Car will not start

[tinilk]

Carbuff, I'm in the same boat as you. I got the yellow wrench "see manual" message while driving in that snowstorm a couple weeks ago. I made it home, but the next time I tried to start it the SSN message appeared along with the yellow wrench. When plugged in the EVSE lit up like it's charging but the car didn't actually charge. I put a 10-amp charger on the 12v battery and let it charge for a few hours but the next day it still showed the SSN and yellow wrench. I had to go out of town for a week the next day and didn't call roadside assistance until I got back. It was still showing the same errors and still refused to charge after sitting for a week.

The dealer said they found something like 25 dtc's, including one indicating that the HVB connector has a "massive open short". (He said that a few times, I have no idea if he knew whether he meant a short circuit or an open circuit.) They ordered the replacement wiring harness which they should be ready to install in the next couple of days. He says they'll have to wait until after it's installed to see if that's the only problem or if there's also something else wrong that tripped some of the dtc's.

 

[Guest]

Carbuff, I'm in the same boat as you. I got the yellow wrench "see manual" message while driving in that snowstorm a couple weeks ago. I made it home, but the next time I tried to start it the SSN message appeared along with the yellow wrench. When plugged in the EVSE lit up like it's charging but the car didn't actually charge. I put a 10-amp charger on the 12v battery and let it charge for a few hours but the next day it still showed the SSN and yellow wrench. I had to go out of town for a week the next day and didn't call roadside assistance until I got back. It was still showing the same errors and still refused to charge after sitting for a week.

The dealer said they found something like 25 dtc's, including one indicating that the HVB connector has a "massive open short". (He said that a few times, I have no idea if he knew whether he meant a short circuit or an open circuit.) They ordered the replacement wiring harness which they should be ready to install in the next couple of days. He says they'll have to wait until after it's installed to see if that's the only problem or if there's also something else wrong that tripped some of the dtc's.

The replacement of the harness seems to be the first thing they try when you get a bunch of problems related to the hybrid battery. It probably solves the majority of these problems. My harness was installed today and the tech was driving it home and back to the dealer tomorrow morning. If it behaves, I should get the call in the morning to pick it up. I have seen pictures of the place where the harness plugs into the lower battery under the car. This is probably where most of the problems occur. There was a recall that installed a metal shield over the fibre cover in this area. I will check to see if it was ever installed on my car. Hopefully I get it back tomorrow. It would be a shame if it needed a new battery. (not) lol.

 

[tinilk]

...I have seen pictures of the place where the harness plugs into the lower battery under the car. This is probably where most of the problems occur. There was a recall that installed a metal shield over the fibre cover in this area. I will check to see if it was ever installed on my car. Hopefully I get it back tomorrow. It would be a shame if it needed a new battery. (not) lol.

I expect the lower battery connection is where my problem is too, since the error showed up while snowy slush and road salt was getting sprayed all over the underside.

I mean it would be nice to get a free battery upgrade, but I'd rather not if it means I don't have my car for 3 months (or more?).

 

[triangles]

The dealer said ... the HVB connector has a "massive open short".

ROFLMAO :lol: :lol: :lol: I hope that was just some ***** customer service person and not the guy working on your car!

...I have seen pictures of the place where the harness plugs into the lower battery under the car. This is probably where most of the problems occur. There was a recall that installed a metal shield over the fibre cover in this area. I will check to see if it was ever installed on my car. Hopefully I get it back tomorrow. It would be a shame if it needed a new battery. (not) lol.

On my '14 the connector was just open to the wheel well. They added a cover/splash shield that was plastic or the same material as the wheel well lining. I'm pretty sure it was not metal. If it weren't January in Ohio I'd post a pic.

 

[Guest]

Update. They installed the harness yesterday. They said a tech was going to drive the car home that night and back to work this morning to make sure all was working ok. Last night I checked the mfm app to see where my car was. It was at a house and was charging with the ford L1 charger, set to finish at 3am. I get up this morning and I have texts from my car. First one says my car fully charged at 3am. Second one says there was a fault while charging. Third one says there is a warning light on. The car is back at the dealer and not charging. The 2 last messages were at 8;36 am which is when the car was probably plugged in at the dealer. It also says that the door is open and window is down. Im sure it will say the hood is open soon enough. So, basically it seems the new harness did not fix the problem. I cant wait for them to call me. LOL.

Oh, and the recall shield can be seen in this thread.

http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3447

 

[Guest]

So, theyve looked at the car all day and I guess theyre stumped. Ive been told that they now have to get Ford involved and are waiting to hear back from them. Keep those new battery prayers going folks, Its working. LOL.

