New 12V battery drain in 3 days!

[Bruce W]

From reading a lot of these "battery issue/deep sleep" threads, I am starting to see a lot of people finding that the BMS is only charging the battery up to something well below 100%. Which would explain some of this low voltage. I'll tell you what......when I get closer to 36 months of ownership, I'm going to be testing my battery religiously to see if it is still "healthy" according to the scanner. If not, I'll be hounding my dealer for a replacement under warranty.

After hounding my dealer for the last year and a half I just bit the bullet and bought a good battery. It sucks they will not help a customer more. The $200 out of my pocket was worth the peace of mind. I think the Motorcraft batteries and not the greatest. Heard they were made in Spain. If you get it replaced under warranty you will be getting another Motorcraft. My concern now is the BMS not checking the new batteries voltage levels properly. Bought an Antigravity battery tracker. Coolest thing, Bluetooth monitoring to your phone. The old ford battery always showed bad with the app. Not any issues with the new one, so far. Picture is of the new battery after sitting for 2 days.

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[paneubert]

Not to hijack this thread, but figured I would give an update on my battery. Needed a new battery charger/maintainer anyway, so used that as an excuse to justify buying a NOCO Genius 5. The old one I have is some random no-name brand. Works fine, but I think it is limited to 2 amps.

Context: I park outside and the temps dip just below freezing the last few nights.

Late yesterday afternoon my battery was at 12.2v. This was after a fairly short drive of only a few miles. Popped the hood, locked the truck, put the NOCO on there, and it read at the "25%" charged light indicator. Did not stick around to see if it jumped to 50% or 75% quickly (some chargers do if you hang around and watch for a bit). Figured it was what it was, and all I cared about what if it would get it to 100%. Gently lowered the hood so it would not latch shut. Goal was to make it so I did not need to unlock the truck or open the doors, etc... Especially with all the claims about the BMS needing 8 hours of fully uninterupted time to relearn the state of charge, etc...

Checked back a couple hours later (in the evening) and it read 100% and was slow flashing, which means it was in the maintenance phase where it really isn't doing much other than keeping an eye on the battery so it could kick on to top it off if needed. I detached the NOCO, took a quick reading (it read 13.1v) and went back inside the house. Knowing the voltage would drop to a steady state over the next few hours.

Went out this morning, and it is reading 12.75v. Hooray. Hoping the BMS decided this is the new state of charge it wants to shoot for in the future. Latched the hood and will keep an eye on things after I drive it a few times. Will be curious to see if it charges it to a level where the resting voltage sticks around 12.75v, or if it goes right back to its old ways of charging lower and then the battery dropping back into the 12.1v/12.2v range when at rest.

 

[Bob The Builder]

Not to hijack this thread, but figured I would give an update on my battery. Needed a new battery charger/maintainer anyway, so used that as an excuse to justify buying a NOCO Genius 5. The old one I have is some random no-name brand. Works fine, but I think it is limited to 2 amps.

Context: I park outside and the temps dip just below freezing the last few nights.

Late yesterday afternoon my battery was at 12.2v. This was after a fairly short drive of only a few miles. Popped the hood, locked the truck, put the NOCO on there, and it read at the "25%" charged light indicator. Did not stick around to see if it jumped to 50% or 75% quickly (some chargers do if you hang around and watch for a bit). Figured it was what it was, and all I cared about what if it would get it to 100%. Gently lowered the hood so it would not latch shut. Goal was to make it so I did not need to unlock the truck or open the doors, etc... Especially with all the claims about the BMS needing 8 hours of fully uninterupted time to relearn the state of charge, etc...

Checked back a couple hours later (in the evening) and it read 100% and was slow flashing, which means it was in the maintenance phase where it really isn't doing much other than keeping an eye on the battery so it could kick on to top it off if needed. I detached the NOCO, took a quick reading (it read 13.1v) and went back inside the house. Knowing the voltage would drop to a steady state over the next few hours.

Went out this morning, and it is reading 12.75v. Hooray. Hoping the BMS decided this is the new state of charge it wants to shoot for in the future. Latched the hood and will keep an eye on things after I drive it a few times. Will be curious to see if it charges it to a level where the resting voltage sticks around 12.75v, or if it goes right back to its old ways of charging lower and then the battery dropping back into the 12.1v/12.2v range when at rest.

Question, during this process, at any time, did you lose A.S.S. functionality? I did, first week of owning the truck, this is what led me to believe there was some sort of issue with the battery and / or the charging system.

