Dead battery in cold weather, deep sleep, and dome light issues

[Slapshot Regatta]

So here's my story...sorry for the long post. I apologize in advance. I got a 23 hybrid xl with about 1800 miles now that I bought in July. I have a short commute of 6 miles there and 6 back. Everything with it was great until winter came and it started getting colder. I didn't drive it over a weekend then Monday came and oh shit dead battery on a brand new truck wtf. First thing I did was look on here and see other related problems then buy a Noco jump charger. Everything was fine again until we had a week where it was 10-20 degrees and literally everyday I had to jump it twice to get both to and from work. I got a lot of deep sleep notices on my phone and my dome light was not coming on to save power. I figured might as well shut off the location, blue tooth, and connection services so that seemed to help and give me some chance starting it in the cold. I took the truck to the dealer to get the turn signal recall updated and explained the battery problem as well. They kept it overnight and of course found no issue and said the battery had completely full power. The lady I talked to suggested maybe I left something on and it drained the battery which I knew was impossible since I always made sure everything was off. What a joke. Luckily, it got warmer and it only died on me once after a really cold day of course about a month later. The weird thing was the truck seemed to stay in a deep sleep I guess from me not driving it enough or the battery needing reset. I installed a voltage meter to the cigarette lighter to notice anything. The battery powers up and usually stays between 14.7-15.1v. One day it read 11.2v when it was cold and still started somehow then went back to its normal 15v. Usually it reads around 12 when it starts. I got sick of the dome light never coming on so I did the bms reset high beam 5 times pump the brakes 3 and we got that back. Now that I'm not in deep sleep things stay on and you can see the voltage drop immediately from 15 to 12.5 to 12 pretty quickly when I shut the truck off. Before, when I shut it off, the truck cut the power and everything immediately turned off at 15v. So Ford's motorcraft battery is junk and can't hold a charge when it's cold. However, the Mavericks connection services, dome light, and anything that uses power drain the battery within 10 seconds of exiting the vehicle too. The fix for this could be that Ford might need to do an update to make sure their electronics power off better and don't drain power, or they should allow you to select a battery saver mode. It would be a band aid and at least help the shit battery. That's why they have the deep sleep mode, but maybe it could be improved? People are also swearing by installing a Diehard battery. I hate to do that for a brand new truck already, but it's probably the way to go. Since it's warm now and everything's been working. Maybe I'll do it next winter. What's everyone's input on this issue? I saw one dude install a solar trickle charger on the dash. Do we all need to complain to Ford and tell them their battery is garbage to get them to replace it? Should we just get the Diehard then everythings fine?

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[Waterick]

I think the jury is still out on whether the stronger battery is more than a temporary solution for this problem. It can take months for the weaker OEM (edit) batteries to show problems. Better batteries will take even longer. Ford needs to acknowledge and address this problem. Don't "kick the can down the road" by spending your own money on what needs to be a real cure at Ford's expense.

 

[Builder]

Seems like an AGM would be a better option vs the lead acid Die Hard. The lead acid Die Hard also ran into Deep Sleep issues but, much later on according to some threads. So far, I haven’t read any deep sleep issues where an AGM was installed unless I just missed them in my reads. There is an AC Delco and Die Hard Hybrid/ Electric AGM that’s a drop in for the Motorcraft piece of sh@t. The AGM seems to be the best answer to the typical deep sleep issue. I’m just waiting for my Hybrid Lariat to die with the Motorcraft then I’ll replace with an AGM. The warranty opportunity on the Motorcraft just is not personally worth it to me to lose my Mav for days or weeks while a dealership f’s around with it for little to no resolve. And, I have little to no confidence that Ford even feels compelled to fix this issue now that we are 2 years in.

 

[Montana]

I think the jury is still out on whether the stronger battery is more than a temporary solution for this problem. It can take months for the weaker OEM (edit) batteries to show problems. Better batteries will take even longer. Ford needs to acknowledge and address this problem. Don't "kick the can down the road" by spending your own money on what needs to be a real cure at Ford's expense.

This. It really doesn't matter. It's an issue with the system. No amount of battery changes across any FORD Forum plagued by this issue have solved it. There are some AGM batteries that are essentially double what FORD offers, but it doesn't change much if you are constantly below 11.4 volts.

Unfortunately the only real solution I have ever seen reported that actually works - is a battery tender (charger). AGM's may handle the FORD's nonsense a bit better, but the issues are still reported by many drivers with AGM's.

 

[Packer Bill]

Unfortunately the only real solution I have ever seen reported that actually works - is a battery tender (charger). AGM's may handle the FORD's nonsense a bit better, but the issues are still reported by many drivers with AGM's.

I must have missed this...I am not trying to be a jerk, but could you point me to one or two examples? Thank you.

 

[Montana]

I must have missed this...I am not trying to be a jerk, but could you point me to one or two examples? Thank you.

