hi guys! i'm new here and i need major help. i'm not a "car girl" so please forgive me for not understanding your terms like "scanguage" and "ICE" and the 12V battery versus another one versus a deep cycle something-or-other. i don't have tools nor do i know anyone who knows anything about cars. i truly don't understand well over half the things i've read on this board tonight!

i have an '07 Ford Escape Hybrid. i live in NYC, and only drive about once a week on average. sometimes i run it twice in a week, sometimes not at all. here's the problem:
my car keeps dying. i go to drive, and when i turn the key, it's just silent for a few moments, and then clicks like crazy. the interior lights flash. but that's it. the car will NOT turn on.

for the past year, i've had it jump-started by AAA at least 12 times, if not more. i'm sure the tow company is sick of seeing me! i always unplug anything that would drain the battery, like a cell phone charger. (i know that not starting it often can contribute, but i had multiple surgeries on my feet, and there were literally weeks when i could not leave the apartment.)

is the main battery dead? (before i searched this forum, i didn't even know there was more than 1 battery in this car. like i said, NOT a car girl.) do i need a new one? how much do they generally run? any particular brands/models?
i have a Sears auto that's not too far, and i think there's a dealer nearby. i bought my car in CA, so taking it to the people i trusted is no longer an option!

i haven't done anything yet simply because i've been out of work (ineligible for unemployment or anything else, living off savings and credit cards) and i honestly don't even have a spare dollar. but i cannot risk needing to go to my doctor's appointment and having a dead car again. especially with winter coming up, i am scared i'll get stranded somewhere. i love my car and rely on it when my feet aren't able to hold up. i just need it to be reliable back!

PLEASE HELP!

 

It sounds like the 12 volt battery in the engine compartment. You can install it yourself - a good one costs around $100. It is also possible that you simply don't drive enough to keep it charged. In that case a trickle charger will work if the FEH is in a garage so that it can be near an electric outlet.

It would be a good idea to drive your car at least once per week, or have a friend do it, for at least 15 minutes (make sure the A/C is NOT on max, so the the engine runs all the time you are driving - the 12v only charges when the engine is running). That way you will keep the 12v battery charged.

EDIT: Your main battery is quite expensive, but the good news is that it carries a 10 year / 150K miles warranty. So if it fails, a Ford dealer must replace it, by law.

 

thank you Steve! unfortunately, i have no idea of how to install a battery, and i wouldn't dare attempt it. i also have no idea of what a trickle charger is. but no, i have street parking, so there's no outlet

i do try to drive it, but like i said, i am housebound a lot of the time. i also just moved here and don't know a single soul. not one person i've come across in my building speaks English, either. i'm really up a creek here.

 

Well, Sears will install one for you. Sorry to hear of your ill health. But you could still run the engine for 15 minutes a week, just while it is parked. I'm not sure how you keep the engine running while stationary - I have a 2008 and they changed the controls. Maybe someone else can provide that information?

 

would you recommend Sears over the Ford dealer?

 

Sears may well be cheaper than a car dealer.

If you need to, just idle it for 15 minutes each week: you can use the defrost switch position to keep the engine on. You don't really need to drive it every week, but 15 minutes or so of idling each week will suffice.

The "main battery" is usually called the traction battery and starts the engine. The 12v battery is used to float the electrical system and it does not start the engine. BUT it must be functional to start as it is used to close an electric relay to connect the traction battery to start the engine.

The flashing lights and clicking sounds like the 12v battery is almost gone. The fact that AAA could jump it tells me the traction battery is OK.

Bottom line: get a new 12v battery I've had good luck with Sears batteries over the years and they'll put it in for you. If they're not busy it'll take less than 15 minutes.

ICE - Internal Combustion Engine, where the gasoline gets burned to run things.
Traction battery - 330v Nickel Metal Hydride battery that runs the large electric motors that make the car go.
12v battery - used to close the relay that connects the traction battery into the system and floats the 12v side of the cars electric system.

