Auto Stop/Start *USED* to be disabled- Now it's back

[Tradman2018]

Hi folks

I just bought a well-kept 2018 Expedition Limited and I never touched the Auto Stop/Start and in fact, while getting used to the new vehicle, I noticed in the menu that it said Disabled. I do not recall if it said any other word along with Disabled, but all I know is that it did not work and I was happy that it did not work. Well, I got a new battery earlier this week and then today (like an idiot) I pressed the button on the top of the dash console and not only is the Auto Stop/Start *working* I also cannot turn it off other than via the button.

What is the deal? Had the previous owner somehow had it turned off?

Thanks!
Eric

 

[kryichek]

I'm going to guess they use Forscan to disable it.

 

[2018expyXLT4wd]

Perhaps the previous owner had an AUTOSTOP ELIMINATOR device installed, then removed it before turning the vehicle over to you. The vendor offers two install options: a) INLINE between the switch and the connecting harness (I’ve had installed since 2019 with no issues, and b) an install into the diagnostic port. Without the device, ENABLED was the default when the vehicle starts up - the AUTOSTOP ELIMINATOR device remembers the current state of the Autostop function and maintains that state between startups. I don’t believe (at least back in 2019) that the default state could be modified via Forscan. https://www.autostopeliminator.com/...on-autostop-eliminator?variant=29396654161984

 

[Jettix2]

My bet is the old battery was just weak enough that the auto stop/start didn’t function as I believe I read that was disabled if the voltage isn’t high enough. That fresh new battery messed ya over lol.

 

[LegalBrief]

Your battery change was done by you with out a current maintainer, the system did hard reboot and wiped any settings. When changing a battery now a days a) you maintain a trickle to the vehicle at all time, b) you need to marry the battery to the car, c) if you are now using AGM or Li you need to be sure it’s fully charged

 

[2020-MAX-Limited]

So my story is similar. I bought my 2020 in December 2022 with 72K miles and the car/battery had been sitting on the lot for several months before we purchased it. The charge was marginal, enough to start the engine but not enough for all the comfort features. My Ford Pass App was constantly saying “Low Battery, Sleep Mode” after parking the car. AS/S never kicked on and screen said “Engine Running due to Battery Charging" I started putting a trickle charger on the battery when parked, and suddenly the AS/S started working as expected. It’s taken a little getting used to, especially when bringing the car to a stop and shutting down, but I’m glad to have it working now. The issue I can’t get used to is when stopping in the garage the AS/S shuts off the engine, but when I shift to P the engine starts again before I have the chance to push the power button. I think I need to get in the habit of pushing the power button without shifting to P so the engine stays off.

 

[Tradman2018]

Hey everyone, great replies! Some of you have touched on my thoughts as well. Just to recap (especially since we will never truly know now I guess) for those that may see this in the future, I will document in some greater detail based on your collective thoughts so far.

1) the vehicle was used and as far as I could tell, had the original Motorcraft battery. I also *never touched* the console switch and was pleasantly surprised that it did not work, since my wife has an Escape that has this feature and I hate it. Hers hasn't worked in at least well over a year or maybe even 2 years. Maybe a battery issue, or a fuse? It cranks fine.
2) I went to crank it up at the school earlier this week and it made that weird sound when batteries are weak and did not crank.
3) I waited a moment, attempted to crank again and it cranked, but I got ALL SORTS of screens telling me about malfunctions, etc. and the running boards did not deploy. I cautiously put in Drive and went to the next school to get my wife and younger child and left it running while waiting a few minutes for them.
4) Went straight to Advance Auto, turned it off, and had them put the battery tester on it. It immediately said "Failed/Replace" or something like that. He felt it happened too quick and performed it again. Same result.
5) I bought a battery (AGM, I have no idea *yet* what that means, I'll educate myself) and they changed them out. I cranked her up and no issues. I checked the radio station and the phone connection. My iPhone was still connected and the radio stations were not lost. ***the TIME was off by one hour***
6) The store manager walked out and said, "hey we need to put this trickle device on to save all your settings" and then I told him the battery was already changed and that no settings were lost.
7) Drove home happy to have a new battery and it wasn't until two days later I foolishly touched the switch on the console and now it "works properly".

And so, that's how all that happened. I'm going to assume that most likely the system had been disabled by the lady who had it before I bought it. But, it could have been a battery level issue too I suppose.

Eric

**EDIT** It's also important to note that on the driver's info screen, it showed the system being disabled, but the light on the dash console was never illuminated indicating that it had been disabled. I just watched how to install the device and it's too easy to not do if you have the money to spend. Thanks for the link!

 

[GixxerJasen]

Did it say just "Disabled" or "Disabled due to charging" or something like that. If the battery is weak, it'll turn off Auto Start/Stop. It'll also turn off other things too, like the fob sensors on passenger doors. New strong batteries make the truck happy and it turns all those features back on. My 2019 worked great on the original battery till last winter when it started dying. I had all the above symptoms and swapped for a new battery and all the features came back.

Side note, you are also in Georgia. Possibly it was disabled through the summer also due to outside temps, ASS doesn't work in the middle of summer here in Texas because it's fighting the blazing heat. Now that it's cooler it's happy to start/stop all the time. Could be similar to you, or a combination of both of the above.

 

[Tradman2018]

Hi Jasen. Good question. All the features worked perfectly well other than this particular system being disabled. Now, it may have been that since I rarely turn off the HVAC that it kept it on, but it's been much milder the past three weeks that I've owned it. I'm not certain of the message details other than seeing it say Disabled (no mention of charging at all).

 

[Zig10]

It was the low battery that was disabling the ASS. I went through the same thing a year ago with my 2018.