Electrical Issues

[chrisgig]

Hey all. Just bought a 2024 Big Bend Sasquatch in August. Last week, got a notification on my Ford Pass app that remote start wasn’t available and to drive it to recharge the battery. Didn’t think much of it. Then, that night I was driving it and the whole dashboard lit up with warnings, powertrain issue, hill start assist issue, service engine soon, pre collision assist not available, etc. it wouldn’t go more than 20 mph.

Turned it off and restarted twice. After the second time the check engine light was on but it drove normally. I made an appointment at the dealer but it was a week out. Two days later, I went to start it and it had no power. Completely dead. Had it towed to the dealer a week ago today.

They’re telling me they don’t know what’s wrong with it and have reached out to Ford engineering. It’s been days of this and they still are waiting.

Has anyone else here had any issues like this? It only has 3900 miles so I’m super bummed about this. And extremely frustrated to spend $50K on a truck that appears to be junk.

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[Herbie]

Hey all. Just bought a 2024 Big Bend Sasquatch in August. Last week, got a notification on my Ford Pass app that remote start wasn’t available and to drive it to recharge the battery. Didn’t think much of it. Then, that night I was driving it and the whole dashboard lit up with warnings, powertrain issue, hill start assist issue, service engine soon, pre collision assist not available, etc. it wouldn’t go more than 20 mph.

Turned it off and restarted twice. After the second time the check engine light was on but it drove normally. I made an appointment at the dealer but it was a week out. Two days later, I went to start it and it had no power. Completely dead. Had it towed to the dealer a week ago today.

They’re telling me they don’t know what’s wrong with it and have reached out to Ford engineering. It’s been days of this and they still are waiting.

Has anyone else here had any issues like this? It only has 3900 miles so I’m super bummed about this. And extremely frustrated to spend $50K on a truck that appears to be junk.

Not a piece of junk. My money says bad battery. That or possibly the battery terminals are not tightened down enough (was a popular problem early on). When I got those symptoms my dealership swapped the battery and the problems were solved. Took them forever to diagnose because the battery wasn't showing a voltage dip. Eventually they did get a dip in the reading and were able to warranty swap the battery. Otherwise, I have no idea.

 

[C1 Ret]

Hey all. Just bought a 2024 Big Bend Sasquatch in August. Last week, got a notification on my Ford Pass app that remote start wasn’t available and to drive it to recharge the battery. Didn’t think much of it. Then, that night I was driving it and the whole dashboard lit up with warnings, powertrain issue, hill start assist issue, service engine soon, pre collision assist not available, etc. it wouldn’t go more than 20 mph.

Turned it off and restarted twice. After the second time the check engine light was on but it drove normally. I made an appointment at the dealer but it was a week out. Two days later, I went to start it and it had no power. Completely dead. Had it towed to the dealer a week ago today.

They’re telling me they don’t know what’s wrong with it and have reached out to Ford engineering. It’s been days of this and they still are waiting.

Has anyone else here had any issues like this? It only has 3900 miles so I’m super bummed about this. And extremely frustrated to spend $50K on a truck that appears to be junk.

I installed a radio in my Sas Wildtrack Bronco about 6 months after I got the vehicle (2022). Immediately after starting the vehicle I got the same cascade of warnings that you got. I turned it off, rechecked my wiring and started it again. No issues after that and when I took it to the dealer, they indicated they could run a diagnostic but it would take a few hours and if they didn't find the fault, it would cost me $200 for labor. It has also been a couple weeks and the service guy said if it wasn't happening again, it was unlikely they would find a fault (??). It hasn't happened since then, but I still get a random "hood ajar" warning and an occasional "tamper alarm". I have also had a random thing when I park after driving, the system goes into a shutdown mode to "save the battery." Curious, I put a trickle charger on it and it showed my battery at about 20%, even though I had just been driving it. I let if fully charge and since then, I have not had the system shut down warning. All very odd, but I suspect it might be the battery and I plan on replacing it soon.