PS - If you have the time right after installing the new 12v battery go for a long drive of a couple or more hours. This helps the new battery and will result in longer life. For example I recently replaced a 12v battery in my Suburban, it had a 75 month guarantee and went 92 months. This isn't required but is good practice.

 

thank you so much!

i went to Sears a few months ago, but i just could not afford to take any action. i also made an appt at my dealer tomorrow, just to see what they say.

what sucks is i really have been driving it at least once a week for the past 5-6 weeks. for it to just not start is causing me great distress. i never know when it will happen. once it was after midnight at the airport, picking up a friend! and after i'd been driving around for awhile!

anyone know how i can tell if i'm getting ripped off? i know these car guys see me walk (limp) in and just see dollar signs above my head.

 

OK - Here's your choices.
I think your battery is old enough that one or more of the cells are shorting. This happens because the different chemical parts of the battery are different physical sizes. So they start spalling off as the battery ages. They collect on the bottom and when they get high enough they short out cells. Nothing you can do to repair this. It'll keep getting worse, so you need to get a new 12v battery.

So what can you do?
1st - you need a battery of the right physical size. You may be able to find one around $40 or $50 bucks. It won't be great but it'll last probably 3 to 4 years.

2nd - Sears is not the only place to get batteries. Look in the news papers: Pep Boys, Autozone, NAPA, a lot of tire stores sell batteries, etc. Their advertisements will show their smallest cheapest battery. That won't necessarily be the one you need because it's just their come on for advertising purposes. You battery is most likely a somewhat different size, shape, etc.

3rd - Go in to the store you think has the least expensive battery and tell them you need the cheapest battery that will fit your Escape Hybrid. These folks always have a bottom end of the line type battery. It'll have a guarantee of maybe 2-3 months and a rated lifetime of probably 24 months or 36 months. This what you need. I expect they'll install it for free. It's a no-brainer for these guys. Just ask for help.

4th - With a new battery you should drive it as soon as installed for a couple of hours as I mentioned in an earlier post if you can. Not required just good practice.

5th - For the first few weeks start it up for at least 15 minutes every week.

6th - After a few weeks of, hopefully, uneventful starts, you can go to every other week.

7th - These are capable of going for 4-6 weeks between starts. I think three weeks is long enough but if you have to a few longer periods won't hurt.

As for getting ripped off if the price of the proffered battery is approaching $100 just look them in the eye and say "I can't afford that." If they respond that's what it costs, turn and leave.

Get two sets of keys and leave the car on and locked when you go in. It'll cycle the engine but remain on the traction (330V) battery so that if they can't sell you the price battery you want you can drive away without a jump start from them.

 

thank you!!

i went to the dealer today, after i made an appointment using their online scheduler. imagine my surprise when they said they had no technicians on duty, everyone was at lunch, and they really only do oil changes on Saturdays. really? such a disappointment, so i told them i was going to Sears.

i got the same kind of battery the FEH came with. it was the same price as when i checked a few months ago, and with installation, etc, the total was $125. i hope i didn't get ripped off. but i really didn't have the time, energy, nor patience to shop around like i normally would. and i did the whole spiel about getting the cheapest for my needs. the battery was priced at $94.99.

i was only able to drive around for about 45 minutes. i will do my best to get the car running more than once a week--which is what i've been doing for over a month. (it all depends on my feet surgeries. like i said, sometimes i am literally housebound for weeks. there is no such thing as popping outside to turn my car on.)
i appreciate everyone's help here. i will be coming back to this forum if i need any more assistance. you guys are great!

 

You did just fine.

45 minutes is good. The idea is to get the chemistry inside the battery settled out for the way your system operates. Since you don't have the normal alternator but rather a DC-DC convertor things are somewhat different. But 45 minutes will help a good bit.

Remember that the only thing the 12v Battery does to start the engine is pull in a relay. The big battery does the rest. So I suspect that your car will do just fine now.

Good luck with healing up.

PS You don't need a technician to swap a battery! Hope they learned something, but suspect they didn't really care.