How long are you guys able to run your car just on accessory mode when. I usually let my radio go when i am washing/detailing it. I maybe get 30-40 mins and then it shuts off.
2012 SEL w/MFT running on accessorey battery time.
EddieWinslow
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How long are you guys able to run your car just on accessory mode when. I usually let my radio go when i am washing/detailing it. I maybe get 30-40 mins and then it shuts off.
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Posted via FF Mobile While playing with cars at the showroom I noticed MyFord Tocuh has a programmed time that itll actually stay on to save power. At the same time, I have found a few MF touch equipped cars dead. Obviously people playing with them kills the battery, which Im sure doesnt make dealers too happy. You gotta remember this is a computer running in your car, think about how much energy your PC or Mac uses.
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Bringing this post back up because I'm now curious exactly how this works. I reread most of the manual tonight and it only speaks of three options.
Is there any way to get it to stay on longer when you exit the vehicle and just want to listen to the radio with the window down?
- Engine Off - Open Door = Accessory All Off
- Engine Off - Leave Accessory On, Door closed = 30 min timer
- Engine Off - Turn Accessory On manually = 10 min timer
Is there any way to get it to stay on longer when you exit the vehicle and just want to listen to the radio with the window down?
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Sounds like an experienced answer to me.... I'll give it a shot tomorrow and report back.
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I wish I could keep the radio on at the drive-in. Usually have to turn it on 4 or 5 times.
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I tested it this morning at my break and it seems to work just as advertised. Just use the manual power button on your head unit and it stays on without turning the key to accessory.[pray]
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So for those with the Smart Keys and the push start will this work for us too if we turn on the radio head manually without setting to accessory mode?
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That would be correct. I have IA w/ PB start, and you don't have to even mess with the on/off ignition button. Just press the on/off on the head unit just to the left of the volume knob. The unit turns on, but all other accessories remain off.
Nice to know...
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Bringing this thread back to life again because I'm still having problems getting the media player to stay on when I'm outside the vehicle. Apparently I did something different on my experiment with the manual on/off on the dash when I tested it.
I was trying to listen to a ballgame on Sirius this weekend and the darn thing kept turning off every few minutes. I finally gave up and went inside to watch it on TV, missing a beautiful day outdoors.
Anyone come up with a way to get the radio or media player to stay on for longer than 30 minutes? Also, if it goes off after 30 minutes when you turn it back on from the head unit it only stays on for 10 minutes. Very frustrating.
I was trying to listen to a ballgame on Sirius this weekend and the darn thing kept turning off every few minutes. I finally gave up and went inside to watch it on TV, missing a beautiful day outdoors.
Anyone come up with a way to get the radio or media player to stay on for longer than 30 minutes? Also, if it goes off after 30 minutes when you turn it back on from the head unit it only stays on for 10 minutes. Very frustrating.
I did a copy/paste from another thread:
The 2012 Focus is equipped with an intelligent battery monitoring system which manages battery charging by the generator and monitors the battery state of charge. The battery monitoring system also utilizes a load shed strategy to help control discharge of the battery and prevent an excessively low battery state of charge.
When load shedding does occur, the audio system will be the first thing that is turned off.
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When I was trying to solve my MFT/finger drive problem, I was turning the key to accessory multiple times as I accessed the menus, plugged and unplugged the finger drive etc. After about 20 minutes to a half hour, I got a warning on the center dash display that my battery power was low, that's not actually what it read, but you get the idea. The car started normally, I drove around a couple of blocks and had no problem the next morning. My only conclusion is, the MFT system draws a lot of power to run the "computer", browse menus, change screens and such. I was a little surprised when I saw that warning.
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Yep, that's my point. The "Battery Low" message comes on after 30 minutes in accessory mode no matter whether the battery is actually low, then it turns off your head unit. This is a "feature" that I don't like at all. I was hoping that perhaps there was a Sync command that would disable the battery saver feature and let you control it yourself, but apparently that's not the case.
I did a chat with the agents at the Ford Sync site and they confirmed it wasn't capable of being disabled. That kinda sucks.
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I noticed when I washed the car and left the radio on that after the set time expired I got a notice that "battery save mode" was activated and shut off the radio. No problem and I believe I read in the manual that this time limit can be changed to 10min, 30min, or 1hour ... but not disabled.
However I do have problems with a low battery and have jump started my car like 6 times. When this happens the car will not unlock with IA key and when you do get in using the blade key the message center displays "My Ford Key not inside car" and car will not start until I boost the battery.
Usually the car charges the battery fine and I have no further problems as long as I don't listen to the radio when the car is off. But if I do, I now will see another message when trying to listen to the radio for 30min with the car off and it displays " Low Battery please see owners manual" before the battery save mode even activates. When this happened I was able to start the car and drive home (10min drive) but after letting it sit for a few hours I went to leave and had a dead battery and needed a jump start.
I took it to the dealer for a battery and charging system complete check and they did not find any problems. I think if it keeps happening I can get them to replace my battery to see if that helps but not sure it will. Seems like a more heavy duty battery might be the best solution.
Has anyone else had this low battery problem fixed or addressed by the dealer or has anyone tried a aftermarket heavy duty battery installed?
Thanks, I was about to start a thread asking this but it seemed to fit here.
However I do have problems with a low battery and have jump started my car like 6 times. When this happens the car will not unlock with IA key and when you do get in using the blade key the message center displays "My Ford Key not inside car" and car will not start until I boost the battery.
