Seems to me I asked the friend what was done to start his FEH, but he didn't seem to have been very interested in how it was done.

I've read the self-discharge rate of the HV battery is such that it can be a problem in just a month. I agree with you that it would still retain more charge than one that has sat for years. But presumably these cells have no charge when they are manufactured, so there must be a way of initially charging them. I'm surprised finding the answer is so difficult. Maybe the individual cells could be removed and charged with a (perhaps modified) household NiMH flashlight battery charger.

 

The HVB does not have a problem for several months and it can be fully charged by holding the go pedal down about 1/3 of the way in Park. The ICE will run and charge the HVB to about 80%. I believe it can last a year or more that way. The 12 vdc battery can have a problem in a month.
The problem may not be HVB charge as I've said several times. It may be a software problem because the ICE and eCVT came from a different car. I know they are the same parts but they may have different digital identities and until they are "introduced" to each other, even if that's possible, they won't work together. It may do no good to charge individual cells and I believe they may be welded together. As the referenced thread said, only Ford can do this. Contact the after market HVB sellers and see what they say. You are spinning your wheels on your present track.

 

Just lost a 1 1/2 hours response in this system and staring over and a much more brief approach bulletized:
Thanks lolder and xspirit for your continued efforts
Not going to Ford. $5 to $6K valued car. Makes no sense to put a $6K Ford battery in it plus thousands to diagnose.
NJ Hybrid center. Fords hardly an issue due to robust battery protection. Mostly Toyota and Honda business right now.
Recommends buying a salvage battery guaranteed in the $600 range.
He knows of no compatibility or rest issues.
lolder, I have not changed anything hardware digitally. All the same. But it invites the question is there a reset needed if the battery is and what is the process?
There is nothing complicated about the HV system disassembly and reassembly. Just a few robust and different connectors.
xspirit, thanks I will check for the gas safety in the area you said as I never found that in my earlier efforts.
Can't find any info in the Ford shop manuals on the HV system. Can someone point me in the right area?
Daughter's SUV not mine. Has $5K to $5K value. So Ford approach is out of the question. Will cost more to fix and would be better off parting it out.

 

As a follow up to my last stressed response above (due to losing 1 1/2 hours of typoing work) which is why all the typos, I did check the gas safety switch and pushed to reset if needed. Still no difference.

Still looking for/where a Ford description of what is involved in a reset/flash/etc., if the battery is changed. Can't find anything in the shop manuals. Anybody know?

Hoping to get a used guaranteed hybrid battery and will keep you posted.

 

Finally I had a chance to talk to the friend with the 2010 FEH. He said it had to be towed twice after it sat for a month or more without starting. Both times involved a repair. One time a relay had to be replaced, the other time the computer that controls the hybrid electrical system had to be replaced. The report was that the computer had a bad gasket and had suffered water damage. How it suffered water damage is a mystery since it was kept in an underground garage. Both events were covered under warranty, so there was no reason to know the details.

Unfortunately for this topic, these problems don't shed any light on starting an FEH after it has totally discharged, or when combining parts from different vehicles.

I'll take a look at my Ford service manual and see if it covers changing the HV battery.

 

You said earlier you got no codes from your scanner, is your scanner capable of reading battery codes? If the battery is super low the battery computer will report a code. If you are not seeing any codes then maybe your scanner can't see them. The jump start button does charge the battery and you should be able to see the result if your diagnostic tool can read the high voltage battery voltage. A few jump starts with a charger connected should bring the high voltage battery up enough to turn over the engine. Unless the engine is the problem and not the battery! When you try to start the car, what exactly happens? What messages are in the dash? Lots of simple stuff can cause the engine not to start so I would exhaust every one of those before buying a new (or used) high voltage battery.

 

I just looked up the HV battery sections in the Ford service manual for the '09 Hybrid. It details only the mechanical procedure for replacing the HV battery, and not a process to "teach" the vehicle that it has a replacement battery. This suggests there is no such procedure.

