Hippie'sMom Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Got it to start--weird flasking of systems, then NOTHING. Headlights and tails on--won't respond to controls. What to do? Would a jump help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie'sMom Posted May 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Sorry--didn't really get it to start. So flustered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie'sMom Posted May 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 OK, lights have gone out and AAA is on the way so we can see if the battery is low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveofDurham Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Hang in there Yippie. Hippie'sMom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie'sMom Posted May 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Bad news--it's the battery. Good news--the little cheap battery! The AAA guy said the weird light stuff is like a warning that some shiz is about to go down battery-wise. Hope I can make it go to the Ford dealer in the am. Drove it around hoping I could make it go one more time tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raadsel Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 I'm really curious how Hyundai/Kia's new hybrids will do without a separate 12V battery. It is this type of situation that hopes it works well and that other automakers can adopt similar systems in their hybrids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleytoons Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Battery problems are the Max's achilles heel, so to speak. Hopefully this is a one-off situation for you, but make sure you have ALL the suggested updates/fixes installed by your dealer (there was an important one last year that was supposed to take care of a lot of these situations). In the future you might also want to carry a portable battery/jump starter kit as many of us have for this (I've never had to use it... yet). Hippie'sMom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestevens Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 (edited) The Prius has the same battery design - 12V to run the computer(s) and accessories. In a way it's not bad because you supposedly only need enough juice to boot the computer in order to get it to start the car. It might be a part of the safety design of the car - there is a physical separation of high voltage until the relays close on the battery pack. Also the battery is in the trunk, which should make it last longer. I had to replace Prius battery after 7 years (that car was acting flaky too) and actually I never replaced the battery on my HHR in the 9 years I owned it - it was in the trunk too, every time I brought it in to Chevy I'd have them test it and they'd report back that it was still good. Prius was actually intelligently designed although it took quite a while to replace the 12V battery (it would have helped if they gave me the right size battery to start with). I could see some smart engineer saying, "Well we only have to replace this once every seven years, let's put it behind this brake controller and some HVAC exhaust tubing.." The OEM battery on the Ford doesn't seem to have much "oomph" in the way of CCAs - technically it probably shouldn't need it.. The computer uses HVB current to spin generator motor which turns the crankshaft to start the car. Edited May 24, 2016 by jestevens Hippie'sMom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 12 V batteries fail. I think the issue is that in a conventional vehicle, one generally gets a sense of a failing 12 V battery with slow cranking. It's no big issue. But in a Hybrid, either the car starts or it doesn't. So, people forget that maybe it's the 12 V battery as there is no outright indication of a pending 12V battery failure. As with Yippie, a jump start usually gets a Hybid going. My 12 V C-Max battery lasted 30 months in the Phoenix area - about average for such a hot climate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie'sMom Posted May 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 So the battery wasn't bad. The charge held and all their diagnostics showed it to be a happy, charged up so-and-so. I had gotten a few messages in the prior week about "powering down to conserve battery" on the computer display, and I was a bit baffled as I had turned off the car, so it was kind of "duh--is that an upgrade message new thing they are doing???" since I expect the occasional update. Ford Service said "you must have left on a light or left a door ajar." I don't believe I did--but is there something people can accidentally turn on and not know it? Or is this just the start of 12V woes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestevens Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 There have been reports of a parasitic drain on the 12V battery that was hard to track down in some vehicles but it seemed to me like the problem affected the SE's more than SEL's. Someone also posted a notice about a courtesy battery inspection. I am hoping that since you took it to the dealer they checked/updated car for any open software updates, etc. at that time? Search the forum for Customer Satisfaction Program 15B04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie'sMom Posted May 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 I got the message again, so I think I am going back to ask about software updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted May 29, 2016 Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 I got the message again, so I think I am going back to ask about software updates.That's a standard message if you stay in the car say with the radio on even when you turn the car off via the push button. If you exit the car and close the door, the MFT should turn off. Perhaps if the 12V battery is weak, the message comes on quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raadsel Posted May 29, 2016 Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 I got the message again, so I think I am going back to ask about software updates. You can check if there are any open recalls (software updates) on your car here -- just enter your VIN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtb9153 Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Maxius has this weird condition which crops up every so often then disappears for a month or so. What happens is this...I park in the garage with a near full charge on the instrument gauge, then next morning or next time I push start, Maxius immediately cranks up the engine with an earth shaking rattle because the battery is completely drained or near to it. For some reason there is a drain on the battery just sitting in the garage. I've never taken it to the dealer for fear of opening a bigger can of worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestevens Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Try ETIS too - it has all sorts of interesting build information about your vehicle (except some of the C-MAX hybrids are misidentified as Energis) https://etis.ford.com - click on "Vehicle" and enter your VIN I think your dealer needs to take a closer look, sorry you are having problems. I trust my dealer with hybrids because even though they are in the middle of the country the service guy was able to hook up IDS to the car and reprogram the car to turn the "always on" headlight option for fleet vehicles to OFF. At that point I knew this was someone I wanted to do business with, plus they seem to be nice guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie'sMom Posted June 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 I returned it yesterday--we had done the recall already, so they rechecked the battery. Left overnight and there was a bad cell. So new 12V battery and all seems back to normal, none of the error codes they had been picking up. So I think it ended up being fairly prosaic. Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) I returned it yesterday--we had done the recall already, so they rechecked the battery. Left overnight and there was a bad cell. So new 12V battery and all seems back to normal, none of the error codes they had been picking up. So I think it ended up being fairly prosaic. Thanks all.Yep, 17 oops 18 posts now about "nothing". 12 V batteries do fail as I said in post 9. ;) We'll likely see more threads like this in the future as 12 V batteries don't last forever and many will likely be failing on MY 2013 in the next year or so. Again, my 12 V C-Max battery lasted 30 months in the Phoenix area - about average for such a hot climate (see chart below). Edited June 2, 2016 by Plus 3 Golfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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