Cold Weather Electrical Issues 2.0 Ecoboost

[Superg0]

Why not try the engine block heater at -20c rather than wait until -30c? It may just solve your problem?

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[Mitchell]

Why not try the engine block heater at -20c rather than wait until -30c? It may just solve your problem?

My problem is not with the engine being too cold to turn over. The problem is the electrical system not even working or powering up the dash or starter circuit.
The new (direct injection) automobile engines start great in the cold weather compared to the old carbureted engines. I have lived in the north all my life and spent my career as a field service mechanic for Caterpillar. I know the effects and limitations of the cold quite well. I don't normally plug in unless it is forecast around -30C (-22F).

 

[Gatekeep]

That’s block heater climate

 

[billpitman]

If it's a flooded-lead-acid battery, you should try putting the battery on a charger/maintainer until it shows fully charged and the battery has been desulfated. Then reset the BMS using the bright headlight flash 5 times, followed by the brake pedal 3 times.

Numerous on-screen warnings like you saw are typical of discharged or bad battery.

I did this just the other day. NOCO Genius10 for about 36 hours, charge & maintenance. Funny thing that happens, charger shows fully charged, checked with meter, is at 12.7-12.8…… as soon as you open a door and there is draw on the battery, charger now shows only 1st status light on…..did not check voltage w/ meter….. I then reset BMS & confirmed with battery lite flashes.
1 day later, started truck, SOC of 12 v battery shows 75%.
Went to dinner last night, SOC showed 63%, 1/2 hr drive, 15.1 volts, 1 amp showing on OBD…… By time we got home SOC was at 64% !!
I’ve own about 8 ford vehicles over the past 50 years, I think it would be OK for me to say……. Ford needs to get their shit together, think problems thru, and get hardware & software optimize. Also, our hybrid truck 6 months old w/ 4000 miles…… Bill P

 

[Bertram]

December 12/24 - 9am
-24 Celsius - first cold morning since I owned this truck and has only 7000 km (4300 miles).

Remote fob would lock/unlock but not start the truck.
I went out to start manually but the electrical was out on the dash, there was no defrost fan, and the engine would not turn over with the key.
I tried several times to start but absolutely nothing happened.

Finally I left the key in the on position and after about 10-15 seconds the defrost fan came on and the (large) dash warnings began to flash one after the other showing countless messages: No hill assist, No pre collision, No front camera etc., etc.

I then turned the key to the start position and the engine started no problem. At that point I was able to drive but idiot lamps for ABS and pre-collision assist remained on.

After I reached my destination, I shut off and restarted the engine, and found everything was back to normal.
My wife took the truck later and reported the radio/infotainment screen shut off by itself while she was driving. She manually turned the radio back on. Not sure what is going on yet. I will be booking a dealership visit. It almost seemed like the power relay was frozen up (if it even has one).

In the old days if the battery was weak you turned on your headlights for a short while to put some heat in your battery. Sometimes that worked and it would start.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

In the old days if the battery was weak you turned on your headlights for a short while to put some heat in your battery. Sometimes that worked and it would start.

Not sure that would work nowadays. Incandescent headlights drew many times more current than these glary LEDs that come on vehicles now.

 

[DoubleXL]

I live in Labrador, i havent had issues with my ecoboost, other than it doesnt want to stop high idle when its really cold on a cold start.

I don't have remote start, and never used the block heater.

Also often my truck is parked at airports for 2-3 weeks.

Wire casing can break easy when really cold, you should get it checked out at a dealer

 

[Mitchell]

I did this just the other day. NOCO Genius10 for about 36 hours, charge & maintenance. Funny thing that happens, charger shows fully charged, checked with meter, is at 12.7-12.8…… as soon as you open a door and there is draw on the battery, charger now shows only 1st status light on…..did not check voltage w/ meter….. I then reset BMS & confirmed with battery lite flashes.
1 day later, started truck, SOC of 12 v battery shows 75%.
Went to dinner last night, SOC showed 63%, 1/2 hr drive, 15.1 volts, 1 amp showing on OBD…… By time we got home SOC was at 64% !!
I’ve own about 8 ford vehicles over the past 50 years, I think it would be OK for me to say……. Ford needs to get their shit together, think problems thru, and get hardware & software optimize. Also, our hybrid truck 6 months old w/ 4000 miles…… Bill P

