Security system drained battery and Ignition tampering?

[Dcrim]

2024 XLT Mav. This weekend, we drove 2 hours to a group campout at a zoo. I parked the truck around 6pm Saturday and we spent the night at the camp. We loaded the truck back up with the tent and gear around 8am Sunday(no issues) and went back in for breakfast. Around 9am my son and I walked back to the truck to get some different clothes. It unlocked with the fob and we opened the back door to throw our jackets in the back since it was going to be a hot day. I shut the door and locked it with the fob. We went back inside the zoo and went about our business till around 12 pm, when we decided to head back home. We got back out to the truck and the fob would not unlock it. I unlocked the door with the key and no lights came on. When I put the key in the ignition and turned it, the lights on the climate control knobs turned on, but no air. The 'P' light on the shifter knob was on and flashing. The only other thing that happened was a slight ticking noise as the Speedometer arm was jumping ever so slightly. That's it, everything else was completely dead, or at least off.

At that point, I turned my phone on and saw a notification from the previous day, an hour after we parked, saying "Remote features were disabled", which is strange considering we just drove 2 hours, the battery should have been fully charged. Then there were 4 more notifications ranging from 12:04pm to 12:14, which would have been when I was unlocking the door and trying to start it. The notification said, "My Maverick's security system has detected ignition tampering and triggered the alarm".

I have one of those portable batter jumpers (which are amazing, if you don't have one, get one). I hooked it up to the terminals under the hood and turned to booster on. I immediately heard clicking. I went in the truck and turned the key and everything came to life, including the alarm which started blaring. I shut off the alarm and from then on everything seemed fine.

Anyone else ever experience something like this? I can't imagine what might have happened. I've gotten the Disabled remote features warning many times, which kind of pisses me off because I have a pretty short commute to work and back so it doesn't work most of the time, but this is the first time I've ever had to jumpstart the truck.

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[Msradke]

Yes had same concern. Battery replaced. Battery still kept going down. Being a retired Ford tech started diagnosing. Found modem and Ford Pass talk to each other all the time. Turned off Ford Pass . Problem solved. Talked to several owners who have same concern. Still use Ford Pass when traveling. Keep jump pack when traveling , just in case.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

and if you're an area with weak signal, the truck modem works just like a cellphone- it tries really hard to keep the connection alive, which can drain the battery (cellphone or truck)

 

[Dcrim]

Any idea why it triggered an alarm, and an ignition tampering warning? Does the flashing light on the 'P' signify anything?

 

[mgr1001]

and if you're an area with weak signal, the truck modem works just like a cellphone- it tries really hard to keep the connection alive, which can drain the battery (cellphone or truck)

What do you need to do to turn off the truck modem?

 

[HeyBales]

What do you need to do to turn off the truck modem?

Pull a fuse 11 under the passenger dash.
No remote info or control will be available in Fordpass.
But if in weak signal for many days parked and you have no expectation of remote control anyway - may be a good idea.
No signal should cause truck to just give up and stop trying - but could have a bug that causes it to try more frequently - no good there.

 

[HeyBales]

Any idea why it triggered an alarm, and an ignition tampering warning? Does the flashing light on the 'P' signify anything?

You triggered the alarm by opening with key, and then not starting the truck within 30 sec.
You should go test that one right now so you see what happens. It's expected if you lock with the remote, which enables that alarm.

Since there is no transponder reader in the door lock - it confirms correct key by you needing to start truck, where there is a reader. Opening with the remote of course fulfills the requirement. But battery too low.

How Does the Anti-Theft Alarm System Work

When armed by locking with remote, the anti-theft alarm is triggered in any of the following ways:

• If someone opens a door, the liftgate or the hood without a correctly coded key or remote control.
• If you turn the power on without a correctly coded key.
• If the interior sensors detect movement inside your vehicle.
• If the inclination sensors detect an attempt to raise your vehicle.
• If someone disconnects your vehicle's 12V battery or the battery backup alarm.

If the anti-theft alarm is triggered, the alarm horn sounds for 30 seconds and the turn signals flash for 5 minutes.
Any further attempts to carry out one of the above sounds the alarm again.


Of course you didn't see that dash warning because system seemed very confused, likely due to super low battery, which finally dropped the ability to hear the fob.
P and other light flakiness is just due to low battery.
You do reach a whole other level when the remote access dies off.

Curious - did you have AC running when you shut truck off at the start?

 

[Dcrim]

Thanks, that makes sense. I'm used to the low battery warnings when I'm just doing my 10 minute commute to work and back. It's never happened after a long drive though. What's even weirder is that I didn't get any low battery warnings between 7pm Saturday(after a 2 hour drive) and 8am Sunday, and the truck opened fine at 8am Sunday. Then at noon it was completely dead. To answer your question, yes I did have the AC on when I parked on Saturday evening.

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