Instead, it lists a large number of trouble codes and a fault diagnosis chart, and how to deal with each item. It fully describes safety matters related to replacing the battery. For instance, what gloves to use.

It warns that you should try a code scanner on a known-good FEH to ensure that it is compatible with the repair vehicle.

There are an almost scary number of things that can be amiss with the electronic systems related to the HV battery.

 

I agree, the OP is assuming that the HV battery state of charge is the issue but (from how I read it) has no way to verify that his FEH has a fully functioning PCM and ignition/ generation system other than readings from a code scanner. I'd suspect even with a totally fresh charged HVB the OP's vehicle will still be no start.
I've read of very few successful ICE swaps (esp. performed by non-Ford hybrid techs) in FEHs over the years and as these vehicles age it's not getting any easier. Looks like the OP will be dealing with trying to find a point to walk away.

 

I don't know what has happened between the OP and his Ford dealer for him to say that is "not an option" but that is his only option. He can't sell it or even part it out without some assurance that what he is selling has some value. It certainly seems worth a few hundred dollars to tow it to Ford and have them diagnose the DTCs for a few hours. He doesn't need to spend six Gs on their replacement HVB.

 

FJordhybrid, xspirit, D-mac, and lolder, thanks for the good comments. I did a trade of the two hybrid batteries plus some cash with a Used parts recycler with a good reputation in the area. I have 3 weeks for a full return for the cash plus one of the 2 batteries and also a 6 month warranty on the battery I got if it checks out OK. However the used parts recycler doesn't know any more about these batteries than anyone else. He can confirm that he had possession of the battery for 53 days and that it came out of a 2006 FEH with 82K miles on it. However he has no idea how long it sat before he got it. So I could have traded for 2 low charged batteries for another low charged battery.

I only put it in the car quickly before leaving for a long overdue vacation over the long holiday weekend, but as we all suspected, no change. Still a dead hybrid system. But again we don't know the charge level of the battery. By the way nothing happens when I turn the key related to he hybrid battery. Of course the P/S ad brakes energized due to the uique hybrid sytem, but no effort to try and turn over the ICE or provide movement to the vehicle.

Guys the only reason I am suspecting the battery is because I have seen a lot of evidence pointing to these batteries discharge very quickly on their own, even brand new. I believe that is what the issue is that Ford is dealing with when they tell you to runun the FEH at least once a month for 15 minutes. I also note that with my portable battery powered tools with the same tykpe of batteries. That and the fact that I am certain there was nothing else wrong with any of the equipment that I used to make one FEH out of 2. So that leaves either the charge state of the Hybrid battery or one of the following issues:

Not put together correctly: This could be the case but there are hundreds of things to hook up for the ICE and only a few obvous items for the hybrid battery system. I have no leftover connectors to connect. I really doubt something is not installed properly or not installed at all.

Needs a reset, reflash, or some kind of computer download to either treat a new set of electronics or to follow some Ford required process. I seriously doubt this is an issue as I don't see this in the shop manual for resets nor did the New Jersey Hybrid service center mention anything about issues with that.

But it is obvious to me I have to use the diagnostics to find out what is going on. Currently I don' get anything on the center screen other than a blank layout when I push the battery symbol and the only code in the drivers dash is "Stop Safely Now" and of course the wrench and traingle symbol are lit up. But again my code reader is not getting anything when plugged in below the dash and a scanning function is done. It is not the cheapest OBD II scanner out there but it is not an expensive one either. About $70. It has worked for twenty to thirty cars over the last several years. But there is a strong possibility I need a better scanner for reading the hybrid related codes. Anyone know?

My only other resort is to jumper the interlock just above the + and - prongs on the battery and carefully, with proper safery precautions including rubber gloves and a meter, read the voltage out of the battery. It would give some sort of idea of charge. I prefer to read the codes while the battery is left hooked up properly in the car.

Any advice on scanners etc would be appreciated.

Doug