I did this just the other day. NOCO Genius10 for about 36 hours, charge & maintenance. Funny thing that happens, charger shows fully charged, checked with meter, is at 12.7-12.8…… as soon as you open a door and there is draw on the battery, charger now shows only 1st status light on…..did not check voltage w/ meter….. I then reset BMS & confirmed with battery lite flashes.
1 day later, started truck, SOC of 12 v battery shows 75%.
Went to dinner last night, SOC showed 63%, 1/2 hr drive, 15.1 volts, 1 amp showing on OBD…… By time we got home SOC was at 64% !!
I’ve own about 8 ford vehicles over the past 50 years, I think it would be OK for me to say……. Ford needs to get their shit together, think problems thru, and get hardware & software optimize. Also, our hybrid truck 6 months old w/ 4000 miles…… Bill P

Dealer checked battery was only 51% - they replaced battery and see how it goes this winter.

 

[Mitchell]

I'm no mechanic but I almost wonder if the 12v battery may have been having some issues with the cold. I know the batteries they put in these things are pretty bad and the cold does affect batteries but usually only after they are near the end of their life.

You are correct - bad battery.

 

[JacobEleventeen]

You are correct - bad battery.

Good to know it's an easy fix then. If ford doesn't get there battery situation figured out it may be worth switching to an AGM one like several others on the forum have done.

 

[Camdak]

Good to know it's an easy fix then. If ford doesn't get there battery situation figured out it may be worth switching to an AGM one like several others on the forum have done.

I have a 24 EcoBoost with AGM battery with the date on it May 2024, and mine still goes into BS mode if I don’t drive it for one day! ‘Splain that please!

 

[JacobEleventeen]

I have a 24 EcoBoost with AGM battery with the date on it May 2024, and mine still goes into BS mode if I don’t drive it for one day! ‘Splain that please!

Supposedly ford is pushing a software fix in January to address battery drain issues. But yeah that's odd you are still having problems with a better battery. Hopefully they figured it and and I won't have that issue on my 2025 coming in. I guess until the fix best bet is to just keep a trickle charger on the battery which is a pain.

 

[billpitman]

Supposedly ford is pushing a software fix in January to address battery drain issues. But yeah that's odd you are still having problems with a better battery. Hopefully they figured it and and I won't have that issue on my 2025 coming in. I guess until the fix best bet is to just keep a trickle charger on the battery which is a pain.

Somewhere in this forum, was posted that charging of battery is spec at 80% + - 20%……. How can this tolerance be so broad?! Don’t have Forescan to change charge setting….. Bill P

 

[Phimosis]

December 12/24 - 9am
-24 Celsius - first cold morning since I owned this truck and has only 7000 km (4300 miles).

Remote fob would lock/unlock but not start the truck.
I went out to start manually but the electrical was out on the dash, there was no defrost fan, and the engine would not turn over with the key.
I tried several times to start but absolutely nothing happened.

Finally I left the key in the on position and after about 10-15 seconds the defrost fan came on and the (large) dash warnings began to flash one after the other showing countless messages: No hill assist, No pre collision, No front camera etc., etc.

I then turned the key to the start position and the engine started no problem. At that point I was able to drive but idiot lamps for ABS and pre-collision assist remained on.

After I reached my destination, I shut off and restarted the engine, and found everything was back to normal.
My wife took the truck later and reported the radio/infotainment screen shut off by itself while she was driving. She manually turned the radio back on. Not sure what is going on yet. I will be booking a dealership visit. It almost seemed like the power relay was frozen up (if it even has one).

Update:
Brought to dealership and the battery was replaced. Showed 51% charge.

Your update tells the whole story. Cold weather is very hard on batteries. And it’s even harder on a failing battery. Just look at all the criticisms over EV’s in cold weather.

This under-voltage behavior is typical for modern cars that have multiple processors. If I park my maverick for 4 weeks, then come back to use it, everything will be black at first. Once the battery drops to a certain voltage, indicating that the charge state is low, it will shut down all of the parasitic electric loads. It takes a few minutes for everything to boot up. If I try to fire it up too early, it will throw error codes. If I wait until everything is fully loaded, then hit start, it fires up and runs normally.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

Will resetting the BMS also work on the AGM battery when you fully charge it? The 5 flash and 3 pumps. Don’t go there! Just curious as mine on EcoBoost loses juice overnight also.

Reset the BMS after the (AGM or FLA) battery has been fully charged. Then, lock the truck and let it sit for at least 8 hrs to allow the BMS to learn what type of battery is in the truck, SOC, etc.

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