I would suggest taking the battery for test while it's under load. A static voltage test may not indicate any problems, but when the system is under load and if there is an issue with battery, that is when the voltage drop will become apparent. Hope this helps. Cheers

 

[BigCat90]

Some reports say bronco sports while others say broncos. Perhaps it’s worth looking into
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...roncos-mavericks-battery-failure/77908522007/

 

[Ducati1098]

Some reports say bronco sports while others say broncos. Perhaps it’s worth looking into
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...roncos-mavericks-battery-failure/77908522007/

Not for full size broncos

 

[KillerPenz]

Like others have said, it could be the battery.

But I always say 1st thing to check with these electrical issues is your fuse box. Make sure ALL 3 of those plugs (underneath) are screwed in tight (from the top). 2-3 years ago that was a big problem around here. And I will add, I've put aux switches in (2) Broncos over the last 6 months, ran in to all kinds of ... won't start, check engine lights, no switches.... and so on, and both times it was because the plugs underneath weren't tightened all the way.

 

[chrisgig]

Not a piece of junk. My money says bad battery. That or possibly the battery terminals are not tightened down enough (was a popular problem early on). When I got those symptoms my dealership swapped the battery and the problems were solved. Took them forever to diagnose because the battery wasn't showing a voltage dip. Eventually they did get a dip in the reading and were able to warranty swap the battery. Otherwise, I have no idea.

Not a piece of junk. My money says bad battery. That or possibly the battery terminals are not tightened down enough (was a popular problem early on). When I got those symptoms my dealership swapped the battery and the problems were solved. Took them forever to diagnose because the battery wasn't showing a voltage dip. Eventually they did get a dip in the reading and were able to warranty swap the battery. Otherwise, I have no idea.

Thanks Herbie. I’ll ask them to check that. Hopefully that’s it! Will let you know how it goes.

I installed a radio in my Sas Wildtrack Bronco about 6 months after I got the vehicle (2022). Immediately after starting the vehicle I got the same cascade of warnings that you got. I turned it off, rechecked my wiring and started it again. No issues after that and when I took it to the dealer, they indicated they could run a diagnostic but it would take a few hours and if they didn't find the fault, it would cost me $200 for labor. It has also been a couple weeks and the service guy said if it wasn't happening again, it was unlikely they would find a fault (??). It hasn't happened since then, but I still get a random "hood ajar" warning and an occasional "tamper alarm". I have also had a random thing when I park after driving, the system goes into a shutdown mode to "save the battery." Curious, I put a trickle charger on it and it showed my battery at about 20%, even though I had just been driving it. I let if fully charge and since then, I have not had the system shut down warning. All very odd, but I suspect it might be the battery and I plan on replacing it soon.

I would suggest taking the battery for test while it's under load. A static voltage test may not indicate any problems, but when the system is under load and if there is an issue with battery, that is when the voltage drop will become apparent. Hope this helps. Cheers

thanks for the info. Will let you know how it goes!

Like others have said, it could be the battery.

But I always say 1st thing to check with these electrical issues is your fuse box. Make sure ALL 3 of those plugs (underneath) are screwed in tight (from the top). 2-3 years ago that was a big problem around here. And I will add, I've put aux switches in (2) Broncos over the last 6 months, ran in to all kinds of ... won't start, check engine lights, no switches.... and so on, and both times it was because the plugs underneath weren't tightened all the way.

thanks, appreciate the info

 

[Dreamer]

As many have said, it probably could be the battery.
I have a 2024 bronco Badlands. It was built on January 2, delivered January 27, 2024. Had some unusual issues ( electrical ) Starting a few days after delivery Such as the auto start stop wasn’t working and several of the warning lights would come on and then go off while driving. When I checked the battery, it was not fully charged. Put it on a trickle charger overnight. The next day it started as usual. And have not had any electrical issues since then.

good luck

 

[chrisgig]

Thanks, hopefully that’s all it is. Glad yours is going well now

 

[BadlandsA51]

It probably needs a battery. Modern cars freak out when the battery is failing. All kinds of wild stuff can happen.

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