 

[Guest]

Slight update. The ford expert messaged them today with a bunch of stuff to check. Even if they were successful that would still keep the car halfway into next week. On the bright side, theyve given me a loaner. Brand new 2018 ford escape. I pick it up tomorrow. That should help ease the pain a bit. :mrgreen:

 

[Guest]

I wonder if this was ever done to my car?

https://ford.oemdtc.com/2117/16b02-high-voltage-lower-battery-connector-corrosion-2012-2016-ford-focus-electric

 

[triangles]

Not that you have your car but, if you look just in front of the rear driver's side wheel underneath the car and there isn't a cover over the orange plug that goes into the battery then it hasn't been done. Also if your car came from a state other than:
Connecticut Iowa Minnesota Ohio Wisconsin
Delaware Maine Missouri Pennsylvania
District of Columbia Maryland New Hampshire Rhode Island
Illinois Massachusetts New Jersey Vermont
Indiana Michigan New York West Virginia

It probably didn't have that recall done. Since it was still warm in my garage I popped off the rear driver's side wheel to take a picture of the cover. The cover is what you see below the hydraulic brake line (upper) and above/behind the rear suspension arm.

If the recall weren't done you'd see an orange plug below the hydraulic brake line and above/behind the rear suspension arm.

Here is the view of the cover from under the car. Yeah you really can't see anything. That's kinda the point.

 

[tinilk]

Slight update. The ford expert messaged them today with a bunch of stuff to check. Even if they were successful that would still keep the car halfway into next week. On the bright side, theyve given me a loaner. Brand new 2018 ford escape. I pick it up tomorrow. That should help ease the pain a bit. :mrgreen:

Wow, so we both got loaner cars on Sunday. My dealer didn't have any loaners so they sent me up the street to pick up a Corolla rental. (I now miss my car even more, every time I gently press the gas and am greeted with whiny revving noises way out of proportion with the relatively meager acceleration.)

No updates since then. They have the new harness but he said they're waiting for some other parts to come in, which I guess they didn't realize they needed to order along with the harness.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, mine was out of loaners too. But they had just plated a brand new escape to enter loaner service. They were not going to start lending it until the permanent registration sticker arrived, but I know them so I got it anyway. The pedal lag is even worse with this car. Its an ecoboost and has turbo lag. It eventually really scoots but the lag is a bummer. I prefer the even acceleration of my 14 fusion with the 2.5 non turbo motor. It may be slower but it has no lag and has better pedal response from a dead stop. Oh, and the tank was empty when I picked it up. LOL.

No updates on the car today. Last update was that the lower battery had been removed and found to be not the issue. They were moving on to removing the upper battery next. Ford has escalated the issue and deemed it an intermittent problem. So, basically no end in sight. If its out another week, Im going to look into getting a payment refunded or skipped. And to top it off gas prices are at record highs for the year. LOL.

 

[tinilk]

Update from the dealer. New wiring harness is installed. Apparently the old wiring harness shorted the powertrain control module so they replaced that module as well. There's an "unresolved electrical issue" which they opened a case with Ford about. Waiting to hear back from Ford's engineers.

 

[Guest]

I too seem to have an unresolved issue. It keeps throwing a code but it goes away before they can get readings to diagnose it. I dont know which code it is. I would think that at some time they will have to just start throwing parts at it. I mean if the same code in the same module keeps showing up, maybe switch out that module to eliminate the module as the problem. Theyve had the car 4 weeks. Ive had the loaner for 2 and have put 50 bucks in gas in it already. Oh, and my payment is due next week. LOL. And there's no end in sight, Ugh.

 

[triangles]

:lol: it's a race to see who will get their car back first! Just kidding. Hope they figure it out sooner rather than later. Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[Guest]

Funny, I dont know if the winner of the race is the person whose car takes the longest. Thats if the ****y prize is a new battery. LOL.

 

[Guest]

Update. The dealer actually called me with some news. They heard back from ford and ford is telling them to replace the sobdm to see if that clears up the problem. I asked what code specifically kept coming back and the answer was, a whole bunch of them. So I guess the parts swapping has begun. I guess they will keep swapping out modules til the problem goes away. I guess the battery is the last one on that list. LOL. The module has to be ordered so who knows how long that will take. At least its progress.

 

[triangles]

Ah of course the SOBDM! Why didn't I think of that? LOL j/k well at least it's progress even if it's at continental drift speeds....

 

[Guest]

Update, The module was replaced and it did not fix the issue. Yawn. 6 weeks and its no closer to being fixed. Im sure there will be more back and forth with ford, ford will suggest replacing something else, the part will need to be ordered, Yadda,yadda,yadda. This is getting boring. :x

 

[triangles]

New TCM next? pretty soon you will have a completely new FFE on an older chassis :lol: I have my fingers crossed for a new battery!

 

[Guest]

New TCM next? pretty soon you will have a completely new FFE on an older chassis :lol: I have my fingers crossed for a new battery!

Yes, its the only thing keeping me sane right now. LOL.