Maverick 12v batteries: Stock→AGM→Sodium

[HeyBales]

After parking 12 hours, stock battery was showing 12.4v with just the dome light on.

Purchased an H4 AGM from WalMart.
4 year free replacement (not pro-rated) warranty. $189

Manuf. 1/26. Resting voltage of the AGM was 13.1v.

Noco Genius 5 on AGM setting indicated the off the shelf battery was between 75% and 100%. It is now charging it at 14.1v 20 minutes into the bench charge.

I think you are likely to still win the longest OEM battery contest.
Perhaps other Mav's you see on the road with you could be right there, but probably not as old.

Hmmmm - does MTC have an award function...

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[Suzukiridr14]

I think you are likely to still win the longest OEM battery contest.
Perhaps other Mav's you see on the road with you could be right there, but probably not as old.

Hmmmm - does MTC have an award function...

I am into my 5th year of ownership of my 2022 Hybrid Maverick (delivered 3/9/22) , and still have the original flood battery in it. Yes, the interior lights are off when I open the door, but as soon as I push the start button, (Lariat has button) everything turns on. Never had a start problem, truck just sleeps alot.

 

[Master Blaster]

I am into my 5th year of ownership of my 2022 Hybrid Maverick (delivered 3/9/22) , and still have the original flood battery in it. Yes, the interior lights are off when I open the door, but as soon as I push the start button, (Lariat has button) everything turns on. Never had a start problem, truck just sleeps alot.

You are so close to not having it start. My first battery didn't last 8 months, and I'm on my fourth one now. Since everyone else is having the problem and you're not, what are you doing different to make your battery last that long? What equipment do you not have that is potentially the problem?

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

I'm at 3y 8mo on my stock one.
It's about done.

As you can read above, after the first ever no start last week I bench charged it; and it became a temporary fix.

I let mine sit parked Friday night until Monday morning.

It still started today. Had dome lights today. But the on board computer calculated it went from 89% on Friday to 52% today.

I think what makes them last 3 or 4 years is driving them every day.

 

[HeyBales]

I am into my 5th year of ownership of my 2022 Hybrid Maverick (delivered 3/9/22) , and still have the original flood battery in it. Yes, the interior lights are off when I open the door, but as soon as I push the start button, (Lariat has button) everything turns on. Never had a start problem, truck just sleeps alot.

Oh for sure the winner then, for those that joined.

How long are your 5 daily work drives on avg?

If you go by date code on your battery - perhaps on the Negative post - even longer!

You have a jump pack for the eventual day?
And a store that carries the battery you want?

 

[Suzukiridr14]

Oh for sure the winner then, for those that joined.

How long are your 5 daily work drives on avg?

If you go by date code on your battery - perhaps on the Negative post - even longer!

You have a jump pack for the eventual day?
And a store that carries the battery you want?

I'm retired, so I don't drive every day, usually under 100 miles a week. I do carry a jump pack, never had to use it, but was recomended in the early days of this forum. When the time comes, I'll get an AGM battery from Amazon.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

With a vent on the stock one; and sitting in a hot parked cab for years, water could only leave the battery.

I tried to pry open the top to check water level; and just felt I couldn't do it safely without destroying things.

May be low on water.
I may get bold, put on rubber gloves and goggles, and try to do an autopsy.
I'm very curious if it is low on electrolyte.

These give me a feeling of "planned obsolescence" being vented but not allowing water top off.

TBH I have not added water to a battery in about 30 year. But usually I get 5+ years out of them then figure why mess with it.

UPDATE 3.25.2026

My old battery is now doing fine and recharging better than it has in weeks.
Weird. Hard to rationalize.
Review:

So dead it wouldn't start one week ago.
I jump started it with a tiny portable battery one time.
I put it on a bench charger for 12 hours.
It is now doing well and holding about 12.4 volts and losing only 3% (calculated) overnight.

 

[First Sergeant]

Had an intermittent battery issue causing it to work one day, not the next. That was back in the 70's, we hunted in some pretty nasty territory, bouncing around in old back breaking solid axle trucks. The plates can get damaged. Here is an A.I. take:

Yes, bouncing plates (internal damage) in a car battery due to excessive vibration, usually from a lack of secure fastening (hold-downs), is a major cause of intermittent, hard-to-diagnose failures.


How Bouncing Plates Cause Intermittent Failures
If a battery is not secured properly, vibration or impact (rough roads, off-roading) causes internal damage:

• Intermittent Internal Shorts: The active lead material on the plates breaks down and sheds, settling at the bottom. As the car moves, this material can rise and momentarily create a bridge between the plates, short-circuiting a cell sporadically.
• Shifting Internal Connections: The plates themselves can become dislodged or plates can break, causing open circuits that only connect sometimes, leading to a "good then dead" battery behavior.
• Broken Plates/Separators: The physical jostling can break the brittle internal separators, causing plates to touch each other intermittently.

Symptoms of a Damaged, "Bouncing" Battery

• Intermittent Dead Battery: The car starts fine sometimes, but occasionally won't turn over at all, even if the battery was just charged.
• Random Power Loss: Dash lights or electronics may flicker, go out, and come back on while driving.
• Sensitive to Bumps: Symptoms appear after driving on rough roads.
• Voltage Fluctuations: A multimeter may show inconsistent or wildly changing voltage under load, rather than a steady drop.

