Dead 12v Battery help

[triggerbass25]

I have a 2013 Energi. Yesterday seemingly out of no where my vehicle wouldn't unlock. I used the actual key to enter and had to start it with the key up to the ignition. Once it was running I got a ton of error messages

- power steering fault 

- speed limited to 80mph

 

I drove the vehicle the 5 mins home with no power steering (i was afraid to turn it off) and shut it off as soon as I arrived and restarted it just fine. All messages were gone. 

 

Today I used the key to enter again and had no power. Jumped it off my wife's vehicle and within seconds it started. Checked the voltage and its reading just over 12v while running. After a few minutes of shutting it off it drops down to 11.91v but still starts. Is the battery going out? Is it currently out? Or is there something else that could be slowly draining it that im missing? 

[homestead]

Yeah , sounds like the 12v battery or the DC->DC converter that charges the 12V battery.

Good Luck

[cr08]

Definitely check the battery. The power steering fault and other warning messages could just be the systems freaking out from the low battery. It's pretty common to see a lot of 'red herring' warnings and alerts when this happens. Get the battery replaced, then see if any other warnings or error codes remain.

[oldbeyondmeasure]

Curious to know: is the 12V battery original? I am wondering what a typical 12V battery life on a C-Max Energi is. Mine is almost five years old (car bought in June 2017). 

[cr08]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:24 PM, oldbeyondmeasure said:

Curious to know: is the 12V battery original? I am wondering what a typical 12V battery life on a C-Max Energi is. Mine is almost five years old (car bought in June 2017). 

 

Seems like it is all over the board with the C-Max depending on a number of factors. Best I can tell mine was original (2013) when it finally needed replacement here last December. Those with continuing electrical gremlins may see reduced longevity as a result. Weather/climate will also play a factor here.

 

That said, for the OP if it is original or known to be 4-5 years old or more that's about where I'd say the low end of 'normal' battery life would be and definitely worth looking into as the culprit for sure.

[SnowStorm]

On 5/26/2022 at 2:46 PM, triggerbass25 said:

Checked the voltage and its reading just over 12v while running.

You should have around 14v with the car on ("ready to run" mode).  At this time the DC-DC convertor is charging the 12v battery as well as supplying the cars 12v loads.  You may indeed need a new battery (maybe it has a shorted cell?) but after putting one in, make sure the DC-DC converter is working properly so the new battery stays charged.  (And make sure the 12v battery age parameter is reset to zero.)

[nogoodbum]

Based on my own experience with 12V battery problems, you should have the 12V battery load-tested [present one or replacement]. Went thru 6 months of back & forth with dealer service dept., car in their shop for 2&1/2 months. Seems as the original battery they replaced was not NOS but bad NOS. Agree system should have about 14V when on ready to run. Keep in mind that one of OBD2's biggest flaw/pitfall is it's dependence on proper working of a car's 12V system [This true of all, to my knowledge, cars]. Sadly this also means that too many mechanics rely on it too much. You have to have battery load-tested because in normal usage the battery amperage is not used very much to start car, unlike non-hybrids. Hope this helps & Thanks for the read.

[Bill-N]

Remember to reset the battery age monitor after replacing the 12V battery.  Charging scheme depends on knowing how old the battery is.