Jump to content
Ford Fusion Energi Forum

Preparation Before Your 12 Volt Battery Dies


murphy
 Share

Recommended Posts

Recovering from a dead 12 volt battery requires some planning ahead of time.

The metal key stored inside of the Intelligent Access key will unlock the driver's door.
I recommend that you practice using it before it's the only way into the car.

Where are your jumper cables?  If they are in the trunk they won't be accessible unless you install a rope that is tied to the trunk release handle in the trunk and fed through the slot behind the rear seat back.  Just fold down the back seat, pull the rope and the trunk is open.

Standard jumper cables are not needed since there is no starter motor.  I made a set using 15 feet of 12 gauge stranded wire with red and black insulation and two sets of small red / black clips from Lowe's.  This is coiled and stored on the upper shelf in the trunk where it is easily reached with the back seat rest lowered (in case you don't want to install the rope).

Learn where the jumper terminals are under the hood since it is much safer to jump start the car there than connecting directly to the battery.
 

According to "Murphy's Law" if you do this planning your battery will never fail.

;)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

What is the procedure for when the 12V battery dies?  Are you saying just charge some juice into it temporarily to get you back on the road?  Once driving, does the car generate a 12V charge to keep you going like the functionality of the old generator/alternator?  

 

Also, if anyone has a picture or diagram showing which terminals under the hood to use to jump it, please post it!  There might be enough room under the hood to coil up a set of jumper cables and zip tie them out of the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is the procedure for when the 12V battery dies?  Are you saying just charge some juice into it temporarily to get you back on the road?  Once driving, does the car generate a 12V charge to keep you going like the functionality of the old generator/alternator?  

 

Also, if anyone has a picture or diagram showing which terminals under the hood to use to jump it, please post it!  There might be enough room under the hood to coil up a set of jumper cables and zip tie them out of the way.

There's a picture in the owners manual but I couldn't follow it so I went to the dealer to get educated.  He showed me the battery in the back.  When I reminded him that you couldn't get in the trunk if there was no battery power, we moved to the engine compartment with the manual picture.  Neither one of us could accurately identify the posts so a good picture would be wonderful.  

 

ChuckJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a picture in the owners manual but I couldn't follow it so I went to the dealer to get educated.  He showed me the battery in the back.  When I reminded him that you couldn't get in the trunk if there was no battery power, we moved to the engine compartment with the manual picture.  Neither one of us could accurately identify the posts so a good picture would be wonderful.  

 

ChuckJ

 

When I went for my test drive the 12v was dead.  The dealer jumped it with a batter pack using the two terminals located here.  The one with the red cap is the Positive, the other is the ground.

 

battery.jpg

 

Edited: The Original Photo was incorrect.  This should be more accurate. Thanks Fat Fusion for the attention to detail. :)

Edited by Dag
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That pic looks like the POS terminal is not quite circled.  That lower circle is around a ground type bolt/stud it appears.  Did you mean to circle the stud next to it with the red insulator that is pulled back?  That stud feeds the fuse block and should be the POS terminal.

Haha, crap, you are correct. That was the easy one!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I heard that the 12v battery is charged at the end of the plug in charge cycle.  Mine seems to be alright so far and I hardly ever use the gas engine except for a couple of trips I've made.  That said, I did buy a West Marine (Wagan) 600 amp starter battery / air compressor / LED light that I can put in the car if I'm going to park the car at the airport for a long period of time for example.

http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-EL2509-Battery-Jumper-Compressor/dp/B0058RULIG/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1383484894&sr=8-18&keywords=600+amp+starter+battery

 

