Ford escape battery still dying

sbhtennis

 I continue to  be losing charge  in my car battery within a day of getting to camp site.   Ford Escape  2013 . New battery . Dealer checked out electrical and no issues. I  disconnect  7 way plug at the campsite. I do not drive with frig on.  Usually by the next morning the car battery is dead, even with being careful not to overly open and close car doors while at campsite. My suspicion is somehow when I am driving there is some kind of drain on the car battery. What could this be??  Would the 7 way plug be the culprit.?  I had Rack and Road install  that and so Ford won't even touch it.   Could frige be pulling a charge even if I have it on OFF? 

rh5555

Does this only happen after you've towed your TAB?  If you leave your car unstarted for a few days, is the battery OK?  It sounds like you may have two issues; one discharging the battery while you are towing, and a different problem finishing off your battery while parked.

Sharon_is_SAM

Curious, what is the state of charge on your TaB battery before towing and after arrival to the campsite?

Verna

Prior to me getting my T@B 320, I traded my 2012 Ford Escape because of the battery frequently going dead. I replaced it with an Interstate battery with a bit more cranking power. But, I never trusted that vehicle due to strange electrical problems with it.  

sbhtennis

It only happens after towing. 

Will have to check on the before and after.  Although I am pretty sure the T@B battery charge is unaffected. 

rh5555

The only scenario I can dream up is that the 12V line from your 7-pin connector has gotten pinched somewhere in the trailer and is shorting out to the chassis, and the in-line fuse between the pinch point and the battery has blown.  This would put a lot of drain on your TV battery as long as the trailer is plugged in.  If you have your TV running when you plug in the trailer, do you get sparks?

If you have a multimeter, you can check this out.  There should be 12V on the trailer's connector between the 12V and ground pins when your battery switch is turned on.  If there isn't, you could check the resistance between these pins.  It should not be zero.  For pin locations see here.

Cbusguy

I think the best tool for the job is an amp probe.   Check the amperage out of the alternator,  at the battery and then connect the trailer.    the escape only has an 105 amp alternator.   No idea if the headlight trick works.    

That alternator seems really light if you are heating or cooling the car, running an engine cooling fan,  running a defroster, and trying to charge the trailer. 

power bastards offer a heavier alternator but for the escape it is $500.  ouch.   I am willing to bet that would correct it.

rh5555

I'd suggest an experiment, if your lifestyle will permit it:  Park your Escape at your house for several days without starting it, but opening doors at about the same rate that you do when camping (including locking/unlocking doors - whatever you normally do).  If the battery still goes flat, then we can rule out trailer problems. 

sbhtennis

will try all the above thanks

GumboAndBoo2

I've had campsite dead battery issues with both my 2012 and 2016 Escapes.  Two episodes (one with each car) were without towing; one most recently with T@b.  Dealership has nothing to offer other than don't keep the doors open so long when unpacking.  So I've purchased a portable jump-start battery (NOCO GB40); used it once (it worked flawlessly) and now sleep better at night!

rh5555

I've never had an Escape, so I'm going out on a limb here.  If the problem is that every time a door gets opened, the car shifts to a mode that consumes considerable energy, then could you not just fool the car into thinking the doors are never opened?  A google search indicates that this is the door opening switch:

If you can construct something to hold this switch closed when the door is opened, maybe you could dodge the associated battery drain.

N7SHG_Ham

How long does it take to unload? And isn't Ford smart enough to kill power after 15 minutes? I have two vehicles that time out the interior lights after 15 minutes. Sounds like poor design at best on this vehicle.

I still think issue must be the Tab draining the battery under tow and just a couple door openings kills what is left in the battery.

pthomas745

< Dealership has nothing to offer other than don't keep the doors open so long when unpacking.

This is stupid on steroids. 

HikinMike

Does your Escape have a 4 way plug or a 7 way plug? Also, do you have a trailer towing package? And, does your trailer have LED lights? 

sbhtennis

My Escape has a 7 way plug HikinMike. The  plug receptacle on the TV was  added on by another company - Rack N Road. It is the T@B S ..not sure if they are LED lights. My guess is something to do with the 7 way ? 

And for the record I have become extra quick with loading and unloading and we turn off the interior lights anyway  when we get to campground 

pthomas745

Something major is draining your battery.  It isn't the 1 watt lights  in the car that come on when the doors are open.  You need a real automotive electrician to scope this out.

Marceline

sbhtennis said:

My Escape has a 7 way plug HikinMike. The  plug receptacle on the TV was  added on by another company - Rack N Road. It is the T@B S ..not sure if they are LED lights. My guess is something to do with the 7 way ? 

And for the record I have become extra quick with loading and unloading and we turn off the interior lights anyway  when we get to campground 

I had Rack n Road in San Rafael install my 7way a few years ago and I thought they were ok (had a bad prior experience with UHual). I would call them and calmly explain that you seem to be having some issues. I think that the comment posted by @rh5555 is probably closest to the mark. 

AnneDE

This may not be useful, but just in case: When we had this happen with our Subaru it turned out to be a software issue relating to the alternator and battery.  After the dealership updated the software the problem was solved.  Of course the dealership knew about the issue and update so it was easy.  

MiquelCamo

AnneDE said:

This may not be useful, but just in case: When we had this happen with our Subaru it turned out to be a software issue relating to the alternator and battery.  After the dealership updated the software the problem was solved.  Of course the dealership knew about the issue and update so it was easy.  

Ford dealership took 3 or 4 attempts to fix my 2014 F150 with the same issue. I found a service bulletin for a software update and told them on the second trip, third trip and fourth trip. They finally did the update and that fixed the problem. They started with a new battery, then said they couldn't find anything until the 4th trip in. The last time I offered lots of "encouragement" for a fix with the lemon law hanging over their head. 

HikinMike

https://www.fordescape.org/threads/towing-experience.16113/

This is an older link but it may provide some insight.