Hybrid +12V Battery Replacement

[GhostMav]

#129


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How's your battery doing? Still going strong?

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[scotty]

My truck was built on 3/02/2023 and shipped on 3/06. I picked it up on 3/17 (I live in southern California). I couldn't love this thing more.....except this drain!

I ordered it originally back in October 2021...waited a year...did the cancellation/roll-over nightmare....waiting another 5+ months....fought (and lost) for my private offer protection - again, I'd rather just own the truck and enjoy the summer - and finally got everything settled before these ongoing (and two cancelled camp trips) battery drain issues.

How was the install overall? Are there any tips or advice you would give for pulling out the old / installing the new? I assume once you had the DieHard installed, you did the BMS reset. Were there any other things of note that I should consider?

If dropping a few hundred bucks and spending a couple hours wrenching on the truck can eliminate even 1 possibility of this ongoing battery issue, I'm more than happy to do the work and get it done.

Advance and autozone installs the battery free

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Here's a thought, could how fast the power-off drain occurs be related to how the truck is locked? - Pressing 'Lock' on the door before closing, touching the handle, or using the remote. My suspicion is that different locking methods affect how long the electronics remain powered on, and the factory battery doesn't have much of a reserve capacity.

I've sort of noticed something or think I have, and don't want to contaminate the results with what I've possibly seen, but how do you lock your truck, and are you getting the deep-sleep or battery conservation messages in Ford Pass?

If you press the lock button on the remote twice it honks once after locking then unlocking then locking (verification that all doors and hood are shut and locked. Then it powers off the 12v circuits immediately without the delay off. If the horn honks twice that is to inform you that one of doors or hood or something else (?) Is not completely shut etc.

 

[BEC]

I've read (some skimming) through this thread as my new 2023 Lariat Lux hybrid (about a month in our driveway now, 935 miles) didn't turn on the dome lights when I opened the doors yesterday. They come on if I switch them on with the button. It hasn't been driven in at least a week.

I will start checking/logging 12V battery voltage based on what I've read here and maybe stash my jump starter aboard it somewhere.

I also think that considering our use case where it might sit for a few days to a coupe of weeks between uses, then go on trips that are outside the operating radius of our Soul EV that I might very much want to just ditch the stock 12V battery for a decent one rather than go around and around with the dealer.

I, too, would like to know if the OP is still having OK results with the DieHard.

 

[BEC]

Some added info. Our Lariat had been sitting un-driven for nearly two weeks when I noticed the dome lights not coming on (which eventually led me to finding this thread). Yesterday evening I checked the voltage at the jump points: 11.95V.

Today we drove it to church (about 7 miles) and had dome lights when we got there. Then we took a 170 mile round trip (which pushed it over the 1000 mile mark on the way up) with a three-hour or so time parked between the up and the back. Operation was all normal as far as I know.

The truck has been sitting in 40 degree (F) air for about 2 1/2 hours since we got home and I just got 12.45V at the jump points. I will watch what this does and if needed start logging this value in the notebook in the glove box.

Oh....I did recharge my old Harbor Freight jump starter box last night and put it on the floor behind the driver's seat this morning before we left the house. It will stay there for awhile to see if it's needed....

 

[dadd75]

Following

I am in the exact situation as you, and being asked why I have no interior lights is starting to get old. Others do not notice, but it annoys me that when I unlock, I don't get to see the sweet LED bulbs I swapped out in the cargo light.

This morning at 6:15am it was 15 degrees here in upstate SC and when I opened the drivers door the interior lights did not come on, due to deep sleep mode. There was frost on the windshield, so when the gas engine started due to the cold with defroster in full blast mode, the interior lights came on as I still had the driver's door open to get out and scrape the frost off the windshield. Now, I had to feel around in the dark to push the start button before any of this happened. It is a pain, and I'm waiting for all the software updates from the dealer, which they could not finish them the last time I had it there, due to their computer having technical issues. My truck has always started in deep sleep mode, just cannot open the passenger door by grabbing the handle or remote anything except unlock and lock the doors. No interior lights is also a PITA!

 

[Benson]

I haven't had interior lights since I bought my Maverick April 2022. I just had to get used to doing without....and i keep a flashlight lying in the console.

 

[dadd75]

This morning at 6:15am it was 15 degrees here in upstate SC and when I opened the drivers door the interior lights did not come on, due to deep sleep mode. There was frost on the windshield, so when the gas engine started due to the cold with defroster in full blast mode, the interior lights came on as I still had the driver's door open to get out and scrape the frost off the windshield. Now, I had to feel around in the dark to push the start button before any of this happened. It is a pain, and I'm waiting for all the software updates from the dealer, which they could not finish them the last time I had it there, due to their computer having technical issues. My truck has always started in deep sleep mode, just cannot open the passenger door by grabbing the handle or remote anything except unlock and lock the doors. No interior lights is also a PITA!

I finally got all the software updates done and they put a new battery in my Lariat hybrid. I am double clicking the fob to lock it after driving, and also putting my fob into a faraday pouch when sitting in my driveway so it can't communicate with the truck, hopefully this will save on the battery drain also.

