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Battery Charging

14K views 21 replies 5 participants last post by  stmar 
#1 ·
We live in the country so good tires, full tank of gas and strong battery are essential. How do you keep your battery charged? On my trucks I put the charger on them periodically, charge at 10 amps for a few hours to get them back to full charge. They do not have the amount of electronics as the MKC so I did not want to make a mistake in case the charging protocol was different. I do have a whole house surge suppressor in my main electrical panel so that should take care of surges/spikes.
 
#3 ·
When we first got the MKC we spent some time playing with the options and setting things up without starting the vehicle. Low battery warning came on. Have driven it daily since then, some 200 mile trips. It sat idle for 4 days and when I went to start it the screen had a warning that the electronics had been shut down to save battery. It started right up so no problem. Is this normal or should I put an external charge on it to avoid issues?
 
#4 ·
I put on about 4K miles a year. I keep the charger on my battery via the standard plug and attachment to the battery via eyelets. I use a charger on vehicles that don't get out often.
 
#5 ·
No the message is not normal after sitting for 4 days. There have been issues with components draining the battery and there are TSBs to resolve the issue. Most of them are linked to the approach lighting detection. A car should be able to sit for several days, even weeks without the battery draining.
 
#10 ·
" I attached trickle charger leads to the battery and under the wipers where I connect it to the Charger. Don't want dead batteries from not running."
Any hints on doing this? When you say under the wipers is there a place to secure the plug without interfering with normal operations? Sounds handy, I have leads wired to my tractor and ATV batteries.
 
#21 ·
I have the cable loose under the rear of the hood. It is not secured but I can easily secure it with strong waterproof tape under the lip of the hood in front of the windshield. I will be getting a longer lead to run to the front somewhere. I don't want to have to open the hood to connect it. So far so good.
 
#17 ·
I have this problem with my 2015 MKC. Battery drains after a day or 2 of sitting. I've had it in to 2 dealerships 6 times, not to mention I've had to jump it about a dozen times over the last year.

No one has been able to figure it out yet. The last dealership, on the third time after replacing the control module on the second time, gave it back to me without doing anything at all to it. Told me they couldn't find anything draining the battery and to let them know if it happened again. Really? 2 weeks later it happened again. I'll be headed to a third dealership this week.

I've actually programmed an auto start on the vehicle twice a day now to charge it for 10 minutes morning and night. A huge waste of fuel and completely ridicules.
 
#18 ·
I had the same problem with my 2015 MKC. There are a couple of TSBs for battery draining issues related to the approach lighting constantly trying to detect the key fob (a couple of modules located in the rear driver side door need to be replaced). Another issue is the rear hatch not cycling off after closing.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I was told today the new batteries are AGM. I installed a charger lead that goes to my battery tender on the wall.

I ran the leads under the rear of the windshield where it cannot be pinched by the fender/hood seam. I ordered a longer lead to see if I can run it instead to the front of the vehicle.

I also ordered a faraday bag from Amazon to keep my key in since we hang them by the garage door. That shoul eliminate any communication back and forth to the MKC

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GDD35GH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F1LVZRF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SP1297-Automatic-Battery-Maintainer/dp/B0756PV96N/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542678568&sr=8-3&keywords=schumacher+battery+tender
 
#22 ·
This is what I ended up doing: Had issues with my Schumacher 1.5 amp charger maintainer, it would not go to trickle on the MKC or my truck on a consistent basis. I got a Ctek MXS 5, this is the Swedish manufacturer that supplies high end companies like Porsche, Ferrari, etc. and was touted by Jay Leno the car guy. It is an 8 stage unit that goes through testing and progressions depending on the battery type and condition. Put it on the F150 to test and left it for a few days, worked good so I tried it on the MKC, again it worked good. Then for the heck of it I put the Schumacher 1.5 on the truck and it went to float as it is supposed to. I think the Ctek actually got the battery to a point where the smaller charger could maintain. Just thought I would share my experience in case anyone was interested.
 
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