C Max Question

super_camper wrote:
I've towed an Edge and Flex for 5 years and looking at what to replace with the Flex with and considering a hybrid so interested in this topic.

Every ford vehicle I have ever had has 4 positions for the key; off; acc; on; start. Do the hybrids have another position?

No, they have those same positions. DouglasC was talking about how he puts his switch kind of in between the ACC and OFF position. Apparently by doing that, on his 2012 Fusion it shuts everything off and prevents battery drain.

I have always left the key in the acc position and never had a problem with a dead battery so never had the need for a charge wire. It sounds as though I will need the charge wire if I buy a 2013 or later hybrid, is this correct?

..Yes. As I mentioned earlier, on our 2013 Fusion, I put an ammeter across the battery wire with ignition in ACC position, everything turned off, and tranny in neutral. Still, there was a draw of around 3 amps. Sooo, at least with the 2013 models, leaving it in ACC position results in 3 amps of draw from the battery. Thats enough draw I found, that after 4 hours towing the battery was so weak it wouldn't even operate the power locks. That happened exactly once to us, at which point I installed the charge line. :)

You might get around that by pulling some fuses, or putting ignition switch in the 'in-between' position as DouglasC does. IMO, though, running a charge line is a better solution. That way, you never have to worry about battery drain no matter what brake system you use or how you set it up. That, and like I said before, there may be some other reason Ford wants you to put it in ACC position we don't know about, and I'd rather stick with that recommendation if possible.

Will