Usually the car charges the battery fine and I have no further problems as long as I don't listen to the radio when the car is off. But if I do, I now will see another message when trying to listen to the radio for 30min with the car off and it displays " Low Battery please see owners manual" before the battery save mode even activates. When this happened I was able to start the car and drive home (10min drive) but after letting it sit for a few hours I went to leave and had a dead battery and needed a jump start.
I took it to the dealer for a battery and charging system complete check and they did not find any problems. I think if it keeps happening I can get them to replace my battery to see if that helps but not sure it will. Seems like a more heavy duty battery might be the best solution.
Has anyone else had this low battery problem fixed or addressed by the dealer or has anyone tried a aftermarket heavy duty battery installed?
Thanks, I was about to start a thread asking this but it seemed to fit here.
Needless to say, the battery shouldn't discharge when your car is parked for a few hours.
It is better to identify and correct the cause of this problem rather than getting a different battery.
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I'd have to agree. There's no reason for your battery to discharge while parked with everything turned off. I get that battery saver message all the time, but I think it's based more on a timer than actually monitoring the voltage of the battery itself. That may be a bad assumption, but it sure happens at about the same interval each time and I've never had a problem starting the car after turning everything back on three or ten times.
I think the whole concept of shutting down the audio system when you want to listen outside the vehicle is kinda silly. I've been driving a car for well over 30 years and can count on two fingers the number of times I've killed the battery from listening to the radio. After all, all my newer cars have had a relay that should shut everything (except the radio) off after a short timer expires. That system worked just fine for times like when you don't shut the door all the way and the interior lights stay on or something stupid like that.
I'd like to ask that anyone who might be consulting on the next MFT upgrade recommend they add a "turn off the battery saver" function to the wish list.
I think the whole concept of shutting down the audio system when you want to listen outside the vehicle is kinda silly. I've been driving a car for well over 30 years and can count on two fingers the number of times I've killed the battery from listening to the radio. After all, all my newer cars have had a relay that should shut everything (except the radio) off after a short timer expires. That system worked just fine for times like when you don't shut the door all the way and the interior lights stay on or something stupid like that.
I'd like to ask that anyone who might be consulting on the next MFT upgrade recommend they add a "turn off the battery saver" function to the wish list.
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Get your Battery Checked by a top notch battery retailer, They have equipment to check the Charge Level, The Cranking Amps etc etc.
Ford Service will do what you can do at home which is to check the voltage with a multimeter, with the engine off 12.5 Volts is a reasonably charged Battery .
Check the Alternator Charging Voltage with the engine running after 5 minutes +- 14.4 Volts.
I believe that your battery is already damaged and thus losing charge overnight, Have it checked by a proffesional.
Maybe the Battery is covered by Warranty.
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Thanks everyone for the comments and advice ...
Underbird10 ... you are right that the timer can be set to 10min, 30min, or 1 hour and that gives the "Battery Saver" message and shuts off the radio but I have also got a different message before the battery saver message timer ran out which was "Low Battery See Owners Manual" ... this only happened once and resulted in a jump start later that day.
Dasilvarsa ... I assumed when Ford did a full charging system and battery check that they checked the cold cranking amps of the battery too but I will confirm what tests they did when I go back to get some follow up service done in a week or so. They didn't provide me with any specs on the battery like they do at other battery service departments. Even Walmart does this test and gives a printout of the battery specs so I assumed Ford would of. I will look into it for sure and get a second opinion somewhere else, thanks for the idea!
Kabigon ... you are correct too and I plan on finding the problem one way or the other. Each time I had to jump start I left the car off for a few hours or more and hadn't had any low battery warning or battery saver messages prior to shut-off. If I do get one of these messages I typically start the car and let it run for a bit to charge up.
Hopefully its just a week or damaged battery and a replacement will fix this issue because it's nice to enjoy some music without having the car running. I would hate to have to carry around a portable battery booster just to kill the worry of not being able to get a jump start from someone. The extra long booster cables take up enough room in my hatch already! (had to get the long ones since the car will not go into neutral when the battery is dead so that way I can reach the other vehicle from any angle)
Underbird10 ... you are right that the timer can be set to 10min, 30min, or 1 hour and that gives the "Battery Saver" message and shuts off the radio but I have also got a different message before the battery saver message timer ran out which was "Low Battery See Owners Manual" ... this only happened once and resulted in a jump start later that day.
Dasilvarsa ... I assumed when Ford did a full charging system and battery check that they checked the cold cranking amps of the battery too but I will confirm what tests they did when I go back to get some follow up service done in a week or so. They didn't provide me with any specs on the battery like they do at other battery service departments. Even Walmart does this test and gives a printout of the battery specs so I assumed Ford would of. I will look into it for sure and get a second opinion somewhere else, thanks for the idea!
Kabigon ... you are correct too and I plan on finding the problem one way or the other. Each time I had to jump start I left the car off for a few hours or more and hadn't had any low battery warning or battery saver messages prior to shut-off. If I do get one of these messages I typically start the car and let it run for a bit to charge up.
Hopefully its just a week or damaged battery and a replacement will fix this issue because it's nice to enjoy some music without having the car running. I would hate to have to carry around a portable battery booster just to kill the worry of not being able to get a jump start from someone. The extra long booster cables take up enough room in my hatch already! (had to get the long ones since the car will not go into neutral when the battery is dead so that way I can reach the other vehicle from any angle)
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