ChuckJ

Edited by ChuckJ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Finding the points to jump the battery was a little hard from the picture for a couple of minutes, but they are not hard to find.  If you open the hood, look on the left side.  Unfortunately the owner's manual is in black and white.  Along the left edge of the engine compartment, you will find the "T" shaped box pictured in the manual.  Immediately to the right of that is a red bulb-like cover (it is black in the manual photo).  Slide that towards the front of the car, and you will see the positive terminal.  The negative terminal is, as someone has asked, a simple bolt stud a bit towards the rear of the car.  I am not looking at it now, but it might be on the whole cover of the shock housing, but once you find the positive terminal, the picture is pretty clear as to where the negative terminal (stud) is located.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finding the points to jump the battery was a little hard from the picture for a couple of minutes, but they are not hard to find.  If you open the hood, look on the left side.  Unfortunately the owner's manual is in black and white.  Along the left edge of the engine compartment, you will find the "T" shaped box pictured in the manual.  Immediately to the right of that is a red bulb-like cover (it is black in the manual photo).  Slide that towards the front of the car, and you will see the positive terminal.  The negative terminal is, as someone has asked, a simple bolt stud a bit towards the rear of the car.  I am not looking at it now, but it might be on the whole cover of the shock housing, but once you find the positive terminal, the picture is pretty clear as to where the negative terminal (stud) is located.

Left?

 

Drivers side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

One of the posts here says you don't need standard jumper cables because there's no starter motor.

 

Two Qs.  If you have a dead battery, can you use a portable jumper just as you would on any car?

 

Also, I sometimes am away for long periods of time and I hook my car up to a trickle charger to keep it charged.  Any problem do this with a Fusion Energi?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the posts here says you don't need standard jumper cables because there's no starter motor.

 

Two Qs.  If you have a dead battery, can you use a portable jumper just as you would on any car?

 

Also, I sometimes am away for long periods of time and I hook my car up to a trickle charger to keep it charged.  Any problem do this with a Fusion Energi?

Yes you can use a portable jumper.  There are connections under the hood to "jump" the car.  Once the car is on the jump battery can be disconnected even if the ICE hasn't started.  Look for a red plastic cover on the driver's side in the engine compartment.  That is the + terminal.  Directly behind that toward the rear of the car there is a stud sticking up out of the shock mount housing.  That is the - terminal.

 

You can easily hook a trickle charger to the terminals under the hood.  I've done it many times.  A smart charger, like a battery tender, is preferred.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a note about these posts. When I was having 12 volt battery problems (related to a wiring problem/damaged wire in my trunk which has been fixed) I needed to use a battery jumper. I purchased a Clore unit (http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=239). It's really nice, and worked great, but it was a little difficult pinching the ends onto the terminals. I wish they were narrower or Ford gave you more room to clamp onto them, especially the positive end. So, if you buy a battery jumper in a store, you might want to check this in the parking lot. I got mine from Amazon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Love this thread.  Useful to go through the thought process, at least.  Anyone know if there is an obvious solution to trunk access in the 2014s (If you store your charger or cables on the top shelf in the trunk, you can just access from the passenger compartment after you use the physical key to get in)?  other recommendations on small jump/battery packages?  We don't need a lot of power there, right?  We aren't turning over a 5 liter engine...  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

I left my car outside for two weeks with a full charge. The 12V battery died at some point and I was not able to use my battery pack to start the car, it just beeped an error.

I used a really old jump start unit after an hour charge and the car came right back to life and strangely has been fine since. I think the battery is still on its way out though, seems to be the original Ford part with "Motorcraft" brand.

Would be nice if the car could still start when the high voltage battery is charged, but the 12V drains itself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

When the car is off the HVB is disconnected by contactors.  Without 12 volts to close the contactors it is not available for anything.

 

If there aren't accessories running all the 12vt does is throw the breakers to engage the HVB and everything is happy. I carry a LiOn car jumper (very small) in the car to jump mine in case of dead 12 vt. I wonder if all it'd take is a 12vt lantern battery to throw the breaker for the HVB...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Haha, crap, you are correct. That was the easy one!

 

Thanks for updating the pic!  My 12v battery was DOA this morning despite having driven it 60 miles yesterday.  It's been right about 4 years since the car was produced so at least she had a good run.  I had prepared for this day by buying an Optima in Jan 2016!  I put the Optima on a charger (I've done this a couple times as it sat) while I removed the factory battery, cut the tray etc, and it was ready to go when I slapped 'er in.

 

Best part is I get to work from home today.  :read:  :puppy_kiss:

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...