 

[Benson]

I finally got all the software updates done and they put a new battery in my Lariat hybrid. I am double clicking the fob to lock it after driving, and also putting my fob into a faraday pouch when sitting in my driveway so it can't communicate with the truck, hopefully this will save on the battery drain also.

Why so you have to double click the FOB to lock Mav?

 

[CurtisB]

I double click so I can hear my horn go off telling me all doors and tailgate are locked. Not sure if dadd75 is doing it for the same reason.

 

[BEC]

Update since my December 17th post. We took the Maverick on a short road trip in late January (2 1/2 hours each way) and it had not been driven since January 27th until earlier today. I got the first "deep sleep" message from FordPass on February 5th and just let it sit after verifying it wouldn't unlock from the passenger side but would on the driver's side by touching the door handle. Every few days I rechecked that with no change (bur a couple more deep sleep messages) between then and last night.

Today I took it on a short-ish drive (about 12 miles) to go to lunch with some friends and got another deep sleep message while having lunch. Afterward I came home and at the moment it is in a normal state. I should go out and check the battery at the jump points again to see what it is now.

Temperatures have ranged from the low 20s on a couple of night to the low 60s today in the intervening weeks.

I'm planning to call the dealer next week to ask about the silly turn signal recall and I will mention the deep sleep bit at the same time.

I also, three or four weeks ago, purchased one of those Michelin-branded lithium-ion jump starters at Costco and it is now stored under the back seat. So far I haven't needed it.

 

[dadd75]

Why so you have to double click the FOB to lock Mav?

There have been times when I have taken my wife to a doctor's appointment and sat in the truck waiting for her. The truck makes all kinds of noises, relay sounds, crackling, electronic sounds, for up to twenty minutes after you park with everything off. I saw in one blog that if you hit your key fob lock button twice then the truck will not make all these noises, that you 'shut down' this communication within the truck itself. With 'deep sleep mode' happening in my truck, I'm trying to find ways to keep the battery levels up, and keep the communication from my key fob to my truck from happening. That's why when home, I keep my key fob in a farady pouch to keep it from communicating with my truck which is a draw on the battery. Being retired, I don't drive my truck much, which they say the more you drive, the battery will stay charged. Well, I"m not driving and wasting gas. This deep sleep mode should not be happening for any reason.

 

[mav47]

I recently replaced my OEM battery with a proper Group 140R AGM battery (is a drop-in replacement).

Voltages are now back to what I consider more "normal", the battery charges at around 14.6-14.8V, and then after a few minutes (sometimes mere seconds) the BMS lowers onboard voltage to 13.0V once the battery reaches its target State of Charge. It all works as you'd expect

When getting into the vehicle in the morning battery voltage is typically around 12.3-12.4V. It may be a bit early, but I'm not expecting any more deep sleep issues going forward.

Check this thread for some more background:

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/15-2v-charging-seems-a-bit-high-while-driving.43755/

 

[The Real Maverick]

Some say the truck software thinks it has AGM but Ford gave us basic FLA batteries. Thus the recharge routine is not optimized. A few people with ForScan have shown their software says AGM battery but the truck came with FLA.

This may explain it.
I just did that 4200 mile road trip.
My 12v battery did NOT recharge even while driving 10+ hours a day, six days in a row.

What does THAT tell ya???

It's always just barely strong enough to get me started. Never left me stranded. And the battery is always low but never dead.

One bad battery cell?

Or bad software???

 

[BrewingAdventure]

Just want to add my data point. I got tired of the deep sleep notifications, so after reading a few threads around here I decided to drop in an AGM battery.

I went with this one from Rock Auto.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=8878472

It is a perfect fit. The only difference is that it has a vent hole on the positive and negative sides, so you need to plug up the positive side. A plug was provided in the box with the battery.

Getting the old battery out wasn't too bad, but putting the new one in was a real pain. The battery compartment is tight so jamming the new battery in past the stiff battery cables would be easier with 3 or 4 hands. Then there is the battery hold down clamp at the base of the battery. I tried to sneak the new battery in with the clamp just loosened all the way, but couldn't maneuver it properly. With so little room I didn't think I could get the clamp and the bolt back in proper position if I pulled it all the way out.

I ended up pulling up the plastic trim that surrounds the battery under half of the rear seat. I think the fasteners should just pull apart, but one snapped. And it required some severe flexing around some sheet metal which scratched things up. But with the trim pulled up, you can easily get the battery replaced, and the trim goes back in much easier than it comes out.

After getting things buttoned up, I reset the Battery Management System (BMS) by turning the Maverick to On (key in truck, press start, but NOT HOLDING the brake pedal), then flashing the high beams 5 times, then pressing the brake 3 times. You should see the battery warning light on the dash flash a few times after that if it worked.

After that I took it on a little drive to try and get the battery topped off. [EDIT - User Random points out below that you should let the truck sit for 8 hours after resetting the BMS.]I haven't checked voltages or anything, but I guess I'll post back here if it doesn't fix the issue.

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