Edgingage

Just to pin point something else: if you folks look at the first picture I posted, you will see the second line reading: "Please turn ignition off or start engine". Well, the ignition is actually OFF. Why are we getting that message then? I think the first line of the message is what makes people think it's a battery problem. Maybe we should focus on the REASON for the second/bottom line of the message to see where it leads us to look at, if somewhere else... Edit: I keep remembering and throwing things in; hopefully will help to keep scratching our heads in other direction for a solution: I remember also that last spring I went for a fairly long ride on the HW: about 330 Km, over 3 h drive, EACH way, with about 2-3 hours full stop before returning, and a couple of food/pee stops in between. We would think that's enough not only to fully recharge but even "overcharge" the battery... Well, upon returning back home I still got the warning message when I shut the engine off. I was very disappointed, discouraged, very puzzled... Edit2: Back on Dec 22/18, a co-worker lent me a tool to hook it up to the computer terminal under the steering wheel. I took a bunch of screen shots. As I said before I am not only anything close to an electrician but to be perfectly honest, I am REALLY bad for electricity-related stuff (not my thing lol). From what I can read and interpret on those screens, I could not find anything wrong in the car electrical system BUT... there's a lot of information in those shots for anyone who knows how to read and interpret that info. Maybe there is something there in those shots that you guys can see/discover/pin point. If interested I can post them all, or some. I just didn't want to go ahead and bombard this thread that I almost "hijacked" (sorry Bac), but it's all about the OP subject.

Bac, you did mention that happens when you turn the engine off. I didn't read it properly; my bad. And yes, it also has an AGM battery (please see attached picture) My intention chiming in here is not to criticize anything or anyone; you have the same problem that has been puzzling me for two years now, and I only intend to throw more pieces to this puzzle to see if we all can brainstorm on the right path. But there is another common denominator between us ;), but again, I would like to keep that undisclosed for now because I still doubt that the battery is the culprit. Basically I would like people to explore/think of other potential routes as possible cause other than the battery and for that reason I'm going to detail what happen with my Edge just a few hours ago (this morning). Taking my ex for a Dr's appointment, I dropped her off and then I went to the parking lot to sit in my car and wait while listening to the radio. As soon as I turned the engine off the audio when off and got the already known warning display. I then pressed the "Volume" button to turn the radio on: no audio but instead a similar warning message. Anyway, I decided to do again what I have done before: toggling/cycling the system pressing the "Volume" button several times: 1.- first press of the Volume button results in no radio (a warning reading "System Off to Save Battery" is displayed in the console). NOTE: Please notice that the second line of the message shown in the previous picture ("Please turn ignition off or start engine") does NOT appear again after the engine had been shut off before. 2.- pressing the Volume button again (second time) I got the dashboard lighting on with a warning reading "Accessory Power is Active" (but nothing shown on the console display), 3.- and then pressing the Volume button for third time I got a big square warning on the dashboard reading "Check Charging System" (because all electrical components are on, but the engine is not (of course); nothing shown on the console display). 1.- Next pressing of the Volume button again (fourth time) takes us back to square one: warning displaying "System Off to Save Battery" (No message second line; no radio on). So, I decided to start playing with my phone instead while still sitting in the car waiting... Now the interesting or more puzzling part: about 10 minutes later (after I pressed the Volume button last time) I heard like a double click (like a computer click sound) coming from behind/underneath the dashboard (I have heard that sound before while sitting in the car long enough with the engine off). So, I decided to press the Volume button again to see what happens: BINGO! Everything is working as should (with the engine still off). THAT'S the thing that throws me off and that's also why (with ALL MY RESPECT TO EVERYONE) I don't think it's the battery causing this problem: if the radio didn't turn on right after I shut the engine off, but it turned on a while after WITHOUT having started the engine again any more, I don't think the battery will recharge itself while the engine is off. If so, how come the system turned off when the engine was turned off and then the system turned on when I pressed the volume button again a good while after? It can't be the battery, IMO. Here is another piece for the puzzle: I kept listening to the radio until my ex came back (the whole quadrant display was in full function). I turned the engine on and drove home. Then... (here the added piece to this puzzle): I turned the engine off and... I got the warning message again!! It gotta be something else, folks, not the battery. The reason why I'm giving you all so much details it's because I wouldn't like to spend money to replace the battery and then find out that the problem didn't go away. I just would like to make sure before I spend that money. Hope you folks understand, I really hope. Please chime. Thanks in advance.

