How often do I need to desulfate my 12 volt battery...

[Tim d]

I have a 2023 xl hybrid.... I'm on my 4th battery and second AGM.... I have read how some members desulfate their batteries and get 6 or 8 years of service from them.... I do have a noco 1 amp with the desulfing feature.... my question to the forum members is..... How often do you desulfate your batteries to get that longevity out of your batteries and can I do it with hybrid...ty

4 batteries in 2 years? I typically get 8- 9 years out of a battery and I do nothing with it but drive occasionally. Are you talking the 12v starting battery? Or the hybrid battery?

Sponsored

 

[ZABSMAV]

The problem is excessive parasitic drain. If the ACCM is updated, it has corrected the issue on many Mavericks. While there, it won't hurt to have them make sure ALL modules are at the latest software level. After performing the ACCM update, on 4 vehicles, the battery issue was fixed on THREE of them. I suggest giving that a try.

Now Ford is saying the ACCM update itself has caused more problems. I really don't think they have a clue what's going on.

 

[TheSEARCH]

First off The Noco has an automatic desulfation BUT its a very mild version. It also has a Repair mode. BUT you should discomnect the battery from Mav. Higher voltage spikes to de-sulfate. No idea if the lower automatic version can really do the job because if it did WHY have the Repair mode. Edit: I forgot the low end Noco has no repair mode just the automatic Need higher Noco to get repair mode. .

I had the ACCM done back in August 2025 along with a new flooded lead battery on my 2023 hybrid. The battery still goes low and I have charged it several times. BEFORE dome lights stopped working BUT saw voltage readout was low on gauge I have on Cig lighter. If I didn't I sure would have lost dome lights. Once dome lights stop I IMMEDIATELY charge the battery if I let it get that bad. .

What do I consider bad need charge but dome lights still work. Shut off cig meter starts dropping down to low 12's in a few seconds Need charge ..

 

[CurtisB]

On January 3rd, I purchased an OBDLinkEX usb connector and downloaded forscan to my windows based laptop. After reading about others connecting their Mavericks via either a usb cable or bluetooth to their laptops and going into forscan to adjust the charge rate, I decided to give it a try.

The battery I have now was installed by me on 05/11/2024 and is an H5 AGM Duralast battery. Prior to that, I went through two flooded batteries, each going completely dead within the first 4 months I owned the brand new truck. Since the AGM install back in May of 2024, I have gotten the "sleep messages" (usually once or twice a month, no matter how much I drove) but the battery did not completely die.

So, on January 3d of this year, I charge my battery to full, went into forscan, changed the charge rate to 95%, reset the the BMS and let the truck sit overnight.

It has been 3 weeks and I have not gotten a "sleep" message. I check my voltage on my battery in the morning (and yes, I had to unlock the truck, open the door, and lift the back seat, all things that would draw from the battery) and one morning it was at 12.2v. Another morning at 12.4v.

I don't know if this change will keep me from ever having a sleep message, but for now, what I did seems to have made a difference. My hope is that by changing the charge rate to 95% and resetting the BMS, that the system now knows to start charging the 12v battery when its below 95%. I'm not versed in electronics, but it seems to me that keeping a 12v battery charged to only 80% of its capacity for the Maverick hybrid trucks is not enough to run all the telematics. I don't know if this helps those with the Ecoboost.

If I get a sleep message, or, if my battery is below 12v, I will let you all know.

 

[JoeRon]

I have a 2023 xl hybrid.... I'm on my 4th battery and second AGM.... I have read how some members desulfate their batteries and get 6 or 8 years of service from them.... I do have a noco 1 amp with the desulfing feature.... my question to the forum members is..... How often do you desulfate your batteries to get that longevity out of your batteries and can I do it with hybrid...ty

Can you hook the. noco 1 amp directly to the battery?

 

[Cherokee]

First off The Noco has an automatic desulfation mode BUT its a very mild version. It also has a Repair mode. BUT you should discomnect the battery from Mav. Higher voltage spikes to de-sulfate. No idea if the lower automatic version can really do the job because if it did WHY have the Repair mode. Edit: I forgot the low end Noco has no repair mode just the automatic Need higher Noco to get repair mode. .

I had the ACCM done back in August 2025 along with a new flooded lead battery on my 2023 hybrid. The battery still goes low and I have charged it several times. BEFORE dome lights stopped working BUT saw voltage readout was low on gauge I have on Cig lighter. If I didn't I sure would have lost dome lights. Once dome lights stop I IMMEDIATELY charge the battery if I let it get that bad. .

What do I consider bad need charge but dome lights still work. Shut off cig meter starts dropping down to low 12's in a few seconds Need charge ..

The NOCO Genius 1 does desulfate. It features an automatic, built-in desulfation cycle detecting sulfation and acid stratification to restore battery performance. The process happens automatically during the normal charging process, with no special mode activation required, though it lacks the dedicated manual "Repair Mode" found in larger models.

Automatic is my preferred style, less for me to do.
I chose the 1 amp because it’s slow to charge and desulfate. This is best for AGM’s

 

[dhill59]

I have a 2023 xl hybrid.... I'm on my 4th battery and second AGM.... I have read how some members desulfate their batteries and get 6 or 8 years of service from them.... I do have a noco 1 amp with the desulfing feature.... my question to the forum members is..... How often do you desulfate your batteries to get that longevity out of your batteries and can I do it with hybrid...ty

I find having to do anything other than routine maintenance to a new (even a few years old) vehicle beyond stupid.

Members in this forum should band together and force Ford to correct these errors.

