Save battery message

[Jimmy]

Last few drives, I've been getting the message in the screen shot below. Due to the covid lockdown my car only gets driven about once a week, and it's always just a short trip to the store, so I'm guessing my battery is not getting recharged enough during my short drives to make up for the draining that happens when I start the car. Should I hook up the battery to my trickle charger, or is this indicative of a more serious problem? The message saying to turn ignition off doesn't make sense because the message appears as soon as I unlock the car and sit inside, so the ignition should already be off at that point, no? Also, this is a base mustang (300A) which originally had the 4 inch screen and I swapped in the 8" screen and apim so I'm wondering if there's some setting I neglected to make in forscan that is causing a battery drain. The car starts up fine though, even after a week of not moving it starts right up in below freezing weather.

Another issue: the touch sensor on my passenger side door handle no longer works, either for unlocking or locking. The driver's side still works fine. I remember this happening last winter too, it stopped working when the temps got really cold but started working again when it got a bit warmer. It's been below freezing here for a while. Is there any way to fix that or is that just something I have to live with when it's this cold?

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[dps]

I've had this message once on my relatively new 2020 GT350. Get the car out about once every 2 weeks so far this winter.

 

[BMAGOO]

There’s been a few threads about this. It seems to be a common problem with battery drain. You may need a new battery. Put a charger on it hopefully it isn’t shot yet. I use a self regulating trickle charger all the time. Actually have it hard wired right in. I just plug it in after every time I drive it as if I were plugging in an engine block heater. Never ever had a problem.

 

[Jimmy]

Does the mustang kill batteries faster than other cars? This car isn't even 2 years old yet. I'm used to getting 7-8 yrs out of a battery.

I just hooked up my trickle charger, it says "charging". If the battery was good it would say charged. I'll see how long it takes before it's fully charged.

 

[rob_s]

I'd suggest taking a big roundabout drive to the store to get it fully warmed up and then some, and see if it goes away. I get this if it's been sitting for a few weeks (I got it when I got back from 3 weeks out of town over Christmas), but it doesn't come back after the first drive. And I'm still on the factory battery over 5 years later.

 

[Matti777]

I got this message when running a new stereo with the engine off. I suspect that it monitors voltage levels and gives that warning even though the battery voltage is still quite high but I haven't researched it.

 

[Jimmy]

I'd suggest taking a big roundabout drive to the store to get it fully warmed up and then some, and see if it goes away. I get this if it's been sitting for a few weeks (I got it when I got back from 3 weeks out of town over Christmas), but it doesn't come back after the first drive. And I'm still on the factory battery over 5 years later.

Good idea, I'm gonna go for a longer drive one of these days. In addition to the battery, there are other components that would benefit from a long drive once in a while.

 

[NoVaGT]

Does the mustang kill batteries faster than other cars? This car isn't even 2 years old yet. I'm used to getting 7-8 yrs out of a battery.

I just hooked up my trickle charger, it says "charging". If the battery was good it would say charged. I'll see how long it takes before it's fully charged.

Yes. And even faster if you don't drive it.

 

[1emglenn]

Last few drives, I've been getting the message in the screen shot below. Due to the covid lockdown my car only gets driven about once a week, and it's always just a short trip to the store, so I'm guessing my battery is not getting recharged enough during my short drives to make up for the draining that happens when I start the car. Should I hook up the battery to my trickle charger, or is this indicative of a more serious problem? The message saying to turn ignition off doesn't make sense because the message appears as soon as I unlock the car and sit inside, so the ignition should already be off at that point, no? Also, this is a base mustang (300A) which originally had the 4 inch screen and I swapped in the 8" screen and apim so I'm wondering if there's some setting I neglected to make in forscan that is causing a battery drain. The car starts up fine though, even after a week of not moving it starts right up in below freezing weather.

