I'm glad I found your video. We've been struggling with this problem since buying the car 5 years ago. Dealer hasn't been much help. I know it's a parasitic drain like yours. Thanks!
We went on vacation in July and August for 10 days without the car and when we got home we got back in the car and it powered up no problem. I can always tell if I am going to have a problem just by opening the door. If I do and the interior lights come on then there's is no problem. If nothing light up you have a problem. Ten days is a really good test.
My family is considering trading one of our vehicles for a C-Max Energi, but we were a bit concerned to learn about the "battery" issue. Your video is an excellent resource, thank you for sharing your experience. Hopefully you and everyone experiencing this same issue, are notifying The NHTSA to help generate a recall or at least service bulletin, should it be the reasonably large scale problem it seems to be. As someone who has done their fair share of parasitic drain tests, to prove installed aftermarket equipment was not responsible for excessive system drain, and knowing how easy the test it's to conduct by even a semi competent technician, it is sad to say the least, that this situation is as pervasive as I gather. I'm not in the install business currently and do not have access to AllData, but I'd be curious how documented this is. Thank you again for sharing!
I have a 2013 Cmax hybrid, 185 k miles, it runs with only brake pads/small bat/brake fluid changed only once, but this random, unexplained “dying out” overnight it is EXTREMELY frustrating, comes sometimes twice a month, sometimes once in two years.
With a jump starter i only touch the 12 V terminals under the hood for few seconds and it does “unlock” the system and the car starts, runs perfectly for a week or for two years when the problem occurs again - very annoying.
GREAT video!! My car has been in the shop for almost 3 weeks, and still no luck finding the cause. I just sent them a message about this video... here's hoping your suggestion fixes the issue!
Sounds like a good deal. Try to test drive it long enough to run out a full charge and to do a equal amount of ICE miles, (40 miles) in both EV and EV later modes. A new 12 volt battery might be required if the one in the car is about 4 years old. I always carry a small jump battery under seat if one in the car fails you ain't going anywhere. The only sure way to know if the parasitic load issue is causing a problem is will the car power up after sitting unused for 2 or 3 days.
we had this issue with our c Max Energi 2014, and the dealer reprogrammed the software in 2019 after swapping in a new battery. That fixed the parasitic load.
My 2013 C-Max has gone dead in the garage several times overnight. It happened again on Monday night. Tuesday evening I charged and tested the 18 month old battery. It's good. Next up is to do a parasitic draw test. I called a Ford Tech. He says to open the doors and manually close the latches to douse the cabin lights. He also said that the car will continue to draw some power for 40 minutes. I'm not sure quite how to deal with that as my multimeter needs to be connected in series with the negative terminal. I guess hook it up, and see if the power draw reading goes down under 50 milli-amps after 40 minutes. PITA
2017 ford fusion hybrid energi here and mine needed to have the ACM replaced Afterwards I ended up also replacing the 12v battery because the prior one was pretty weak from probably 50 jump starts lol But the car runs like a champ now Total cost about $830
I've brought my 2013 C-Max Energy to the dealership twice for this issue. The first time I had it jumped so I could drive it in and the second time I had it towed in with the dead battery. They've had it now for one week and have been unable to detect the draw. So I'm going to pick it up today..., but I know I'll be back.
I realize this is an old thread, but I am hopeful that you will respond! I have recently purchased a used 2017 C-Max energi and after first 240v charge discovered what appears to be a rapid draw of energy depleting 75% of the high voltage battery- while it sat, turned off in the parking lot while I was at work. Nothing was left on inside the cabin. It appears to drain as soon as it is unplugged. The 12 volt battery doesn't appear to be a problem. I have no issues with starting the car. However I have only had it for a week. I plan to take it to the dealer as it is still under warranty, but would like some idea of what they should do or check to not waste time and money! Could this inability to maintain a charge following a full 240v charge, be caused by the ACM as well? Any thoughts?
I am considering buying a 2014 c max Energi 62k $8500. loaded, no warranty, and private seller. The car looks perfect. They have owned it 18 months and not driven it much the last 8 months. Also I live in central Florida, so a hot climate. Do you have any advice for me? Thank you!
Hey John first thank you for posting this. I have been having the same problem with my 2013 energi. It’s at Ford right now being looked at. Any clue to help them find this. Maybe show them this video? Or ask about the bcm? If I ask them to do a pericitive draw test on the battery do you think they’ll know what that is? Either way thank you for sharing this.
I have a 2013 cmax hybrid.. my issue is a few days ago the cars radio wouldn't shut off when I got to work didnt want to be late so I just left then at end of day had to jump it off car ran fine with radio working sat up over weekend then had to jump off car agian.. went and had a new battery replaced everything worked normal for about 4 days.. then the radio wouldn't turn on.. for two days of driving so this morning had to jump it agian, I am wondering if it might be my acm fuse?
john gilkison Hi John thank you for the video, I am having same issue with mine I do not have any warranty at this point, I would like to change the ACM but I can’t find online can help finding the exact part for C Max 2014 energy Again thank you so much video!
what the heck is the bcm ?? "bogus control module" ? anyway... i just jump started a friend's c-max and sure enough, the battery was dead, 0 volts when I measured it... we put the trickle charger and it started to charge as I measure the charging current in about 2.5 Amps. After about 30 minutes, it was at 12v and we tried to start the car but there was not enough time to properly charge the battery, it wasn't able to start... and to make things awful, the stupid design comes with the lights on right you try to turn the car on.... In the end I jump started the car and told him to take a half-hour drive and when he come backs, plug the charger again and leave overnight... tomorrow is a new day, but in either case, I left him with my set of jumper cables if it fails in the morning, he can jump start from his wife's car.... let's see how it goes.. and of course, these things always happen on Thursdays and Fridays or during the weekend...
I had the same problem and based on your investigation went to the dealership and explained the task at hand. It turns out it's a software glitch based on U0198 code. They updated the software and said I should be good to go, easy fix! Here's the link for the code explaining into more details: www.obd-codes.com/u0198
