Jump to content

Odd Key Fob Problem


DanW
 Share

Recommended Posts

My daughter has my 2013 Cmax Energi and is reporting a strange problem with locking the door.

She claims the key fob will only lock the doors when the vehicle is running. Has anyone ever heard of this?

Unfortunately I am a thousand miles away or I'd have more information to provide!

Thanks
Daniel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like the 12V (the little battery) is low. I've read many comments here about odd things happening when the 12V is dying.  Would you know if the 2013 has the original battery?  They aren't DIY for most people and I get mine at the dealer ($130). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

She can take it to Ford Quick Lane (no appointment needed) and likely within an hour they will test the battery for free. The will give you a printout of the battery health.   Battery is on special for $130  plus installation.  Also, when was the last time the FOB battery was replaced?  Easy and cheap to DIY.  Videos likely on YouTube or look  in Owners manual. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, C-MaxA2 said:

Sounds like the 12V (the little battery) is low.

I'd start where Plus3 ended, for this sounds like the littlest battery, the CR2032 in the FOB. About $3. I'd expect the 12v to have more complex symptoms, some unrelated to the fob.  

Stay well,

Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting, and thank you. I've been having to replace my 12v battery every 6 to 12 months. Ford a;ways says they saw nothing wrong. The fact that it is ongoing tells me there is something else happening, something that is causing the battery to go bad.


PS. It has 248K miles on it so problems are not unexpected. On the other hand, this has been happening since I bought the car with 71K miles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So you do have a battery drain that results in a no start (dead 12V  battery)?  Batteries can fail unexpectedly but every 6-12 months indicates an issue.  There is a Ford CSP 15B04 which expired in 2016 for the dead battery issue where Ford updated software and  TSB 16-0157 for the Energi where Ford checked wiring for a battery drain. Hopefully, these were performed.  
 

In addition, there is a battery age parameter that should be reset every time a new battery is installed.  There have been Ford dealers that fail to do this.  This resets the Battery Monitoring System and thus the PCM can determine the appropriate set point voltages used in charging the 12 V battery.  There is a manual procedure which can be preformed which I have performed and it did reset battery age. You might want to do it. See link below.
 

One module that is known to be problematic is the APIM (aka SYNC Module) which can lock up / not shut down properly and cause battery drain.  
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely have that battery drain where the car doesn't start. Ford typically installs a new 12v and its good for 6 to 12 months. They've told me that if I want to find out why it'll cost me $150 for a proper diagnosis. However, their diagnoses have been faulty in the past on many occasions so I just grin and bear it.

Four months ago when I had it in the shop for another dead 12v, Ford mentioned the update because my Sync had stopped working. They said they knew about that problem but it was going to cost $200 to reset everything. I didn't have much of a choice since my screen was dead. Seems the drain is still there, though. Plus the drain on my Visa account!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Sync hangs up again, pull fuse 79 out for several seconds and replace.  It’s in the fuse panel under the glove box.  I even showed my wife how to do it in case radio hangs up (only hung up one time).  Yes, the warranty extension of Sync was only for 5 years (No mile restriction)from original date of purchase.  So, dealer will charge for everything now.  $200 seems a little high but they probably will update all modules (probably at least 3: PCM, DCDC, and APIM) to latest software revision.
 

How often do you plug-in to charge? As there is a separate DCDC converter that keeps The 12 V battery charged when plugged in while charging the High Voltage Battery.  But I believe once HVB is fully charged, charging of the 12 V battery stops even when charging cable is still plugged in.  I’ve always wondered whether a module might fail to shutdown after charging HVB is done and drain the 12 V battery.  If you can, I’d remove charging cable after charging is done.

 

Also, you might want to hook a 12V battery charger up frequently (say once a week) to ensure the battery has been fully charged to its capacity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...