Hi folks: I want to chime in this thread for several reasons: 1.- first and foremost because my 2011 Edge SEL has the exact same problem as described by the OP. 2.- because of course I haven't solved that problem yet 3.- because... well, I'll say it very politely and friendly: I tend to disagree with the main focus of this problem, but I want to make it clear: I am NOT mechanically inclined, not an electrician, no an "anything"; just a good driver, ...I think. Anyway, I will start for illustrating the problem described by the OP. Please see pictures below, and then please read my comments. Hopefully they will generate a respectful and productive discussion: The picture below was taken on February 14th, 2018 (yeah, a Valentine gift from my Edge , two years ago) The picture below was taken on January 1st, 2020 (two years later). A happy new year present from my Edge 😞 But I have received similar "presents" in between lol. Sorry, I couldn't post the other picture because I'm allowed to post 4.88mb only. But not biggy, the other picture is not really relevant as such. In fact, it's just an "updated" version of the one above. So, the non shown (updated) picture is exactly the same as the above ...but taken almost exactly two years later. And this is where I disagree probably due to my lack of knowledge: In the lapse of these two years, this problem has been intermittent and inconsistent: it shows up for a few days and then disappears for a few months. I have tried to pin point something triggering it but I can't. But my main discrepancy with the comments/suggestions above is for the following rationale: During these two years, I have done absolutely nothing with/on my battery: it's the exact same battery, it has been checked by the dealer twice as part of the yearly motor vehicle safety inspection (mandatory by law in this province) with no faults found on the battery. My question is: IF the cause of this problem would be the battery, wouldn't this battery have been completely dead by now, two years later? Again, I'm not even close to be an electrician or a mechanic, but I wonder: would this issue be probably more closely related to a faulty alternator rather than to a "weak" battery? Just wondering... A couple of things that I would like to add; the OP didn't mention it but I just want to make sure that you all know: this message only appears right after I actually turn the engine off (at least in my car). You know, in these cars if you have the radio/stereo on and you turn the engine off, the audio remains on until you actually open the door. Well, when this problem is acting up, as soon as you turn the engine off the whole audio system is turned off and the mentioned message appears in the display. ...I forgot the second thing to add. I'll edit when I remember it lol Oh, I remember now lol: at any point my car has had any other indication of a weak battery: always starts at first crank (even after been at -20 degrees Celsius for more than 8 hours), and I just can't think of any other related/indicative issue of a weak battery. There was a one time event about two months ago that I would like to reserve to mention it for now because that may throw everybody off (again, it was a one time event, out of the blue, I think, about two months ago). I hope you all understand my concern, and I hope to generate some friendly brainstorming discussion here to see if we could really pin point the cause of this kind of weird car behavior, without expending much money on trial and error. Thank you all.

Bluestratos, thanks for posting this question. I'm going to get on this thread as I'm also in the hunt for better types of "fog" lights. Sorry and thanks.

Hi guys: Perblue, thank you for reporting your real-life mileage; that's something I was very eager to know, if my car was a bad one or it's normal to get so low fuel economy compared with the advertisement. I'll assume my roughly 17mpg (or 14L/100Km) on HDC is a kind of normal performance and not that bad for these cars then. Thanks again. WWWPerfA_ZN0W, thanks for the links provided. From there I also learned that the advertised fuel economy has nothing to do with real life fuel consumption. Just to clarify: the numbers that I was using to compare were the worse casenario; I mean, I was using the worse fuel economy advertised (city driving: 19mpg or 12L/100Km) to compare with the actual consumption I was getting at its best (HW driving: 17mpg or 14L/100Km), all good things considered. Basically what I was trying to say was that my car during highway driving conditions was making almost as bad fuel efficiency as the advertised new for city driving conditions. Again, now I know that advertised is one thing and real is another thing. My almost 8-Y old car should be ok in that sense then. I kind of knew that bigger wheels consume more gas (larger contact patch and therefore higher surface resistance), but I'm using the manufacturer recommendation: 245/60R18. Yeap, I check the tire pressure more often during the winter time just because I parked the car just besides the compressor . But again, I don't even bother to look at any numbers during the winter time because: I'm always driving in the city only (30-60 Km/h), I remote start the car when leaving work and let it run idle for about 5-8 min while removing snow and/or ice; some times shorter when outside temp is frigid lol; Those two things alone throw any fuel economy/efficiency numbers out. I don't bother to check those numbers during winter time; I check on fuel economy/efficiency only during summer time. Now the gas smell in the oil is a little over my head: how can I know that, when I change the oil? If that's the case, no, I haven't smelled gas in the used oil. I remember you or someone else suggested me to change the oil by the hours of operation not by the time, resetting the trip 2 odometer. I keep an eye on that too, not only on the six-month time change. But also when we talked about oil quality the main and most important thing for me was to get the oil with the lesser temperature and viscosity (0W20) to minimize the hardship of the cold starts during the freezing winter months, at least during the winter time. As the 0W20 didn't offer a lower freezing temp than the 5W20 (which was my main concern) I stuck with the latter all year around. I'll check into the spark plugs. Thanks for the suggestion. And also thank you VERY much for the suggestion about the brakes. Interesting, or rather missed by me: the dealer has offered me the winter brake maintenance service a couple of times and I has kindly declined it thinking that it's just a money making, unnecessary service they just put up there when don't find something else to charge me for. But after you mentioned it makes sense to me now. Although my car rolls freely on neutral gear in my 1.5% slope driveway, I did some mornings hear a brake noise right when the car stars to roll after a rainy night. The noise disappears before I get to the corner though... But I will accept the offer next time the dealer does so. Thanks WWWPerfA_ZN0W for all your time, information, explanations and suggestions, I GREATLY appreciate them. Thank you all.