 

[RR - All the way]

I have been driving or owning a vehicle for 65 years. Thanks to Ford engineers I have now added the word "desulfate" to my vocabulary. This whole thing is really sad, IMHO.....

But, keep on truckin!!

 

[HeyBales]

On January 3rd, I purchased an OBDLinkEX usb connector and downloaded forscan to my windows based laptop. After reading about others connecting their Mavericks via either a usb cable or bluetooth to their laptops and going into forscan to adjust the charge rate, I decided to give it a try.

The battery I have now was installed by me on 05/11/2024 and is an H5 AGM Duralast battery. Prior to that, I went through two flooded batteries, each going completely dead within the first 4 months I owned the brand new truck. Since the AGM install back in May of 2024, I have gotten the "sleep messages" (usually once or twice a month, no matter how much I drove) but the battery did not completely die.

So, on January 3d of this year, I charge my battery to full, went into forscan, changed the charge rate to 95%, reset the the BMS and let the truck sit overnight.

It has been 3 weeks and I have not gotten a "sleep" message. I check my voltage on my battery in the morning (and yes, I had to unlock the truck, open the door, and lift the back seat, all things that would draw from the battery) and one morning it was at 12.2v. Another morning at 12.4v.

I don't know if this change will keep me from ever having a sleep message, but for now, what I did seems to have made a difference. My hope is that by changing the charge rate to 95% and resetting the BMS, that the system now knows to start charging the 12v battery when its below 95%. I'm not versed in electronics, but it seems to me that keeping a 12v battery charged to only 80% of its capacity for the Maverick hybrid trucks is not enough to run all the telematics. I don't know if this helps those with the Ecoboost.

If I get a sleep message, or, if my battery is below 12v, I will let you all know.

Couple mis-understanding in this.
pre-25MY at least.
80% of the Ford special SOC is when it went to float level charge - about 0.5 A.
It kept charging, and it could be fully charged if the trip was long enough.
If it's goal was actually to charge higher, but that seems to stop eventually. It could be lower of course as many have observed, so it starts float charge sooner and at lower SOC%.
85% of the Ford special SOC scale is fully charged, hence 80% being appropriate for a charger.

So while you've had it set to 95% in settings, the truck has been willing to drop charge to lower 12.x V - yep, sounds about right. It's not really charging higher. If it was, you'd be seeing 12.5/.6 easily.

Pretty sure Forscan on computer lets you log some live data.
Take a 15 min trip, or 15 min after cabin warmed up, just incase your battery is near freezing and won't be charged much anyway.
Log the live data of 12V battery current Amps, throw in Volts too, and Ford's SOC%.
See what happens from the start.

I'd bet you'll discover that 95% isn't doing much for ya.
But a charged up battery and your reset & relearn of course did.

You'll be asked - did you get the ACCM update for potential higher parasitic draw?

 

[HeyBales]

Now Ford is saying the ACCM update itself has caused more problems. I really don't think they have a clue what's going on.

They don't. Why I don't expect a fix. Think of how many warranty battery replacements are tagged as "bad battery" as only reason, instead of that being the result of an issue.

While there could be a constant low parasitic draw (instead of an intermittent higher one that causes a dead battery in a day or two), the BMS should see there was excessive draw, and apply more charging on the drive portions.
It will indeed do that sometimes - so it has the ability to charge higher.
But it normally doesn't - seems to have no interest to charge to higher battery state.
Even using it's own figures - it's willing to allow there to be more discharge than charge - that's a logic problem. Nothing to troubleshoot there.

 

[ZABSMAV]

They don't. Why I don't expect a fix. Think of how many warranty battery replacements are tagged as "bad battery" as only reason, instead of that being the result of an issue.

While there could be a constant low parasitic draw (instead of an intermittent higher one that causes a dead battery in a day or two), the BMS should see there was excessive draw, and apply more charging on the drive portions.
It will indeed do that sometimes - so it has the ability to charge higher.
But it normally doesn't - seems to have no interest to charge to higher battery state.
Even using it's own figures - it's willing to allow there to be more discharge than charge - that's a logic problem. Nothing to troubleshoot there.

I don't even know why they call the group looking into the issue an "engineering" department. Might as well call it the "guessing" department. A Ouija board would probably be better at solving this problem than Ford is.

 

[HeyBales]

I don't even know why they call the group looking into the issue an "engineering" department. Might as well call it the "guessing" department. A Ouija board would probably be better at solving this problem than Ford is.

Big wiring diagram on a wall.
Darts.
Perhaps monkeys.

 

[skinnyboy]

Can you hook the. noco 1 amp directly to the battery?

Yes, positive lead to positive terminal clamp, and negative lead to body ground IIRC, so the BMS sees the charge going in.

Cheers.

 

[Cherokee]

I find having to do anything other than routine maintenance to a new (even a few years old) vehicle beyond stupid.

Members in this forum should band together and force Ford to correct these errors.

Banding together and getting after Ford
Might, just might get you a brand new Ford baseball cap and a pat on the back with the promise they will look into it.

These things I know to be true. :’P

 

[White Thunder]

I have a 2023 xl hybrid.... I'm on my 4th battery and second AGM.... I have read how some members desulfate their batteries and get 6 or 8 years of service from them.... I do have a noco 1 amp with the desulfing feature.... my question to the forum members is..... How often do you desulfate your batteries to get that longevity out of your batteries and can I do it with hybrid...ty

That would be kind of hard truck hasn’t been out six years yet. I have a 2022 eco-boost and I’ve never touched my battery.

Sponsored