I have an 08 FEH, just over 218k miles on it. A few days ago my son and I were running errands for a few hours with nothing out of the ordinary. He dropped me off and had 1 more place to go. On his way back home turning a corner going over a ridge, he said he felt like the car bottomed out, the engine hesitated/stalled and the Stop Safely Now light came on. He pulled to the side of the road and turned it off, looked underneath and checked a few things then tried to start it again -nothing from the engine. Lights, fan radio etc came on, you can hear the hybrid system doing it's start up checks, but nothing from the engine. Had it towed back to the house, on the dash the engine light flashes 8 times then stays solid, the wrench light, oil light and the triangle of death light all as well as Stop Safely Now. 2 universal code readers came up with 0 codes on it. Oil was very low, almost nothing, just came due for an oil change based on mileage and had one scheduled for this coming week, system check on the dash indicated oil life at 43%. Under the hood it does smell like something is burned.
Towed it to a local hybrid mechanic yesterday. This morning they called to say the 100 amp fuse for the hybrid system blew and he's 90% sure that it was transmission related, he also said he believes it's electrical not mechanical related. He said he can't run a complete diagnostic scan though until the fuse is replaced. The fuse is within the hybrid battery service plug, the entire plug needs to be replaced as you can't get to the fuse alone. He quoted me $900 for the fuse/plug, I was able to find the exact thing online for $65.79 which I ordered while on the phone with the mechanic. It's going to be 1 - 2 weeks before it arrives. In the meantime, isn't there a way to get around the fuse to complete a diagnostic check on the rest of the system? I know it wasn't just the fuse there's gotta be something else. It's paid off and ideally I'd like to keep it on the road for awhile longer, but the the cost of repair is going to outweigh the cost of a new vehicle, I'd prefer not to wait around without a vehicle (my only vehicle at the moment) for 2 weeks only to find out the repair is not cost effective.

 

Have you disconnected the 12v battery? Turn on the headlights to drain the system after the disconnect. There are threads that are more specific, also the 12v battery can get old and weak and cause freaky problems. Haven't heard of that fuse blowing before! Please keep us posted on the issue.

edit: just saw a thread describing a steering problem that may be related to yours. The dealer can check your escape's history for recalls or past replacements.

 

I can't get past "oil was very low, almost nothing" - sounds mechanical to me.

A mechanic willing to charge you $900 for a plug/fuse. Sounds like he's only good at liberating cash from you.

Fuse blown means battery pack is cut in half, so no way to get battery voltage or energize the hybrid system in any way. It shouldn't affect pulling codes, though.

Get Forscan.

 

Well my replacement plug came in today and I brought it to the mechanic so they could install and diagnose. The hybrid battery is currently completely drained though they said likely due to it not being able to recharge. He said there are 2 codes that are causing a 'hard fault' on the system and therefor not starting. He did not give me the codes, but said it was the Generator Inverter Performance and Drive Motor A. So basically he's telling me the transmission is shot. I have read others having the hybrid fuse blow when the transmission goes. Now I just need to determine if it's worth fixing or just cutting my losses.

 

Would like read more on this, where did you see the posts?

 

I would certainly put a known good 12V battery on it before I gave up.

 

i just purchased an 08 mariner with a blown high voltage fuse and am having trouble finding replacement at resonable cost. would like to know where you fond yours soo inexpensive