Hello folks: Happy New Year to all! My apologies for being lost so long, specially to WWWPerFA_ZNOW for your greatly appreciated super quick response; terrible holiday season here with family members flu sick, one completely out now but other one still on the recovery road... My comments below, thanks: .- Oil: no oil consumption issues at all. As a matter of fact, I've been amazed at how little oil my 2011 Edge consumes; I've hardly ever had to top it up before the next oil change six months later. .- Intake: I once tried to check the intake tubing/back of the throttle plate but, to be completely honest (and maybe ignorant or just low-skilled), I got tangled in the stage to remove the the connection to the air filter casing (I don't know how to unhook/disengage the wire/cable connection) and I couldn't go any further. But giving the fact the this engine doesn't consume much oil I tend to believe (and hope) that I don't have a problem there. Visually inspected from the outside, I can't see/notice any oil drip, moisture or residue back there. .- Spark plugs: they're all replaced about 3-4 years ago. It has had hardly 30-40K Km added since then. Should I still replace them? .- Fluids(?): Not sure what fluids exactly you're referring, if you could please clarify I'll appreciate it. But transmission and coolant fluids were replaced 2.5 years ago. Some 20-30K Km has been added since then. Brake and steering fluids have not been recently replaced. Not sure which other fluids may need to be replaced. Please keep in mind that I'm not really fully familiar with all a car needs to have done; I'm mostly just a good driver lol. Should I still replace any of these fluids to improve gas mileage? .- Std variables: - Load: mostly empty vehicle 95% of the time (just the driver ), ...and a load of grocery shopping for a small family around town once a week. - Tire pressure: perfectly fine all the time as per spec posted on the vehicle frame (35 psi, cold). I have an air compressor in my garage with a digital gauge. I check and retouch air pressure at the time I swap the wheels; then I check the tire pressure like every month or so (in case the TPMS failed but never there's been ever any issues so far, not even having to top them up. .- Driving conditions: I know driving habit and conditions are probably the factor # 1 in fuel consumption; that's why I mentioned in my OP that I was referring to mostly highway driving during summer time. Again, city driving habit during Canadian winter conditions through all numbers out, I know. .- Fuel quality: well, I have always put regular gasoline (87 octane, as recommended in the owner's manual for this car as well) from Petro Canada, in all my cars, for many years, and I know that every car's make is different but I had always had very good or at least very acceptable (close to manufacture's claim), fuel economy in my previous cars (one Mercury, three Chryslers and one VW). I think fuel quality may not be a contributing factor in my case, as it has been a very common and constant factor for me all the time in previous cars as well, always with good yields. As you (and everyone, please) can see, and you all can also please feel free to ask any more questions, I'm not doing anything crazy or extraordinary with my car. My main question still remains, please: .- Is it true that the 2011 Ford Edge SEL (FWD) is supposed to make 11L/100Km or 21mpg on city (worse than HW) driving conditions, is that achievable, or it's just a bluff? Has anybody been able to achieve that fuel economy in real life? ...Or may there be something really wrong with my car? Your questions and suggestions are all welcome. Many thanks in advance.

