[Eugetastic]

Hello.
I bought my wife a 2013 Ford Escape SEL for a decent price thinking this will be the perfect family car. I just sold my Honda, so I took my wifes car to work today. In the morning everything was working and the car was great. I got off work today and turned the car on. The entire dashboard lights, gauges, speedometer, radio. I mean everything doesn't work. I drove the car home and it drove fine no noticeable problems.When i click the power button for the stereo it turns on and then right way the batter saver screen appears and it shuts off. This car is not safe to drive with the speedometer not working.
A/C, all outside and inside lighting, windows, locks, remote key all still work.

 

[centex]

You could go on a fishing trip of your own or guided by total guesses from this forum.

Probably the easiest thing for you to check is fuses, though I don't think there's a single fuse that affects only the things you mention not working that wouldn't also kill some things you say do still work.

Battery, grounds, fuses, harness splice TSB, body control module failure, etc, etc, etc, .... could be anything from simple to hard-to-find.

Logical systematic electrical circuit diagnosis means starting at the battery and going from there ...

Or you can go to the dealer, show 'em the symptoms, and let them diagnose it with the plug-in tools likely to most quickly reveal the problem.

Good luck, hope it's nothing too serious.

 

[Eugetastic]

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT!
I ended up going through the fuse list, and singled out 5 that could've possibly been the culprits. I pulled and checked F8, F22, 69, 79, 85. All of the fuses were still functional (non blown). 85 which is for "electronic 15 feed" looked a little corroded so i took a brush to the fuse, cleaned it then popped it back in. Started the car and the dash lights up, and everything works fine now. im not sure what the electronic 15 feed is for but that was the only dirty looking fuse.

 

[escape05xls]

Wasn't this what the latest recall was for?

 

[Eugetastic]

I haven't heard about this recall on the 2013 ford escapes. There is one for 2015. but that's because part of the instrument panel wasn't working due to a software update. not the whole thing. my entire cluster was dead.
Newer cars more problems. :/

 

[centex]

THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT!
I ended up going through the fuse list, and singled out 5 that could've possibly been the culprits. I pulled and checked F8, F22, 69, 79, 85. All of the fuses were still functional (non blown). 85 which is for "electronic 15 feed" looked a little corroded so i took a brush to the fuse, cleaned it then popped it back in. Started the car and the dash lights up, and everything works fine now. im not sure what the electronic 15 feed is for but that was the only dirty looking fuse.

Just FYI F85 is for heated seats controls, in-vehicle temperature sensor and roof opening panel module (per Workshop Manual Wiring Diagrams). So I'm guessing that one wasn't the real issue.

I suspect that what you accomplished by the pull-and-check of that list of fuses is, by briefly cutting the constant key-off power feed, allow one or more errant control modules to 'reset' and now behave 'nice'.

In any case, good work and we'll hope the fix 'sticks'.

Just for grins, IF it happens again, try pulling only F69 for the IPC module and see if that fixes it. If it does and you have warranty remaining, maybe share that info with the dealer and see if they'll run diagnostics on that module for no fee.

 

[Eugetastic]

46k miles D:. so i'm all on my own. i did call the dealer and all they said was i don't know, why don't you bring it in. and i wasn't able to find any info or similar problems. but if this issue repeats (i hope it doesn't) i will try pulling just 69.

 

[td2013]

The battery saver system might need to be reset by the dealer. It is capable of incorrectly thinking there is a voltage issue and shutdown the systems you specified although is not supposed to do so when the engine is running.

 

[centex]

46k miles D:. so i'm all on my own. ......

We'll hope for the best.

If nothing else perhaps your experience is a reminder to us that sometimes when things go wonky all that's needed is a true "power-off-re-boot" to allow things to reset and remember how to 'play nice'.

The only way to accomplish anything close to that 'across the board' on the FE is to pull the negative battery cable off the body ground lug for a few minutes (key-off does NOT equal systems power-off for much of the FE). That might be a worthwhile 'tool' in the 'DIY kit' for owners trying to fix mysterious electrical behaviors.

You did the selective equivalent of that on a few systems with your fuse-pulls.

 

[centex]

edit NM

 

[atlcarl69]

I suspect that what you accomplished by the pull-and-check of that list of fuses is, by briefly cutting the constant key-off power feed, allow one or more errant control modules to 'reset' and now behave 'nice'.

Totally agree with @centex, the Escape seems to be one of those cars that like to be rebooted every so often.
Also, since you saw some corrosion on that one fuse, you might have identified a 'phantom' power drain, this fuse along with a host of others are controlled by the Ignition Relay #16 in the engine fuse box, if this is faulty (sticking closed at times), that could explain the battery saver message, so you might want to play it safe and replace this relay.
I commonly try to examine and reseat all my fuses and relays at least once a year, a habit from owning many European cars (especially the ones with the old Lucas or Bosch fuses), of course, you should always do this with the battery negative disconnected (the good way to reboot)!

 

[Eugetastic]

i just don't want to spend 30mins-an hour digging the battery out of the FE. HORRIBLE placement if you ask me. but yes, this might have to be a project when the car is home and its light outside. Wifey and I are sharing a car right now.

 

[centex]

^^^^ Don't even try that (disconnection at the battery).

The correct way to do it as hinted by @atlcarl69 is to simply unbolt the big black battery negative lead from the 'jump-start post' over the fuse box near the driver side under the cowl. You never touch the battery, don't even remove its cover.

Don't let the removed negative battery lead touch anything metal when you pull it off.


That breaks the battery circuit completely and removes all battery current to all system in the car. Leave it off a few (15 +/-) minutes to let everything discharge/reset.

You'll get a spark when you replace it and the circuit is again completed, that's due to the small current flow to the 'key-off active systems', no worries.

Be sure to tighten the lug very well, it has anti-loosening threads which are 'tight' so it takes some force to get it truly tight. Don't be shy on the wrench ;-)

You'll lose many of your 'presets' when you do this (phone pairing, etc) and your tranny/engine will then need to go back through its 'adaptive learning curve' to get back to optimal performance based on your / your wife's driving habits. Small inconveniences, just give things a bit of driving time to get 'back to normal' like when the car was new.

BTW, if / when you do need to actually remove the battery, pull the negative lead at the jump post first as described above and tape over all of the metal end so it can't touch metal as you pull-out the battery. Then battery removal, which is a bit of a pain, will be MUCH safer and a spark/weld free process.

 

[atlcarl69]

^^^ exactly as @centex said!

 

[Eugetastic]

oooh. i didnt even know that. and thanks for letting me know about the adaptive learning curve (didn't know how to reset it). we bought the car used and always thought it shifted funny. ill unplug it just for that reason. lol

 

[Timmsy]

Thanks guys for the useful information. So disconnecting the negative (black) lead from the battery is simple (and for computer geeks like me) is the equivalent of a system reboot!

 

[Deesee44]

Just FYI F85 is for heated seats controls, in-vehicle temperature sensor and roof opening panel module (per Workshop Manual Wiring Diagrams). So I'm guessing that one wasn't the real issue.

I suspect that what you accomplished by the pull-and-check of that list of fuses is, by briefly cutting the constant key-off power feed, allow one or more errant control modules to 'reset' and now behave 'nice'.

In any case, good work and we'll hope the fix 'sticks'.

Just for grins, IF it happens again, try pulling only F69 for the IPC module and see if that fixes it. If it does and you have warranty remaining, maybe share that info with the dealer and see if they'll run diagnostics on that module for no fee.

Same issue here. Cluster went out the other day. Followed your advice. Pulled 69, cleaned her up and everything came back on. Thanks!!!