Battery Saver Message

[bac2010]

I'm getting the battery saver message and turn "ignition off" warning.  It started about 3 weeks ago and I cleaned the cables which seemed to help and had Ford check the battery and charging system.  All good according to them.

 

Then message started again today although after a short trip.  I measured the voltage and it was low at a little over 12 volts (should be 12.4 or higher).  Had Autozone check it since it was a 14 month old AGM Platinum Duralast.  Again no problems and voltage checked out at 12.5 at Autozone and when I got home (probably due to the 10 mile trips).  Charging system OK by them.  But still getting message when I turn the Edge off. 

 

Ordered the Solar BA7 to do a check on my own.  Read most of the posts and will wait and see if maybe BCM will clear overnight.  I wondering once the message starts that it takes an overnight to clear.

 

Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

[akirby]

Can almost guarantee the battery is bad.  The BA7 will probably show it's really low on cranking amps and needs to be replaced.

[bac2010]

I think the battery is bad too but will have a very tough time convincing Autozone of that.  Load tests are unreliable.  Solar BA7 will arrive on Sunday/Monday so should know soon.

 

If Solar BA7 shows no issues then I'm guessing I might need a trickle charger.  My driving has decreased somewhat lately so maybe battery isn't getting a full charge.  I find that doubtful but you never know.  Just in case...any recommendations on a trickle charger?

[akirby]

4 hours ago, bac2010 said:

I think the battery is bad too but will have a very tough time convincing Autozone of that.  Load tests are unreliable.  Solar BA7 will arrive on Sunday/Monday so should know soon.

 

If Solar BA7 shows no issues then I'm guessing I might need a trickle charger.  My driving has decreased somewhat lately so maybe battery isn't getting a full charge.  I find that doubtful but you never know.  Just in case...any recommendations on a trickle charger?

No need for a trickle charger - get a C-tek charger and throw it on once a week.  They also recondition the battery as needed.

[bac2010]

Thanks.  CTEK brand looks good for smart chargers.  I'll provide an update once I get the BA7 and test the battery.

[bac2010]

BA7 came today and I tested CA and CCA and.....both good.  Surprised me!  They both came in about 85-90 percent of rated amps.  Only issue from BA7 was that charge was low.  Ford did extensive testing of the charging system and it was OK and Autozone in their testing said the same.  So I'm probably not driving it for long enough distances to charge it fully since I retired.  Voltage went from 12.1 this morning after not driving it yesterday to 12.5 when I took it for a 7-8 mile drive including some highway.  Battery saver message popped up again and probably will until the voltage gets to 12.6 or higher.

 

I ordered a CTEK smart charger.  CTEK recommends the MXS 5.0 on their site but I ordered the US 7002 instead.  Should get here tomorrow.   I'll report back on how this works out.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

The longterm thing to do in such cases is keep the vehicle on a tender.

[bac2010]

Keeping on a tender if only occasionally is something that looks likely in my future.

 

I did get the CTEK US 7002 yesterday and it took about 4 hours to go through the complete charging cycle.  Battery volts at the end were about 12.8.  I have a decent long drive planned for today (probably 40-50 miles) so I'll see what the battery looks like when I get home and if the message disappears.  I did see where someone said that the battery needs to be disconnected to perform a reset - didn't do that but will tonight if it doesn't go away. 

[bac2010]

Good news on my morning trip.  Battery saver message is gone (for now ?)  so getting a full charge from CTEK did the trick.  I did get a couple of messages when first starting the car after charging:  "Check charging system" pop-up and also a battery light on the dashboard.  Not sure why but they disappeared and didn't return.  So all is well but I'll have to stay on top of it.  I normally take a few very long trips every couple of months but haven't done that since summer and the short trips took their toll.

[Edgingage]

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.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Edgingage

[bac2010]

Since my problem with battery saver message just started less than a month ago, I don't have your long term observation of the problem.

 

But your points are correct:

- that it only happens when the Edge is turned off.  From previous posts of the Edge and other Ford vehicles (yes, other Ford vehicles!), this was common knowledge so I forgot to mention it.