You are all over this thread with that info:

5https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/had-just-about-enough-of-battery-saver-and-deep-sleep.41948/

Plenty of people with AGMs still getting the issues. Escapes & Bronco forums are echo chambers of the same thing. Throwing new batteries at this problem has never actually solved anything for most people. I've seen way too many threads on this issue to limit it to non AGMs or just Hybrids for that matter.

 

[Slapshot Regatta]

Seems like an AGM would be a better option vs the lead acid Die Hard. The lead acid Die Hard also ran into Deep Sleep issues but, much later on according to some threads. So far, I haven’t read any deep sleep issues where an AGM was installed unless I just missed them in my reads. There is an AC Delco and Die Hard Hybrid/ Electric AGM that’s a drop in for the Motorcraft piece of sh@t. The AGM seems to be the best answer to the typical deep sleep issue. I’m just waiting for my Hybrid Lariat to die with the Motorcraft then I’ll replace with an AGM. The warranty opportunity on the Motorcraft just is not personally worth it to me to lose my Mav for days or weeks while a dealership f’s around with it for little to no resolve. And, I have little to no confidence that Ford even feels compelled to fix this issue now that we are 2 years in.

I didn't know you can get an AGM battery for the Hybrid. I just saw this on another post. On Advance Auto's website they list the lead acid Die Hard as the only compatible one that they sell for the hybrid, but then they have that Hybrid Die Hard that's exactly the same size dimensions but a little taller. AGM is definitely the way to go and what Ford should have used. Hopefully, that can solve the issue as it's only been a problem for me when it's really cold, or maybe Ford can do another software update like they are for the turn signals and instrument clusters that stops the battery drain. That AC Delco AGM might be fine as well. I've had one in the past on another vehicle and never had a battery issue til it's juice ran out 7 years later.

 

[acapaldi]

I didn't know you can get an AGM battery for the Hybrid. I just saw this on another post. On Advance Auto's website they list the lead acid Die Hard as the only compatible one that they sell for the hybrid, but then they have that Hybrid Die Hard that's exactly the same size dimensions but a little taller. AGM is definitely the way to go and what Ford should have used. Hopefully, that can solve the issue as it's only been a problem for me when it's really cold, or maybe Ford can do another software update like they are for the turn signals and instrument clusters that stops the battery drain. That AC Delco AGM might be fine as well. I've had one in the past on another vehicle and never had a battery issue til it's juice ran out 7 years later.

H4 size AGM batteries fit, a few of us have been running them. BlueSpec has the AC Delco AGM in his. Can't speak for anyone else, but all good with my DieHard. Certainly not hurting things, but I couldn't say if I could have achieved a similar result by just paying mind to my charge levels with a regular lead acid.

DieHard Store Link

ACDelco Store Link

My solution has been a combination of things. An AGM battery, installing a battery maintainer, and using FORScan to track my battery level. Maintainer and FORScan are what I would consider critical.

Currently, I lose around 4% charge to idle drain every 24 hours, no accesssories installed, no Fordpass, nothing that would draw on it, that is the baseline. Depending on the ambient temperature, this is anywhere from 15-60 minutes of driving I would need per day to replace what I lost. I don't do enough of that, so I run a deficit each week.

The truck's charging algorithm doesn't really have any sense of self preservation. If the battery gets low, and it's cold out, it still only puts 0-2 A into the battery while the truck is running. So the battery charge level keeps dropping, and keeping the battery below 50% charge eventually ruins it, it won't hold a charge anymore. You have to supplement it with a maintainer, or drive it a lot.

Something interesting I have learned, temperature appears to play a role in the BMS algorithm. When the weather started warming up in Michigan I could see FORScan reporting higher charge amps. And my battery recovered from 53% to 72% over those few days without me leaning on my maintainer.

This all to me screams software issue, hardware's capable of putting out enough amps to keep the battery above a charge level that would ruin it. System just isn't letting it. @Ford Motor Company needs to get on this, I doubt that this is a hard fix. But the people who can fix it need to know. Or else the company can just keep spending money on tow trucks and warrantied batteries.

 

[Slapshot Regatta]

H4 size AGM batteries fit, a few of us have been running them. BlueSpec has the AC Delco AGM in his. Can't speak for anyone else, but all good with my DieHard. Certainly not hurting things, but I couldn't say if I could have achieved a similar result by just paying mind to my charge levels with a regular lead acid.

DieHard Store Link

ACDelco Store Link

My solution has been a combination of things. An AGM battery, installing a battery maintainer, and using FORScan to track my battery level. Maintainer and FORScan are what I would consider critical.

Currently, I lose around 4% charge to idle drain every 24 hours, no accesssories installed, no Fordpass, nothing that would draw on it, that is the baseline. Depending on the ambient temperature, this is anywhere from 15-60 minutes of driving I would need per day to replace what I lost. I don't do enough of that, so I run a deficit each week.

The truck's charging algorithm doesn't really have any sense of self preservation. If the battery gets low, and it's cold out, it still only puts 0-2 A into the battery while the truck is running. So the battery charge level keeps dropping, and keeping the battery below 50% charge eventually ruins it, it won't hold a charge anymore. You have to supplement it with a maintainer, or drive it a lot.