To date, all other vehicle functions perform fine. No issues with interior lights or the such.

 

[paneubert]

Question, during this process, at any time, did you lose A.S.S. functionality? I did, first week of owning the truck, this is what led me to believe there was some sort of issue with the battery and / or the charging system.

To date, all other vehicle functions perform fine. No issues with interior lights or the such.

No joke, I was just sitting down to find this thread so I could write a comment about how Auto Start/Stop started working again. Ha! I took my first trip since charging with the NOCO and what do you know.....I now have my engine cut off at red lights. I wish I could recall how long it has been since I lost the feature. I assumed it was disabled due to the weather getting colder and only taking shorter drives. Assumed there might be some sort of ambient temperature limit where it disables the feature below a certain outside temperature. You know what they say about assuming.....

P.S. It is currently 44 degrees. So I don't think there is any sort of temperature link to A.S.S.

On the plus side, I guess I now have another warning that my battery is low...... If Auto Start/Stop ceases to function again when I think it should be working.

 

[Bob The Builder]

No joke, I was just sitting down to find this thread so I could write a comment about how Auto Start/Stop started working again. Ha! I took my first trip since charging with the NOCO and what do you know.....I now have my engine cut off at red lights. I wish I could recall how long it has been since I lost the feature. I assumed it was disabled due to the weather getting colder and only taking shorter drives. Assumed there might be some sort of ambient temperature limit where it disables the feature below a certain outside temperature. You know what they say about assuming.....

P.S. It is currently 44 degrees. So I don't think there is any sort of temperature link to A.S.S.

On the plus side, I guess I now have another warning that my battery is low...... If Auto Start/Stop ceases to function again when I think it should be working.

That is excellent. Making progress. Getting A.S.S. back is a step in the right direction.

Well, I forgot I had bought a Schumacher SC-2A Charger / Maintainer about 7 years ago. Found it and connected it up. Checked it about an hour later and the RED Bad Battery light is lit. I recalled it would do that from time to time so reboot it and try again. This time 3 hours later blinking Green light indicating on maintenance. Battery reads 12.65 volts which seems a bit low to me and lower than your reading when you unplugged yours. Curious to see what it says in the morning.

One thing that has me scratching my noggin is if my battery was as low as it seemed to be according to my voltage readings 12.1 V, which indicated >40% charge, how did this little 2A charger top it off in 3 hours? Or did it? Even if it charged to 80% the numbers are still way off.

 

[Mav_RICK]

Factory automotive batteries should last 8 to 9 years. Either there's something faulty with the hybrid electrical system, or Ford went way cheap on the factory battery!

8 or 9 years? Don’t think I’ve ever seen one last that long.

 

[GPSMan]

8 or 9 years? Don’t think I’ve ever seen one last that long.

5 to 6 is more realistic.
I have an optima Blue top (deep cycle) still in great shape at 10 years old.
It's been gently used though.
Sits for long periods. Mild climate.

 

[GPSMan]

I drove about an hour Wednesday.
Parked Wed Night.
Didn't use Thursday or Friday.
Was 12.1 v Saturday 10am.
Started. No deep sleep.

 

[Techcar]

For those of you that are putting a charger or maintainer on your truck there are a few things that will help you achieve your goal . And since it is easier to show you than tell you I have linked a video that applies to most Ford's with the BMS .

 

[Skyline]

I drove about an hour Wednesday.
Parked Wed Night.
Didn't use Thursday or Friday.
Was 12.1 v Saturday 10am.
Started. No deep sleep.

Pretty much the same schedule here, except I only drove about 6-8 miles Wednesday and didn't drive it until Saturday. Before taking off, checked the battery with the tester:

The voltage meter tester directly on the battery poles showed 12.17V, pretty much like a dying battery. Slammed the hood closed, put away the testers. On my way back, I used the FOB for remote start and it started right up. Took off with the truck and at the second traffic light, the auto stop/start worked just fine, the same for the rest of the way for the 6 - 7 miles round trip. That with the heat, steering wheel and seat warmer on...

 

[MakinDoForNow]

That is excellent. Making progress. Getting A.S.S. back is a step in the right direction.

Well, I forgot I had bought a Schumacher SC-2A Charger / Maintainer about 7 years ago. Found it and connected it up. Checked it about an hour later and the RED Bad Battery light is lit. I recalled it would do that from time to time so reboot it and try again. This time 3 hours later blinking Green light indicating on maintenance. Battery reads 12.65 volts which seems a bit low to me and lower than your reading when you unplugged yours. Curious to see what it says in the morning.

