💾 Archived View for problemfox.pollux.casa › gemlog › 2024-05-10_Sometimes_broken_works.gmi captured on 2024-05-12 at 15:09:45. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

View Raw

More Information

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sometimes Broken Works

(Or how I worked around failing to get my car fixed)

We purchased a second hand 2016 Ford CMax Energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) when we had our solar panels installed. The idea was that since more than 90% of our journeys were 10 miles or less the limited all-electric range of under 20 miles wouldn't be a problem for us. Best of all, it came with a 110v charging cable, so we could charge it, slowly, from our regular outlets, and via our batteries and solar power during grid outages.

I didn't mind when I learned that all the remote start and remote charging data features wouldn't work because the 3G cellur networks that the onboard modem relied on had been retired. It just meant I didn't need to worry about my driving data being sold on by Ford. The Bluetooth connection works, so I've got my tunes and can use my phone for navigation.

The problem was that we replaced the 12 volt battery three times in less than 18 months. I heard all the usual excuses; "must have been a bad battery", "batteries just die quicker in this heat", and my personal favourite "it's not a real EV you are driving it wrong"! Two garages and a main Ford dealer later I was fed up with explaining how the 12v battery was drained when the high voltage battery (hvb) completed charging via a 110v charging cable (I tried several), and there was an audible clicking sound of a relay failing to switch over from the front right of the engine bay, near the fuse box, when it happened.

I tried just driving it as a regular hybrid, but the fuel economy of the 2 litre engine isn't amazing. So I tried a different approach... if the 12v battery died every time I tried to charge the car why not charge both batteries at once. I got a small 12v battery charger/conditioner and started popping the bonnet every time I went to plug in the HVB at home.

Unsurprisingly, the 12v battery being boosted by being on a charger when the hvb finishes charging means that the car cycles out of the hvb charge state correctly. It is still broken, but it works. The car is back to being a PHEV and I'm back to happily tooling around town with my car running on sunbeams!