My 2005 FEH just blew its second 41H engine block/hybrid battery heater setup in the past 7 years. My replies are featured in the previous referred links. As stated before, the dealers are unable to order/obtain replacement parts. The big question all of us have is replacing the converter that sends "juice" to the hybrid battery pack heater. Is there a third party vendor that provides such an item?

 

I'm missing something. It is not hard to find a 110v AC to 24 v DC converter. What is special about the original vs a generic power supply?

 

After trying several used parts dealers (including this one that specializes in hybrid vehicle recycling: http://www.adoptapart.com/ ), I still haven't found the Ford AC/DC converter 10B689. Up until Monday(2/23), I was just using the engine block heater I already have to warm up the engine before I come out in the morning. I had no success going into EV mode in temperatures under 20* F.
That is, until I tried something on a whim. I unfastened the plastic grill (2 bolts) and carefully pulled it back so I could stick in a piece of cardboard from an old box to cover the front of the radiator & refastened the grill. On Tuesday morning (doing the usual 4 hour warm-up with the EBH), I drove it for the first time with the cardboard in front of the radiator. Outside temperature was a frigid 7* F and, lo & behold, the Escape went into EV mode after a short while and continued the normal switching back & forth as if it were 40 or 50 degrees outside! I've never experienced that kind of performance at that temperature. Today (2/25), the same thing - the temperature was 14* and I had EV performance as if it were springtime. I thought I'd pass it on if anyone else wants to try it.
I don't know if this harms the engine or not, but I intend to keep that cardboard there as long as it's still cold weather. I'm sure others have tried this. Anyone want to weigh in on this?

 

I have been blocking my radiator all winter for 7 years now. I made a split block that I posted here somewhere. The bottom half sits on the radiator support and the top half hangs from ropes on each side. If we get a sudden warm spell, I just pop the hood and lower the ropes so it is only half blocked. In the winter I can run all day at 70 mph and not overheat. In summer, I remove both pieces (of aluminum sheet).

 

I had used cardboard then thin wood (veneer ) to block my front radiator grille for several Colorado winters, but not recently. In the past I could leave it blocked as long as outside air temp was lower than 60'F.

Since the car uses less gas, it has less waste heat. Plus every time you go into EV is a cool down. 184-190'F is "normal" operating temperatures but no harm will come if you run a bit warmer than this. If you hear the electric radiator fans running after you stop and the engine shuts off, you should probably remove the block.

 

John, thanks for the info. I guess if I had been more diligent searching the forum, I could have found the previous threads on radiator blocking and implemented this idea sooner. Anyway, better late than never, I guess.
For the last 2 weeks' cold snap here in Chicagoland (including below 0*F temps), I've been enjoying normal EV operation making my deliveries while seeing my FE go up instead of down. This is what I wanted to accomplish and I am a happy camper.
Tom, thanks for the description; I'm sure I can rig something like that, also. I'll still keep an eye out for the AC/DC converter, but I'm not as anxious about it now.