Another issue: the touch sensor on my passenger side door handle no longer works, either for unlocking or locking. The driver's side still works fine. I remember this happening last winter too, it stopped working when the temps got really cold but started working again when it got a bit warmer. It's been below freezing here for a while. Is there any way to fix that or is that just something I have to live with when it's this cold?

I've been getting the same thing as you about the battery. Same thing I don't drive it enough or far enough. The other issue you mentioned hit me though. Shortly after getting my 19 a woman, who decided a stop sign did not apply to her, hit me in my right rear quarter panel, just behind the passenger door. Sometime after it was repaired, I started having trouble with that doors' touch sensor. I just attributed it to the accident and just used the fob when it didn't work. I have not been able to figure out why it does what it does. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I live here in the Mojave Desert where it stays pretty hot 9 months out of the year. I have not made any relationship to whether it is hot or cold that affects the sensor. The thing that gets to me, is if it is electronically malfunctioning why doesn't it go dead and just stay dead. Anybody out there also experiencing this?

 

[fmc_smt]

The battery is monitored by the bcm , you can charge and test the battery . The thing is that the bcm needs to be reset once the battery is fully charged . The system looks at load shed and uses an average to calculate when to turn the warning on . So if you just charge the battery or replace it , the bcm is still going off an average. Kind of the same way the dte is calculated .

 

[Jimmy]

Interesting, do you know how to reset the bcm? Can I do it with forscan?

 

[NoVaGT]

Interesting, do you know how to reset the bcm? Can I do it with forscan?

Letting the car sit for 24 hours with a properly charged battery will take care of it.

From what has been shared in other similar threads.

 

[gpierce]

Does the mustang kill batteries faster than other cars? This car isn't even 2 years old yet. I'm used to getting 7-8 yrs out of a battery.

No, the Mustang just has a shitty factory battery compared to other cars. Some of them only last 6 months!

 

[kenbert]

Had this issue as well for the first time last month when the car sat for about 3 weeks (factory battery, 4 years old). Same as you, covid, working from home, and cold weather.

Had a few sunny days so took the car out on the hwy and some longer cruises and the warning went away. Took a few days of driving though for me. I'll keep checking the voltage every now and then to make sure tho and I'll bring it up during my next maintenance appt.

 

[fmc_smt]

Some info out of the service manual
Battery
Removal

1. Disconnect the battery.
   Refer to: Battery Disconnect and Connect (414-01 Battery, Mounting and Cables, General Procedures).

1. Loosen and remove the battery hold-down bolt and clamp. Remove the battery.
   Torque: 71 lb.in (8 Nm)

Installation

1. To install, reverse the removal procedure.

1. If installing a new battery, use the scan tool to carry out the Battery Monitoring System (BMS) reset after the battery is connected.

Engine Off Load Shed

When the engine is off, and the BCM determines the battery state of charge is below 40% or 10% of the charge has been drained or 45 minutes have elapsed, a load shed message is sent over the CAN. This message turns off the audio/navigation system to save the remaining battery charge. Under this condition, the FDIM displays SYS OFF TO SAVE BATT (without navigation) or BATTERY SAVER — SYSTEM OFF PLEASE START THE ENGINE (with navigation) to notify the driver that battery protection actions are active.

Engine off load shed occurs when the engine is not running, and the ignition is in the ACC or RUN position. To clear the load shed state, restart the engine.

NOTE: To maintain correct operation of the load shed system, any electrical devices or equipment must be grounded to the engine or chassis ground and not the negative battery terminal. A connection to the negative battery terminal may cause an inaccurate measurement of the battery state of charge and may cause incorrect load shed system operation.

When the ignition is in the RUN position and load shed occurs, the IPC message center displays either TURN POWER OFF TO SAVE BATT (base message center) or TURN POWER OFF TO SAVE BATTERY (optional message center). The audio/navigation system will shut down after the message center displays it's warning.

If a fault occurs with the battery current sensor or circuit(s), the only engine off load shed strategy is a 45 minute timer. After 45 minutes have elapsed, the audio/navigation system turns off. To clear the load shed state, restart the engine.

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