Weird Problem: No Signs of Life

[HopJokey]

Originally Posted by Chaddz3

Now I could be wrong.. He has a titanium with that Intelligent keyless stuff... and it could be something wrong with that, but you'd think you'd still be able to hit the door lock button by the radio and have the locks cycle, as well as at least the parking lights come on when the door is open (altho he didnt mention either way if that was working)...

I did attempt to do those things but still no response - zip,zlitch,nada. Like I said no power whatsoever anywhere with that one exception.

[Kabigon]

Originally Posted by Chaddz3

As far as I have seen, we have large mega fuses in the main battery junction in lieu of fuseable links... and I'm betting one is blown.. Thats why he has no power to many of the car's systems.. but power to others.

Now I could be wrong.. He has a titanium with that Intelligent keyless stuff... and it could be something wrong with that, but you'd think you'd still be able to hit the door lock button by the radio and have the locks cycle, as well as at least the parking lights come on when the door is open (altho he didnt mention either way if that was working)...

A malfunctioning BCM could cause any or all of the OP's problems.
You shouldn't assume that there is no power when a module is "playing dead".

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by HopJokey

...my 2012 Ford Focus Ti Hatch yesterday - there are no signs of life with my car like the battery is completely drained with one exception, when you attempt to move the gear selector on the auto from park the ODO LCD screen says "Transmission not in Park". Everything else that requires power (car starting, MFT screen, cabin lights, locks, hatch door, steering wheel and gear selector are locked up, etc.) is inoperable.

I had two separate professionals try and jump start the car to no avail. Each time they connected the leads of my car battery to theirs it had absolutely no effect. Still no accessory power whatsoever, car won't start, door won't lock. Like I said, no signs of life with that one huge exception that leads me to believe it isn't a battery problem.

...tried starting the car with no luck and noticed no power in the cabin. That's when I called emergency roadside assistance to get a jump. The car service guy tried jumping the car from a booster pack with no luck and noticed the "Transmission Not in Park" message. Eventually I had the car towed to the dealership. We'll see what they say today when they take a look.

Originally Posted by HopJokey

Update: The dealership was able to get the car up and running normally again by disconnecting and then reconnecting the battery leads of the vehicle (similar to doing a battery pull of a smartphone). However they haven't been able to figure out what the problem is and have held the car overnight while they await engineering assistance from Ford HQ to diagnose the problem.

I'm more than happy to assist; please PM me your VIN, mileage, contact info, and dealer city/state so I can loop in your Customer Service Manager.

Thomas

[Chaddz3]

Originally Posted by Kabigon

A malfunctioning BCM could cause any or all of the OP's problems.
You shouldn't assume that there is no power when a module is "playing dead".

YOur right... never assume anything.. Without actually being there to see, it was the first starting point on journey to finding the problem.. always eliminate the obvious. By checking the fuse first, you know that it is not the cause then its on to the next link in the chain... Yes a bad BCM can cause this stuff. but its always good to walk through the system and look for trouble. especially if a module has failed to make sure an external problem didnt take out the module. (like a short).. which could just kill a replacement module just as quickly.

We're all still learning about this car and how it works... OP keep us posted on what conclusions they come to...

[HopJokey]

Originally Posted by FordCustomerService

I'm more than happy to assist; please PM me your VIN, mileage, contact info, and dealer city/state so I can loop in your Customer Service Manager.

Thomas

Thanks a lot, I sent you a PM with the requested info.

[HopJokey]

Update 2: After running a full battery of tests throughout the day, my Ford dealership could not find any problems with the car currently and could not root cause why the car got into the bad state that required a "battery pull". Ford hotline did not have any answers as well. I will be picking up my vehicle today.

I've been generally content with my Focus these first 9 months so I would be pleased if it was just a fluke/one off issue that occurred and I could live happily ever after with it. Obviously if showstopping issues persist I will need to take appropriate action like getting a refund - I would gladly accept a new 2013 Ford Fusion in this case .

[paul21]

Without knowing the details of the car, I would design a fuse or a circuit breaker between the main positive of the battery and the primary distribution point. I'd then fuse/breaker each of the main sub branches, then each circuit after that, etc.

It's possible to use an electronic/auto-reclose circuit breaking device, and pulling the main lead could be the reset mechanism. It's likely that even if the starter had power, the control power for the solenoid relay was out.

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by Chaddz3

YOur right... never assume anything.. Without actually being there to see, it was the first starting point on journey to finding the problem.. always eliminate the obvious. By checking the fuse first, you know that it is not the cause then its on to the next link in the chain...We're all still learning about this car and how it works... OP keep us posted on what conclusions they come to...

Sweet; we think alike! By the way, I strongly agree with your last sentence.

Originally Posted by HopJokey

Thanks a lot, I sent you a PM with the requested info.

Originally Posted by HopJokey

Update 2: After running a full battery of tests throughout the day, my Ford dealership could not find any problems with the car currently and could not root cause why the car got into the bad state that required a "battery pull". Ford hotline did not have any answers as well. I will be picking up my vehicle today.

I've been generally content with my Focus these first 9 months so I would be pleased if it was just a fluke/one off issue that occurred and I could live happily ever after with it. Obviously if showstopping issues persist I will need to take appropriate action like getting a refund - I would gladly accept a new 2013 Ford Fusion in this case .

You're most welcome! I'll include the details from your second update in the escalation. I just spotted some Fusion drool dripping from your post.

Thomas

[Focus YBTC]

This actually happened to me yesterday. When I first got in my car yesterday after not having driven it in days, the SYNC went black and reset and all my station resets and odometer readings were gone but it started. Hmm, that was weird I thought. Then later in the day, night time actually, I tried to start it and everything was just DEAD! No power on anything and my key wouldn't work. I poked around the battery and touched the steel bracketing coming out of one of the terminals and saw some lights come on. I think that was on the negative terminal but couldn't see too well in the dark. I then tried to start it and it fired up and ran fine. Note to self: put a small flashlight in the car and remember to tighten up that connection.

[mfandetti]

Not a fluke. Experienced same issue w/ 2012 SE. Total electrical failure/malfunctioning, including loss of horn, turn signals, and brake lights, accompanied by nonsensical messaging from the main screen. Dealer replacing "body control module"; not yet clear if this will work. A very serious issue potentially, especially if it happens at night (tough to drive at night w/o lights, signals, etc.). Any recurrence of your problems?