My Focus ST-2 has been in the garage having its steering rack replaced and a battery drain issue investigated. Twice in the last four or so months the battery has been dead first thing in the morning.
Each time the AA have attended, jump started it and advised that the charging system and battery are fine and quite understandbly the dealer has been unable to replicate the fault.
However it is clear that there is an intermitent fault causing the battery to drain in 36 hours or so.
There are some systems that stay active for a while even after that car is locked, for instance the dash LCD's only go off after 15 minutes, though I think I would have noticed if the dash was still active when walking past the car.
My only other thought is whether this could happen if I had forgotten to lock the car on both occasions?
Any other ideas?
The car is keyless by the way.
Many thanks.
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And you wanted to buy this car? You kept that part quiet!
Anyway, where has it been parked when it was flat? It could be relevant. The dash LCD thing is common place to most modern cars.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 22 Mar 11 at 19:50
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Any extras fitted ?In particular any type of tracking system?
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>> Any extras fitted >>
Only factory extras, keyless voice control and Bluetooth. Some BMWs with Bluetooth can contnue to search for phones when switched off and drain the battery though I am sure that this is not the issue.
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Some BMWs with Bluetooth can contnue to search for phones when switched off and drain the battery though I am sure that this is not the issue.
Tested this on the X1 today - Bluetooth won't enable until the key thingy dooh dah (technical term) is in the ignition.
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>> Tested this on the X1 today - >>
Think I read it in HJ's car by car, 1 Series as I recall.
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On the drive Z, as usual.
I am thinking that I left it unlocked, it is keyless though normally if it is locked you feel a little resistance and then hear the whir of the locking system though as I recall I tried the blipper which would not work though I was able to open it with no resistance as if it were unlocked.
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>> On the drive Z, as usual.
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>> I am thinking that I left it unlocked, it is keyless though normally if it
>> is locked you feel a little resistance and then hear the whir of the locking
>> system though as I recall I tried the blipper which would not work though I
>> was able to open it with no resistance as if it were unlocked.
You could wonder if it was unlocked, possibly because a door was still open? (or thought it was?)
A boot light perhaps?
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 22 Mar 11 at 20:28
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No nothing was open thoigh perhaps unlocked.
Checked interior light switches etc, also it could handle a 5w drain for a few days and still start.
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Yeah but perhaps some of the systems stay alive with a door "logically" open
Just check what happens when you try to lock it with a door ajar.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 22 Mar 11 at 20:40
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I will try it.
I am thinking that systems stay alive while it is unlocked ...
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Wont lock unless the door is shut properly.
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Well, Ford have had a few reported problems with microswitches in rear hatch locking mechanisms.
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Nah cant remember where I saw it
Edit, think it was mentioned in a TSB
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 22 Mar 11 at 21:44
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The electrics should shut down when the battery voltage drops below a certain voltage to prevent the battery completely discharging ! so the question is, whats the battery voltage when it wont start ? is it discharged or just gives the impression its discharged ? is the relay working ? do you have lights above the sun visors ? are these sticking on sometimes ? real problem on some cars ?
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Hi, just registered here after reading this discussion.
I have a battery drain on a 2006 ST (keyless) and have heard of several/many having this problem. Have you fixed it? It is driving me crazy for 2 years now, getting worse. Here is what I have found out:
I think leaving it unlocked doesn't matter.
The LCD stays on for 20 minutes if everything is OK.
The battery drain for this fault occurs when the LCD remains on even after 20 minutes (about 1 Amp remains, so two or three days max). Sometimes it can happen that it goes off, but turns on during the night (i.e. it is on again in the morning).
I am suspecting that the keyless system detects one of the switches and keeps the main computer powered up. However, so far testing the car at the shop showed nothing, perhaps the resistance is just enough for the power saving system to activate the computer, but not enough for the inputs to detect the switch signal. It was also quite intermittent, so it is always possible that the switch was opening correctly at the time we were testing the car. Higher temperatures and less humidity seemed to reduce the frequency of the problem.
I have replaced the button on the trunk, one door handle and one door mechanism. Was suspecting the passenger door, since I could see the LCD come on when I bumped the passenger door. But replacing those two parts didn't help. I am not exactly eager to do the same thing for the driver's door, it's not cheap. Wish disassembling the doors were easier, so I could try diagnosing it further by unplugging some connectors :s
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I'll e-mail Cheddar for you to see what happened.
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Got rid of the car in April so, sorry, can't advise further, only had two instances of this happening.
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So, just in case anyone still reading this (or finds it), here's a follow up. I finally narrowed it down to the ignition switch / steering lock. There is a mechanism that prevents one from turning the key before pressing the clutch. It seems that the actuator that should do this does not always properly lock the mechanism when you take out the key (well, pull out the switch, since it is keyless). The computer detects this somehow and treats this condition as relevant for not going into sleep mode. So, the symptoms for this are A - instrument LCD display remains lit and B - you should be able to turn the ignition key to 'contact' position without depressing the clutch (and the associated 'press clutch to start' message on the LCD).
Did not have any parts replaced, nor attempted to clean the mechanism. So far I just joggle the 'key' a few times after stopping the motor. Once I see the LCD message about the clutch, I know the computer will turn off and no battery drain will occur.
I suppose the 2008 ST with the start button no longer has this issue. But other keyless Fords of that age might...
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>> So, just in case anyone still reading this (or finds it)
Thanks for the follow up BV2.
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Hi,
I know this post is a bit old now but I've just found the same problem in my Focus ST.
Does anyone know if it's fixable? And if so what needs replacing and how much does it cost?
Toggling the key in and out until the clutch message appears does seem to work, so thanks for posting that!
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Do either of these cars have a screen giving any messages ?
A similar problem existed with P2 Volvos. The alarm siren has a small battery in it which would fail causing the siren unit to draw current from the main battery draining them in roughly three days. Has this been checked on either cars considering the shared platforms and architecture of this era.
Last edited by: gmac on Sat 1 Oct 11 at 13:49
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No problem with battery drain but found my mobile was linking with car(Bluetooth) at something like twenty times the distance mentioned in the handbook.Not always but occasionally.
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Ford Focus ST - 07 2.5 Battery drain question? - Zero