Hello Edge folks: Happy Holiday Season! First of, I'd like to say that I did my search work but couldn't find what I am looking for, maybe because it hasn't been posted yet (which I doubt it), but probably because I didn't managed my search properly. My apologies before hand if the latter is the case. But if so, please feel free to forward me or send me in the right direction. As the tittle suggests, I'm going to ask a few questions about fuel consumption, specifically liters/100 Km (the Canadian or metric system) or the equivalent GPM (the American or imperial system). The objective and result are the same (just a conversion factor). As shown in my profile, I have a 2011 SEL (FWD) with about 186000 Km (116000 miles) in it. I may have not paid enough attention since I bought it over two years ago, but now finances are shrinking, and the good environment as well So, lately (don't know since when but many months ago if not over a year by now) my car fuel consumption is not going below 14L/100Km (or above the equivalent 16.8 mpg). When I cross reference the specifications for this car in different websites, most of them agree to state the worse (city driving conditions) performance of this car new should be around 11L/100Km (or 21mpg). Even when I have been driving mostly on the HW, I can't get below 14L/100Km. i know the car is already over 8 years old, but I want to start with two main questions: 1.- Is that claim (11L/100Km or 21mpg) true? Was it ever achievable with this car? I know the VW got nailed for misleading the public on this subject but I never heard of a similar issue with Ford. 2.- IF this claim is true, what maintenance, replacement or repair should I do to improve the fuel consumption/economy/efficiency in this car? Now, related to my second question, please, I would like to hear suggestions/solutions from the most effective ones down. What I mean is, a cold air intake may improve (or may not, depending on other things); a K&N filter may improve (but may not, depending on other things). Basically, I would like to start from basic maintenance things I should change/replace/repair which are known to dramatically improve fuel consumption/economy/efficiency, if you folks don't mind, please. Then we can go to the "fine tune" And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have. I'm basing my questions on highway driving conditions during summer time (Canadian city driving conditions during Canadian winter time throws ALL READINGS out! lol Thanks so much in advance.

I just got a new switch!.. I basically followed a "combined" procedure: Omar302's link, Youri631's modified procedure, and Northernone's core procedure. It took me very long time to figure out (actually to learn) how to remove the column covers (thanks Omar302!). Below I'm summarizing the combined procedure to save time for future references (...although I'd probably be the last one having this issue ...eight years later!) lol: - From the straight wheels position, turn the steering wheel 90 degrees counterclockwise. You will need the open space on the steering wheel to access the screws holding the switch. - Using a 7mm socket, remove all three screws holding the bottom column cover. Disengage the top column cover by gently pressing and priming up at the same time on both sides. Drop the bottom cover (for easiness when you will need to grab and pull the switch unit later on without the risk of damaging the bottom cover or the switch unit male connector when sliding it out). At this point, I also unplugged the connector feeding power to the column circuits, just in case when sliding the switch unit out or back in. - Using a T10 screwdriver/bit, remove the two screws holding the circuit unit to its assembly on the steering column. - Pressing on both tabs, slide the switch unit out (to the side). - Place the switch unit on a clean surface. Using the same T10 point, remove the two screws holding the circuit board. - Using lint-free tissue, remove all contaminated grease (it was blackened!) from the circuit board, and also from both contacts, being very careful to avoid bending or damaging the contact fins (I didn't have lint-free tissue on hand; that's why I used toilet paper very carefully; but I do not recommend toilet paper because paper traces could get trapped in the contact fins). Note: I did not sand the contacts either; they're all golden after wiping them clean. - Using dielectric grease, apply it liberally on both circuit board contact areas, and also on the contact fins. - Reassemble in reverse order. Tight enough, but do NOT over tight. - ...Enjoy your new FREE switch unit in good health for many years to come! (hopefully Note (on the side): when I dropped down the bottom column cover, I noticed quite a bit of dust, dirt and grime on the far grids. I took the opportunity to remove the bottom cover all the way out. Using a flat-head screwdriver, I scrapped all the grime and then vacuum brushed all the cover clean before putting it back in for reassembling. In summary, I did not have the smallest clue to suspect that such a safety issue (turn signal not staying on) has such a simple solution if it wouldn't have been for the amazing people here. This forum rocks! GP

K; hands on to work Thanks a lot.

