How do I keep my Mav awake (12v battery) while I'm gone for a month

[TheShark]

A real Battery Tender is the way to go, I've used one on various cars through the years, they work great.

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[jalbano2]

FordPass app has the SCHEDULED STARTS feature. Maybe a 15 minute run once a week might help.
I've never used though.

After 2 Starts without driving the vehicle the remote start feature becomes disabled.

 

[Triple Brax]

36 day winter storage & 44 day summer storage; carport with car cover, middle Tennessee. I drove around 15-20 minutes sports mode & low to get the most regen. Wash-park-cover-lock. No battery disconnect. 2022 Lariat Lux Hybrid. Other short trips of 2-3 weeks. Has always started right up upon return. I have a fast jump charger available for that day may come.

 

[Rockingchair]

Why are you wanting the pickup awake rather than in "deep sleep"? It will still start after a month. If it does not its a dealer problem. If a car will not start after sitting for 5 weeks (any car) then that car has a bad battery or an excessive drain that needs attention. My 16 F150 Lariat sits for up to 3 months at times with the alarm set and always is ready to go. It has the original battery that has never seen a charger.

 

[GPSMan]

36 day winter storage & 44 day summer storage; carport with car cover, middle Tennessee. I drove around 15-20 minutes sports mode & low to get the most regen. Wash-park-cover-lock. No battery disconnect. 2022 Lariat Lux Hybrid. Other short trips of 2-3 weeks. Has always started right up upon return. I have a fast jump charger available for that day may come.

You don't need any fancy moves.

Just start it and run it once a week for the 10-15 minutes.

Hybrids need to keep the 12v and the 220v battery charged. No commercially available "battery tender" for the high voltage battery, never-mind where would you attach it.

I think sitting 1 month in a new truck will be fine. At 5 to 10 years, it won't be good. Batteries self-discharge faster as they get older.

Remember: the 12v battery "turns on" the 220v battery. The 220v battery starts the hybrid truck.

 

[2lbgill]

I probably would've posted this last week so someone could have recommended a 10w-20w solar battery charger for around $30...

This one is over priced but may be available locally today:

25 Watt Solar Panel (harborfreight.com)

Check out Amazon, I bought a 100w for $80 there.

 

[GPSMan]

Check out Amazon, I bought a 100w for $80 there.

Yes, but, you need/want a charge rate of about 10 watts.

You are not re-charging a battery.
You just want to keep it level

 

[Lane]

REAL Battery Tender Jr. Not some Harbor Freight POS.

I have several cars that are put away during Wisconsin winters. I have a Battery Tender Junior as well as two cheapie Harbor Freight equivalents. I've been using them for around ten years. Both work equally well, I think the HF units cost me $7 each with a coupon years ago and had really good user reviews. They do the job, never had a problem with them.

The Battery Tender Junior provides ring terminals (along with the more typical clamps as well) you can permanently attach to the vehicle's battery with a pigtail quick-disconnect. Makes the connection it a bit more secure. I think the LED on the unit also has some diagnostic functions. It's a nice unit for the money.

 

[Derwood]

10-15 minutes ~1x a week is going to do little to keep the battery reasonably charged.

A (real) Battery Tender Jr. is inexpensive and will keep the battery charged.

I'm guessing more like three to five fifteen minutes scheduled starts a week might do the trick?

.

 

[inline_five]

Check out Amazon, I bought a 100w for $80 there.

100w to charge your 12v? That is way overkill.

 

[oneinch]

is there anything I should do to keep the 12 volt battery happy while I'm gone?

Nothing. If the truck can't go a month without starting you have other problems to worry about.

 

[MavTime]

There was a post here from a guy that worked at the dealer about them sitting on the lot and getting low and needing new batteries from the parts department. I think what happens to some Hybrid owners is they slowly deplete their 12v I have a Battery Tender and Harbor Freight, but recently got a Noco 1 on sale, I hooked it up to my month or two old Maverick that gets driven daily and it showed below 75% charge, Torque app showed 12.1v, but after trickle charging overnight Torque shows 13.7 volts. So I am monitoring it to see if it slowly drops in voltage as I drive it. My guess is the the HV battery doesn't charge the 12v that quickly and over time it fills the capacity less than what is being used by some Mavericks.

 

[GPSMan]

There was a post here from a guy that worked at the dealer about them sitting on the lot and getting low and needing new batteries from the parts department. I think what happens to some Hybrid owners is they slowly deplete their 12v I have a Battery Tender and Harbor Freight, but recently got a Noco 1 on sale, I hooked it up to my month or two old Maverick that gets driven daily and it showed below 75% charge, Torque app showed 12.1v, but after trickle charging overnight Torque shows 13.7 volts. So I am monitoring it to see if it slowly drops in voltage as I drive it. My guess is the the HV battery doesn't charge the 12v that quickly and over time it fills the capacity less than what is being used by some Mavericks.

It's really an odd scenario.
My 12v battery is always 12.3 volts at no load. Lower than any others I have known. Yet it gets me to work and back every day.

 

[MavTime]

It's really an odd scenario.
My 12v battery is always 12.3 volts at no load. Lower than any others I have known. Yet it gets me to work and back every day.

I know I'm just experimenting, mine wasn't "bad" either, but if this is anything like the Prius then the ECU doesn't like getting below a certain volt or capacity threshold and things start acting weird, even though the Prius starts and drives fine and gives no low power messages. I bought the trickle charger to charge the old Prius until it sells, so I thought I'd top off the Maverick battery.

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