Stop Safely Now - Found a fix for it.

[sippycups]

So I've gotten the SSN alert 4 times in the past 2 weeks.

Last time I got in just as I pulled into my garage. I grabbed my OBD scanner and the code was showing a Low 12V battery.

Thinking over the times i've gotten the alert, it was just after getting the car washed, and 3 times from giving it the beans up a road to my house. I've was able to duplicate it from the first time I gunned it.

So thinking about it, when the car was being washed, the doors were open for an extending amount of time, draining the 12V
Gunning it to speed wouldn't normally kill a 12V on a normal car but may on ours.

In my efforts to get this sorted, I took the battery out and put it on a tender and low and behold, it was low. Not dead or weak, but just low. Not enough to trigger a failure of the battery but enough when it's under a heavy draw and then get's charged up again to act normal.

I bought a new battery (yes, I know about the warranty) and put it on the tender and it was holding voltage. Put it in the car and no issues since. I'd even venture to say it runs better.

I am going to go out on a limb and say there is an issue with the code in the car that detects a voltage abnormality and triggers the alert.

I've reported my findings to Ford.

 

[Jasper7821]

That's funny you say that, my has sometimes gotten the SSN after heavy throttle.
I got my car back last week and a new battery was put in and it died again yesterday.
So if that's the issue with mine there's also other issues going on with my car.

 

[jeffand]

You should check the charging system on your car.
When the you are plugged in and charging the car the voltage on the 12 volt battery should slowly climb to 13.4 volts, and hold at that level. When the car is parked and not charging the battery voltage should be about 12.7 volts. When the car is powered up the battery voltage should climb climb up to about 14.6 volts.

It could also be that the battery has no reserve capacity left. The stock battery will power a 25 amp load for 65 minutes when new. Discharging the battery completely will damage the battery. This can happen if the car is not driven for about 4 weeks, such as when the car sat on the dealers lot.

If you let the car sit over night and the battery voltage drops below 12 volts would indicate something is wrong with the battery, or something is draining the battery.

 

[unplugged]

I've reported my findings to Ford.

As sippycups has stated, there is a Technical Service Bulletin out on a battery issue. Although this regards the rundown on the 12V battery after sitting for a few days, it may still be applicable to general 12V battery issues. I would suggest to your dealer that they test your FFE according to the TSB directions.

TSB 13-09-19

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/pubs/content/~WT/~MUS~LEN/3675/tsb13-09-19.htm

 

[dmspen]

My SSN happened after a full work day of charging (120v at work), then driving 18 miles home. I was about 1 mile from home making a left turn when the SSN message popped up. I was able to roll the car halfway up a short driveway into a strip mall. Several offs/ons finally got the car to start again.

it doesn't seem like the 12v battery issue was the cause here. I was running the AC but it was off at the time of the SSN.

Thoughts?

 

[Jasper7821]

The dealer put in a new 12v battery last week thinking that was the SSN problem because their machine threw a bunch of codes that said the 12v battery was bad.
So far I've had three SSN breakdowns in the last week so I don't think my SSN warnings have anything to do with the 12v battery.

I'm hoping my buyback will be completed in the next few weeks.

 

[Josephus]

Good work sippy cups! I suspect you are on to something.

The next step is to see if some FFEs are artificially draining the 12 volt more than others.

 

[EVA]

Well that is pretty cool, my dealer is actually on the ball. My 2014 drained the 12V battery while plugged in and not running for over 2 days. The dealer got the battery charged up and the car started fine after that. He wanted to keep the car 2 days to see if the battery would drain. He is following the TSB Sippycups found. Sweet.

Hey thanks Unplugged for reposting that TSB.