Omar302, thank you very much for your prompt reply. So, basically, I just need to unscrew the three bolts underneath the column and that's it? No need to disconnect the battery negative post to avoid the risk of the air bag deploying, and no need to pry the column cover either? The reason of my maybe stupid questions is because I have read this and that over the net... Please let me know. Thanks and sorry for my lack of basic "mechanical" knowledge lol.

Hello folks: Enjoying my ride very much until this exact OP problem (as described by LukRos14 and also by Arnesr, and very similar to the one described by Youri631, just the other "left" lol, all quoted below) occurred a couple of days ago, at 185 000 kms (no complain ;), but logically way over the factory warranty and extended service plan. That's why I'm reviving this "old" but very useful thread from this reliable and inexhaustible source of knowledge, information and solutions this forum is made of: great people! So, there I go I have read and reread all your posts and some others over the net, but I'm still stuck at the simplest but very first step: how to remove the steering column cover?! LOL Northernone said "...took the covers off the column..."; but didn't say how! lol Jake77 said: "...(took me a little while to take off the steering column housing)..."; but didn't say why! lol Youri631 said: "...(the hardest part was removing the plastic cover....", but didn't say why either. lol Youri631 even gave a "hint", but that's how good (poor) mechanically inclined I am: I didn't get his hint. lol And I'm NOT quoting them with any criticism, please; I'm just trying to get you to the exact point where I am at lost. Hopefully, you will be able to provide me with some instructions for dummies (as I am). LOL Any clear step-by-step instructions or hints on how to remove the steering column cover are greatly appreciated in advance. Thank you folks. GP

I guess the wiki article should have read: "the cheaper cars parts have only one horn." LOL Thanks for the added update, Omar.

Enigma: Thank you VERY much for your reply. I just literally came back from another unsuccessful visit to the dealer, trying a different guy in the parts dept but the same luck. He also showed me a diagram where both horns are mounted on a bracket, which I had also found out searching the internet (yah, I know, I could have gone under the chassis myself too ). He also mentioned that, if so, the low or high should be marked on the horn, which coincides with what you just mentioned above (thanks again). The article you cited is indeed interesting. I did know the far apart horn "behaviour" between up north and down south. It's very true that up north (in Canada, for instance) we hardly use the horn at all, and it's very true that the most common use is when we come out of the store and forgot where we'd parked! (panic button) lol. I haven't seen/heard the horn used to greet neighbours yet, though. I actually tried once myself and got no response. A few days later I ran into the person and asked her if she saw me when I beeped the horn passing her; she said: "No; I just thought it was a creepy guy..." Down south (in the Caribbean, for instance) we do use the horn A LOT, almost for anything and everything all the time. Different cultures; different (horn) behaviours. The wiki article is also very interesting (thank you), particularly the history and different characteristics of horns, and the note reading: "the cheaper cars have only one horn." Now I know what else to check during a test drive LOL. In my Edge, I'm missing the sharp loudness of my '04 Trepid horns, and I was thinking to replace it with a FIAMM 12V 130 dB "Freeway Blaster" High Tone Horn, but from the info and analysis you provided it won't be much different than the stock, at least not significantly louder worthy the replacement. Thanks again for your time and info.

Hello folks: I've been trying to find info about the specifications for the factory-installed/OEM/stock horn in my SEL. I'm looking specifically for the loudness (decibels, dB) of each. I assume it's 12-volt wired. I looked in the owner's manual and couldn't find mention of a horn; I looked in the Haynes book and same thing. I went to the dealer's part dept, they looked in their computer diagrams, couldn't find it and sent me to the service dept where they did the exact same thing: looked in their computer diagrams and sent me back to the part's dept. lol. I came to my computer, googled it and still can't find that info. I wonder if any of you would know that info, or would know where I can keep looking to find out how many decibels (dB) the 2011 Edge SEL horn has. Thanks in advance. Edit: I kept reading the Internet meanwhile and learned there're a low and a high pitch/tone horns. If you folks could also tell me how I can know which one is the high and which one is the low tone/pitch, that'd be great. Thanks again.

I have a 2011 SEL which comes with 245/60R18" stock. When I was hunting for winter tires, my local Ford dealer told me it can take (basically they can recommend) 235/65R17" for this car. I checked some online tire stores to double check and all of them confirm that size of tire and rim is within the OEM recommendations for the 2011 SEL. If your car is similar to mine, you should be fine with 235/65R17 (according to my local Ford dealer). I believe the user's manual also reads that (I don't have it on hand). Hope this answers your question.