding the brake pedal will engage the generator in the transmission, & only apply the brake when you push down more? If I put the transmission in "Low" will that increase the charging, or am I losing out by not riding the brake? I know, so many questions! I realize this thread is almost one year old, thanks for any help (advice) you can give this newbie!