One thing that has me scratching my noggin is if my battery was as low as it seemed to be according to my voltage readings 12.1 V, which indicated >40% charge, how did this little 2A charger top it off in 3 hours? Or did it? Even if it charged to 80% the numbers are still way off.

One possibility is battery is sulfated and has cells functioning at a lesser capacity. Instead of a 45 AH battery you may have a 20 +/-AH or whatever so that 2A x 3hrs =6AH brings it to 12.65v which is not 100%. So when battery is used at 2amps for 3hrs it should drop to the 12.1 volt reading. One solution may be buying a second battery and charging it fully including leaving it on maintenance for several days and then place in maverick with new battery procedure. Take current battery and put on smart charger, de sulfate and maintain for 90-120 days or when one in truck needs time on maintenance then switch them. Pain but probably needs to be done for many new battery hungry vehicles no matter what brand. Another solution is a good 99.99+ pure lead battery which can be charged at a faster rate. Odyssey has an AGM model (might have been one for hummer?) that they claim will not off gas while charging but MSRP is pretty high. I presume it's not vented but have not checked. In order to not off gas I assume it must be sealed and case is strong enough to hold hydrogen under pressure until it can go back into solution. Perhaps a stronger solution of sulphuric acid is also involved?

 

[GPSMan]

reasonable for an older, out of warranty vehicle.

I think most everyone here is talking about a young, in warranty vehicle.

I never tested mine the first few months (who would ). But I've had the low voltage starting at 6 months and 4,000 miles of ownership.

Now I'm at 14 months and 15,000 miles.
(Took a long summer vacation that added lots of miles [with two batteries just in case but didn't use second battery.]). The long trips HELPED the stock battery.

So it's weird it is low voltage, staying low voltage, but not getting worse.

 

[Bob The Builder]

One possibility is battery is sulfated and has cells functioning at a lesser capacity. Instead of a 45 AH battery you may have a 20 +/-AH or whatever so that 2A x 3hrs =6AH brings it to 12.65v which is not 100%. So when battery is used at 2amps for 3hrs it should drop to the 12.1 volt reading. One solution may be buying a second battery and charging it fully including leaving it on maintenance for several days and then place in maverick with new battery procedure. Take current battery and put on smart charger, de sulfate and maintain for 90-120 days or when one in truck needs time on maintenance then switch them. Pain but probably needs to be done for many new battery hungry vehicles no matter what brand. Another solution is a good 99.99+ pure lead battery which can be charged at a faster rate. Odyssey has an AGM model (might have been one for hummer?) that they claim will not off gas while charging but MSRP is pretty high. I presume it's not vented but have not checked. In order to not off gas I assume it must be sealed and case is strong enough to hold hydrogen under pressure until it can go back into solution. Perhaps a stronger solution of sulphuric acid is also involved?

I'll be the first to admit I am no battery expert, I am learning though. A sulfated battery at this point @ 900 miles and 10 weeks? I just don't know.

My latest test results:

Truck charged and left on maintain mode for 4 hours. Battery reads 12.65 Volts
Truck sat in garage for 12 hours with hood up. Battery now reads 12.12 Volts.
Truck driven 15 miles or so. Battery now reads 12.26 Volts.

Did the battery charge in those 15 miles. Is the BMS like real laggy and finally catching up to things?

The verdict will come when things get really cold. Been in the teens and twenties with 40F today.

A.S.S. still not working, everything else is fine.

 

[InfoSports]

A previous post mentioned a 45 Amp Hour battery. On Autozone it mentions a 70 Amp hour battery is the replacement battery.

What is the battery Amp hour rating of the standard battery on new vehicles?

It seems to me if it is only 45 Amp hour then even a minor load (say 1 amp) would drain the battery in 2 days.

 

[paneubert]

For those of you that are putting a charger or maintainer on your truck there are a few things that will help you achieve your goal . And since it is easier to show you than tell you I have linked a video that applies to most Ford's with the BMS .

Good to know. I did notice a post/stud with a hefty wire running from the negative battery post to the body of the truck. I assume it is wired "after" the BMS, so would be a good spot for the negative lead of the trickle charger to connect for next time. This time I did the "wrong" way and connected directly to the positive and negative battery posts. Seemed to work ok, as the Auto Start/Stop did begin to work again. But anything to make the process shorter and more efficient is cool with me!

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