2027 Ford electric truck replaces 12V with 48V zonal architecture

[thum]

>> Is anyone going to actually answer my question?

If I understand your question correctly, you're worried about your vehicle dying while you're away. Gotcha. I did a quick Amazon search, and I saw a bunch of 48V trickle chargers. So if the Fathom does have a 48V battery, and if those trickle chargers are compatible, would that answer your question?

If it doesn't have a low voltage battery, then the issue would be the high voltage battery draining. That has actually happened on some BEVs. In that case, I assume just leaving it plugged into your home charger would resolve that problem?

In other words, it never goes low because it's never away from a trickle charge for a long time.

I mean Ford could design the software so that the HV battery trickle charges the LV battery once it gets below a certain level. It’s not like you have to start an engine.

 

[metroshot]

You are going to hate this place for the next few months. I mean that in the nicest way possible.

If it is anything like the Maverick announcement in Summer of 2021, 98% of the posts and comments on here are going to be wild speculation and people pulling crap out of thin air. For probably the next 6-8 months. And that is based on what we saw for a vehicle that was built on a tried and true platform (the Ford C2 platform that is shared with the Bronco Sport and Escape).

The Fathom is an entire different beast. I think it will be fun to see who was able to predict what (and how early they did so), and who was WAY off when the chips are all on the table.

^^^ this 100% correct.

@WXman:
Message forums like this and many others are full of speculators, wannabes, armchair critics, and keyboard warriors posting from AI.

Based on past Ford EV rollouts, there were a lot of people speculating the HV battery would drain and unable to work if left parked for a long period of time - as if their knowledge of an alkaline battery would apply.

Reality: no energy loss like an alkaline battery.

I have / had 3 EVs and none of them them drained just sitting idle.

Just stay on course with this forum and be entertained - that's how I stay sane....

 

[Gloff]

^^^ this 100% correct.

@WXman:


I have / had 3 EVs and none of them them drained just sitting idle.

You've never had a Tesla then, those suckers lose at least 1%/day just sitting unplugged.

-Sean

 

[WXman]

^^^ this 100% correct.

@WXman:
Message forums like this and many others are full of speculators, wannabes, armchair critics, and keyboard warriors posting from AI.

Based on past Ford EV rollouts, there were a lot of people speculating the HV battery would drain and unable to work if left parked for a long period of time - as if their knowledge of an alkaline battery would apply.

Reality: no energy loss like an alkaline battery.

I have / had 3 EVs and none of them them drained just sitting idle.

Just stay on course with this forum and be entertained - that's how I stay sane....

Do I need to get out crayons? There is already a CONFIRMED issue with 12V battery systems draining quickly on electric vehicles, including F-150 Lightning. AND, I had the issue myself on my own Lightning.

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=12v+ev+battery+drains+quickly

There, I googled it for you. Plan some time for the pages and pages of reading.

There is no "speculation". It's an issue. That's established.

Now, my only question was how will Ford deal with it if they remove the common 12V battery? Again, a guy cannot walk into a Walmart or auto parts store and grab 48V batteries off the shelf. Likewise, Ford can't kill all power via software because then apps and key fobs won't even work.

And so, we will have to wait and see how Ford will approach this issue. BUT, until they tell us I still say it sounds like this will get expensive. I suppose a 48V trickle charger could work, but what a hassle to have to do that all the time as a fact of ownership.

Hopefully Ford won't wait long to stop dropping these details.

 

[RonTCat]

>> Normally you need a low voltage battery of some sort.

The first posting on this thread explicitly says the UEV does not have a low voltage battery.

48v is low voltage.

 

[Maverstang]

Now, my only question was how will Ford deal with it if they remove the common 12V battery? Again, a guy cannot walk into a Walmart or auto parts store and grab 48V batteries off the shelf. Likewise, Ford can't kill all power via software because then apps and key fobs won't even work.

What a silly comment. No one could go into a store and buy a 12v battery in 1950 either when all cars had 6v batteries. Guess what happened next?!

And your mind lives in such a static world that you cannot even conceive of a design without a LV battery where the keyless entry module directly taps into the traction battery.

 

[metroshot]

Do I need to get out crayons? There is already a CONFIRMED issue with 12V battery systems draining quickly on electric vehicles, including F-150 Lightning. AND, I had the issue myself on my own Lightning.

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=12v+ev+battery+drains+quickly

There, I googled it for you. Plan some time for the pages and pages of reading.

There is no "speculation". It's an issue. That's established.

Now, my only question was how will Ford deal with it if they remove the common 12V battery? Again, a guy cannot walk into a Walmart or auto parts store and grab 48V batteries off the shelf. Likewise, Ford can't kill all power via software because then apps and key fobs won't even work.

And so, we will have to wait and see how Ford will approach this issue. BUT, until they tell us I still say it sounds like this will get expensive. I suppose a 48V trickle charger could work, but what a hassle to have to do that all the time as a fact of ownership.

Hopefully Ford won't wait long to stop dropping these details.

Yes you do need to get your crayons out.

It's easy to find complaints, user errors causing 12V parasitic drain, and even experience a 12V failure.

There are way more EV owners that have never had an issue with 12V batteries which you never hear about.

The "common" 12V is no longer the old lead acid battery.

Current EVs use AGM 12V batteries which are more durable, deeper discharge and BMS manageable.

48V is for a mid level power transmission for thinner wiring and efficient module operation.

12V is for legacy items that some accessories use.

 

[paneubert]

Current EVs use AGM 12V batteries which are more durable, deeper discharge and BMS manageable.

Not just EVs. The Maverick (I know, I know, I am a broken record who just keeps yelling MAVERICK), moved to an AGM battery after there WERE some drain and deep sleep issues. It seems to have solved all the complaints. There are many ways to skin a cat. Another is to hack a bit and up the charging percentage on the 12v battery. The Maverick is notorious for having the max SoC set at something like 80% on the 12v. I and many others upped ours via ForScan to something better like 90 or 95%.

 

[jsus]

And it hasn't been incorporated in vehicles as of 2026. Pull the negative battery cable on your vehicle for 15 minutes and then hook it back up and see how many settings/presets/features you have to reconfigure. Better yet, pull the negative battery cable and see if you can even get INTO the vehicle.

Is anyone going to actually answer my question?

My Escape's factory 12V battery died multiple times on me before replacement, on occasion presumably overnight or longer.

What settings did I have to restore? The IPC returned to its default settings, so I had to change the selected screens (re-enable both Trip computers, EV coach, etc.). That's it. Memory seat positions were retained, etc.

(It has since been replaced/upgraded to a 48H6 AGM).