Something interesting I have learned, temperature appears to play a role in the BMS algorithm. When the weather started warming up in Michigan I could see FORScan reporting higher charge amps. And my battery recovered from 53% to 72% over those few days without me leaning on my maintainer.

This all to me screams software issue, hardware's capable of putting out enough amps to keep the battery above a charge level that would ruin it. System just isn't letting it. @Ford Motor Company needs to get on this, I doubt that this is a hard fix. But the people who can fix it need to know. Or else the company can just keep spending money on tow trucks and warrantied batteries.

Can you connect the maintainer to the jump posts to charge the battery? Will that work? Or do you just connect it directly to the battery?

 

[acapaldi]

Can you connect the maintainer to the jump posts to charge the battery? Will that work? Or do you just connect it directly to the battery?

I'm following this video, the tech connects the negative lead to a body ground, and the other to the positive battery terminal. You have to use the body ground instead of the negative battery post because otherwise the truck won't see it and will kick out a battery state fault. It's confused why the battery suddenly has more juice in it.

I bought a NOCO X-Connect terminal connector, hooked one end to a body ground in the battery compartment, and the other to the positive battery post. Then I 3D printed a FITS mount for my maintainer and it just rides around under the seat. It's the black box on top of the picture in my other post. No issues so far with this setup.

I believe you can charge off the posts underneath the hood and it'll accomplish the same thing. One's just a body ground, and the other is part of the battery cable connected to the + terminal.

 

[jeepgrady]

For the record, those suggesting an AGM should solve the problem, I'm sorry to dissapoint you. Both my Maverick as well as my Lincoln Corsair came with AGM's.
Both have the battery drain issues discussed. Just recharged them Both again yesterday

 

[Ozarkbeard]

For the record, those suggesting an AGM should solve the problem, I'm sorry to dissapoint you. Both my Maverick as well as my Lincoln Corsair came with AGM's.
Both have the battery drain issues discussed. Just recharged them Both again yesterday

Is your Maverick a Hybrid or ecoboost?

And FWIW, I have the original FLA battery in my Hybrid and have not had dead or deep sleep battery issues.
The truck sat for over a month between built & delivered, so when I picked it up, I assumed the battery might be low (it was). First thing I did at home was put the battery on a maintainer overnight. I also do the same if I'm not going to be driving it for a few days. And when not on the truck battery, I keep the maintainer on my riding mower. If definitely increases battery lifetime.

No, we shouldn't have to be putting maintainers on our new trucks. But I don't want to get stranded somewhere, so I just use the maintainer as a matter of practice and I haven't had any battery issues so far.

I also used a maintainer on my old F-150. Two of its Motorcraft batteries lasted over 7 years each..

 

[BlueSpec1]

I use a BM2 battery monitor to watch my batteries and usually charge them twice a month as I don't drive them every day and just short trips.
When they're driven the DC/DC Converter brings the batteries up above 14.6v usually.

The Maverick's AGM is 3 months in service.










The Escape's BAGM48H6760 AGM battery is 14 months in service.
Escape's AGM abut a month between mtce charges:

 

[jeepgrady]

Is your Maverick a Hybrid or ecoboost?

And FWIW, I have the original FLA battery in my Hybrid and have not had dead or deep sleep battery issues.
The truck sat for over a month between built & delivered, so when I picked it up, I assumed the battery might be low (it was). First thing I did at home was put the battery on a maintainer overnight. I also do the same if I'm not going to be driving it for a few days. And when not on the truck battery, I keep the maintainer on my riding mower. If definitely increases battery lifetime.

No, we shouldn't have to be putting maintainers on our new trucks. But I don't want to get stranded somewhere, so I just use the maintainer as a matter of practice and I haven't had any battery issues so far.

I also used a maintainer on my old F-150. Two of its Motorcraft batteries lasted over 7 years each..

Is your Maverick a Hybrid or ecoboost?

And FWIW, I have the original FLA battery in my Hybrid and have not had dead or deep sleep battery issues.
The truck sat for over a month between built & delivered, so when I picked it up, I assumed the battery might be low (it was). First thing I did at home was put the battery on a maintainer overnight. I also do the same if I'm not going to be driving it for a few days. And when not on the truck battery, I keep the maintainer on my riding mower. If definitely increases battery lifetime.

No, we shouldn't have to be putting maintainers on our new trucks. But I don't want to get stranded somewhere, so I just use the maintainer as a matter of practice and I haven't had any battery issues so far.

I also used a maintainer on my old F-150. Two of its Motorcraft batteries lasted over 7 years each..

Both of them are ecoboost.

 

[Packer Bill]

For the record, those suggesting an AGM should solve the problem, I'm sorry to dissapoint you. Both my Maverick as well as my Lincoln Corsair came with AGM's.
Both have the battery drain issues discussed. Just recharged them Both again yesterday

It looks like you have Ford AGM batteries. Some have suggested that Ford had a run of defective batteries. I am wondering if other brands would perform better than the Ford batteries....

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