Other Factors Exacerbating the Issue

• Loose Battery Terminals: Often, a loose battery shifts around, which puts stress on the connections, leading to poor contact.
• Improper Hold-Downs: Without a secure, torqued-down clamp, the entire battery moves inside the tray.
• Aging Batteries: As batteries get older, their internal components become more brittle and more susceptible to damage from movement.

Conclusion: If a battery is allowed to "bounce" inside the tray, it is likely to break its own internal structure, leading to inconsistent power and, ultimately, total failure.

 

[HeyBales]

With a vent on the stock one; and sitting in a hot parked cab for years, water could only leave the battery.

I tried to pry open the top to check water level; and just felt I couldn't do it safely without destroying things.

May be low on water.
I may get bold, put on rubber gloves and goggles, and try to do an autopsy.
I'm very curious if it is low on electrolyte.

These give me a feeling of "planned obsolescence" being vented but not allowing water top off.

TBH I have not added water to a battery in about 30 year. But usually I get 5+ years out of them then figure why mess with it.

UPDATE 3.25.2026

My old battery is now doing fine and recharging better than it has in weeks.
Weird. Hard to rationalize.
Review:

So dead it wouldn't start one week ago.
I jump started it with a tiny portable battery one time.
I put it on a bench charger for 12 hours.
It is now doing well and holding about 12.4 volts and losing only 3% (calculated) overnight.

Oh, I thought they were Sealed FLA.
And while those are usually described as still having a pressure relief valve like AGM - that's only if things get ugly.
Which I'd never consider the hybrid as getting bad on overcharging.

But glad yours had a change of heart.

I've had about 4 weeks now of 1 day a week of almost all day driving, some stops, but way above my normal to/from work.
And it seems to be inspired to get to & above 60% Ford SOC, on the warm days.
Still at trickle charge for the majority of that day, but willing to hang out higher for longer.
But like this morning, what would normally be trickle charge by the end of the 10-15 min drive, was still around 2A.

I need to look for a PID for 12V battery resistance - I'm sure they look at that during a BMS Relearn when it happens, just not sure it's logged for viewing. Your bench charging likely improved that reading, and BMS saw it and will to do more now, realizing the battery may not be that bad.

 

[HeyBales]

Had an intermittent battery issue causing it to work one day, not the next. That was back in the 70's, we hunted in some pretty nasty territory, bouncing around in old back breaking solid axle trucks. The plates can get damaged. Here is an A.I. take:

Yes, bouncing plates (internal damage) in a car battery due to excessive vibration, usually from a lack of secure fastening (hold-downs), is a major cause of intermittent, hard-to-diagnose failures.


How Bouncing Plates Cause Intermittent Failures
If a battery is not secured properly, vibration or impact (rough roads, off-roading) causes internal damage:

• Intermittent Internal Shorts: The active lead material on the plates breaks down and sheds, settling at the bottom. As the car moves, this material can rise and momentarily create a bridge between the plates, short-circuiting a cell sporadically.
• Shifting Internal Connections: The plates themselves can become dislodged or plates can break, causing open circuits that only connect sometimes, leading to a "good then dead" battery behavior.
• Broken Plates/Separators: The physical jostling can break the brittle internal separators, causing plates to touch each other intermittently.

Symptoms of a Damaged, "Bouncing" Battery

• Intermittent Dead Battery: The car starts fine sometimes, but occasionally won't turn over at all, even if the battery was just charged.
• Random Power Loss: Dash lights or electronics may flicker, go out, and come back on while driving.
• Sensitive to Bumps: Symptoms appear after driving on rough roads.
• Voltage Fluctuations: A multimeter may show inconsistent or wildly changing voltage under load, rather than a steady drop.

Other Factors Exacerbating the Issue

• Loose Battery Terminals: Often, a loose battery shifts around, which puts stress on the connections, leading to poor contact.
• Improper Hold-Downs: Without a secure, torqued-down clamp, the entire battery moves inside the tray.
• Aging Batteries: As batteries get older, their internal components become more brittle and more susceptible to damage from movement.

Conclusion: If a battery is allowed to "bounce" inside the tray, it is likely to break its own internal structure, leading to inconsistent power and, ultimately, total failure.

Interesting.
Even if not bouncing inside the tray, but the truck is in general like terrible pot road sections - I see the difference between a cheap battery and good battery being a difference in effect for many of those items.

Thinking of the EB recall for the Chinese FLA battery a range of builds got, that had internal short that must not have required a lot of bouncing around.

 

[HeyBales]

Any updates to the testing?

 

[Master Blaster]

Interesting.
Even if not bouncing inside the tray, but the truck is in general like terrible pot road sections - I see the difference between a cheap battery and good battery being a difference in effect for many of those items.

Thinking of the EB recall for the Chinese FLA battery a range of builds got, that had internal short that must not have required a lot of bouncing around.

It didn't short, there was a poor weld across the top of the plates and it opened.

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