Oh no... battery or BMS trouble?

[desmobob]

The last few times I got into my Maverick at night, I noticed the interior lights were not coming on when I used the fob to unlock the door. Opening the passenger side door also failed to light up the interior lights. After driving about 15 miles, things are back to normal.

I'm going to try the BMS reset tomorrow but I'm fearing I have a bum battery.
(2022 XLT EcoBoost)

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[Ford Motor Company]

The last few times I got into my Maverick at night, I noticed the interior lights were not coming on when I used the fob to unlock the door. Opening the passenger side door also failed to light up the interior lights. After driving about 15 miles, things are back to normal.

I'm going to try the BMS reset tomorrow but I'm fearing I have a bum battery.
(2022 XLT EcoBoost)

Hello! Could you privately message us with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer so I can look into this lighting concern? Thank you!

 

[skinnyboy]

22 Hybrid 45k km.

Had similar symptoms start recently as well. Drove 2 hrs. Sat. night (my assumption is that two hours of driving would bring the battery up) then the truck was completely dead Mon. afternoon. 3.5v at the battery dead. Pulled the battery and charged it overnight, just headed out to have a load test done.

No OEM batteries anywhere that I can find in southern Ontario, on backorder. Ordered a NAPA made by East Penn.

Thoughts are that the batteries die slowly from dooby battery management and/or very poor quality battery. Parasitic draw likely as well, when parked.

The sudden discharge would (I think) indicate an internal failure of the battery or an unusually large (and intermittent?) load when parked.

Nothing new, of course, so many posters have had similar experiences.

Hopefully Ford will address this issue soon, I'm hoping for another software update.

Good luck.

 

[colinl]

Probably 2 completely different issues. OP does not have a dead battery yet he has a battery that is low enough that Deep Sleep is keeping his interior lights off. Battery Monitor Reset and a long drive (at least 30 min with autostop disabled) may resolve it.

OP should stop reading here.
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Second post about hybrid may have the bad cable, I've personally never seen a car battery test less than 10V so I don't know how 3.5V could be a correct reading.

Even if his truck is not officially listed as the affected build dates, I still suspect a bad cable, one reason being that Ford did 2 waves of TSBs on it. They literally announced the issue and affected trucks, fixed them, and then came back later and said oh also any trucks built before May 2022. Well, that was a long time ago, but people are still having battery charging issues on their hybrids...

 

[skinnyboy]

Had the battery cable overlay performed months ago, so can't imagine that being part of the issue.

3.265v on my Greenlee meter in the truck last night, terminals connected. Never seen one this low either, wouldn't even light the polarity check lamp on my charger with the battery out, but did take a charge overnight.

The dealer I purchased the truck from wouldn't load test the battery I was holding in my hands, said I needed to schedule an appointment for two days from now. Local parts place did a quick load test and it showed good, 12.95v, 384 of 390 rated CCA.

Something drew the battery down quickly, it seems. I have no electrical accessories installed. No Ford app either, so I wouldn't have seen deep sleep notifications.

A handy tool to remove and install the recessed hold down on the hybrid. Long 10mm t-handle with a magnet stuck to the end to hold the bolt and retainer.

Would have much preferred the issue to have been a crap battery, but doesn't look like the cause, in this instance anyway. Reinstalled the original battery to see what happens.

Cheers.

 

[Rockingchair]

How many of these low batteries have been after a software update? Local dealer came to my home and spent about 45 min doing a software update that among other things fixed the grabby Hybrid brakes. 2 days later the interior lights stopped coming on when I would open the door to retrieve something. I also got a message that some functions were turned off to conserve the battery. Dealer did battery charge voltage reset to 100% (it was at 17% max charge ). Fixed it.
Last week my neighbor with similar pickup had a visit from the same dealer to do a software update and now he has the same issue!

 

[Bob The Builder]

Mine does the same thing. Truck is going into battery saver mode so when you turn the key or push the button it will start. Don't fret over it, it is the nature of the beast.

With that said, I do carry a battery jumper under the rear seat just in case.

 

[skinnyboy]

How many of these low batteries have been after a software update? Local dealer came to my home and spent about 45 min doing a software update that among other things fixed the grabby Hybrid brakes. 2 days later the interior lights stopped coming on when I would open the door to retrieve something. I also got a message that some functions were turned off to conserve the battery. Dealer did battery charge voltage reset to 100% (it was at 17% max charge ). Fixed it.
Last week my neighbor with similar pickup had a visit from the same dealer to do a software update and now he has the same issue!

I didn't have any battery problems prior to having emissions recall software update. But IIRC there were a lot of posts regarding battery issues prior to the recall.

Cheers.

 

[Packer Bill]

To avoid the battery save mode, I now attach a battery tender (NOCO 5) once a week. I am waiting for a fix from Ford too. I personally think it is BMS issue...

 

[desmobob]

Hello! Could you privately message us with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer so I can look into this lighting concern? Thank you!

Thank you!

I guess I'm jinxed when it comes to electrical stuff... my first brand new vehicle was a 1980 Triumph Bonneville 750 motorcycle with an OEM electrical system from Lucas, "The Prince of Darkness." In hindsight it was kind of humorous. At the time, not so funny at all!

And my last (previous to the Maverick) new vehicle was a Subaru Forester that was trouble-free for 13 years except for a mysterious parasitic drain issue that would kill the battery, then disappear for a year or two, then return at the most inopportune time. It was finally tracked down... an intermittent short in the fuse block.

I have faith the issue with the Maverick is simple and won't cause me any grief.

 

[skinnyboy]

Had a similar experience to your Subaru with a Ford Five Hundred years ago. Just started killing batteries one day. No excess current draw when first parked, but dead battery in the morning.

Turned out to be a failed head unit sending bad info over the canbus and starting the HVAC after about an hour parked. That was fun to diagnose, likely would never have found the trigger without some vague reference on Reddit. Aftermarket head unit, no more issues.

REALLY appreciated that the individual that figured it out on theirs took the time to post the fix, and all the posts that folks are creating on this forum to work toward a solution for our trucks, whatever form that takes.

Cheers.

 

[Bob The Builder]

Had a similar experience to your Subaru with a Ford Five Hundred years ago. Just started killing batteries one day. No excess current draw when parked, but dead battery in the morning.

Turned out to be a failed head unit sending bad info over the canbus and starting the HVAC after about an hour parked. That was fun to diagnose, likely would never have found the trigger without some vague reference on Reddit. Aftermarket head unit, no more issues.

REALLY appreciated that the individual that figured it out on theirs took the time to post the fix, and all the posts that folks are creating on this forum to work toward a solution for our trucks, whatever form that takes.

Cheers.

Know why the Brits drink warm beer? Lucas makes the refrigerators.

 

[GPSMan]

How many of these low batteries have been after a software update? Local dealer came to my home and spent about 45 min doing a software update that among other things fixed the grabby Hybrid brakes. 2 days later the interior lights stopped coming on when I would open the door to retrieve something. I also got a message that some functions were turned off to conserve the battery. Dealer did battery charge voltage reset to 100% (it was at 17% max charge ). Fixed it.
Last week my neighbor with similar pickup had a visit from the same dealer to do a software update and now he has the same issue!

What the.....

 

[GPSMan]

I personally think it is BMS issue...

I think all this Hocus Pocus You Do Voodoo is a B.S. issue....

It's B.S. we are spending so much time reverse engineering this battery.

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