- my problem disappeared after cleaning posts and then reappeared and now disappeared.  I fully expect it to happen again although it would be nice if it didn't ?.

- no indications of a weak battery whatsoever.  Starts are good.

 

You mentioned that the battery was tested but not the alternator.  Did you have a chance to get that done?

 

I did have Ford test the battery and alternator and no issues.  Autozone in their much limited test said the same.  The BA7 said the battery was good but charge was low so I attacked from that perspective and was successful in the first attempt.  Whether this is the cause and fix, I can't tell yet.  Have not used the BA7 to test the charging system - will do that when I have time.

 

Do you have an AGM battery?  Just curious if this is a common denominator but I doubt it.

 

I do appreciate your input.  I really do and I'm sure the other forum members do.  I wouldn't doubt that it could be other than a battery/alternator problem and maybe a fault somewhere else.  I haven't seen any clear indication though what that might be.

 

Thanks. 

[Edgingage]

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.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Edgingage
Adding info.

[bac2010]

Thanks Edgingage.  Lots more info to digest and some things for me to try out.  Interesting on both of us having AGM batteries but I don't recall other postings mention this.  I don't regret buying the BA7 and CTEK but that was the cost of a new battery ?.  But they will come in handy again I'm sure.

 

@akirby - are there any Ford reps still monitoring these threads?  I would think a problem like this might have a solution that none of the seat-of-the pants type of diagnostics would undercover.  Problems with APIM, BCM, other?   

[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.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Edgingage
Adding info

[bac2010]

No problem hijacking thread.  Didn't drive the Edge today but have several trips planned for Thursday.  Will see if battery saver message reappears.

 

I don't have the expertise to read your data but maybe someone else does.

 

The only things I have been able to glean from research is that there is a battery saver relay probably located under the dash.  This may be what you heard clicking in the parking lot.  Also it looks like the "GEM" module controls many of the electrical functions in the Edge including multiple timers for battery saver (I think one at 10 minutes and the other at 45 minutes).  If this module is bad it could explain the problem.  I believe this module is also under the dash maybe behind the radio.

 

I had Ford check out the battery and alternator but didn't ask them directly to look into this issue.  If I get the message popping up regularly then I'll schedule an appointment.

[bac2010]

Full charge lasted me about 2 weeks and just started getting the battery saver message again today.  One decent long trip and the others on the shorter side so I figured I was due.  It's on the charger now and I'll see how long it goes until message shows up. 

[Edgingage]

On ‎2‎/‎15‎/‎2020 at 5:38 PM, bac2010 said:

Full charge lasted me about 2 weeks and just started getting the battery saver message again today.  One decent long trip and the others on the shorter side so I figured I was due.  It's on the charger now and I'll see how long it goes until message shows up. 

 

Hey Bac2010:

 

If you haven't solved this problem yet, there is a good lead posted by Omar302 in the forum Audio, Backup, Navigation & SYNC.  Here is the link:

If you solved the problem completely (the message has never shown up again), please post what you did for the general knowledge.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by Edgingage

[Booger_2021_03_03]

In my case it ended up being the battery.  Replaced the battery and reset BMS in ForScan.  As an alternate, I believe that one can completely turn off BMS in ForScan.

[bac2010]

I'm glad that fixed your problem.  My battery and alternator tested good but battery continued to occasionally lose charge. But this only happened when I switched to an AGM battery - retiring and taking shorter trips didn't help either ?.  Wet cell always worked fine but I was also taking longer trips.  Another interesting occurrence is that the Battery Saver message doesn't appear once the weather gets warm.  It disappears from May to October no matter my driving pattern.  I throw a smart charger on the battery when I see the message and in 3-4 hours problem solved for a while so just a nuisance for now.

[akirby]

1 hour ago, Booger_2021_03_03 said:

In my case it ended up being the battery.  Replaced the battery and reset BMS in ForScan.  As an alternate, I believe that one can completely turn off BMS in ForScan.

It will reset itself if you leave it up disturbed for 8 hours.