Voltage 12.1 this morning...

[SemperVee]

It seems absurd to keep the charge level down - when it makes no sense to me but then I am not an engineer...Hmmmmm *Maybe Phil can chime in here to explain it.

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[Rinn69]

If anyone does find out how to make the charging system "dumb" please post. I have a 50-watt ham radio installed and can't run it on high power due to the charging system not being able to keep up with the current load.

If you unplug the little plug on the NEG battery post, it removes the "smart charge" aspect AND disables the AS/S. I unplugged mine last Friday---no AS/S.
Here's a link to one of the posts: https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/start-stop-feature-on-the-2-3l-ecoboost.1261/post-120461
The thread offers a lot more info on how the "smart charging" system works---worth reading

 

[JonB]

I'm not an electrical engineer, and I don't play one on TV, but keeping a battery at less than 100% capacity can extend its life. The trick of course is finding the right balance between the voltage level needed to start the truck and that which will keep the battery alive longer. Got my XLT in November and it never failed to start through Chicago's winter this year. Wasn't that cold, but there were a couple below zero days.

 

[JonB]

Thanks. I read the thread. So just pulling the plug on the small device on the negative cable does it. Amazing. Have you noticed any problems with it unplugged? Everything working OK?

 

[Rinn69]

Thanks. I read the thread. So just pulling the plug on the small device on the negative cable does it. Amazing. Have you noticed any problems with it unplugged? Everything working OK?

Everything works fine--except the AS/S, which is the main reason I did it.

 

[SemperVee]

Everything works fine--except the AS/S, which is the main reason I did it.

 

[SemperVee]

Thank you Rinn69 - Great info!
This pulling the plug is GREAT news and will end the issue of low voltage and what seems to be a battery replacement/voltage concern. I already don't use the Start/stop so it should be of no consequence to me. I average 21-23 miles per gallon with out SS anyway. I typically replace my vehicle batteries every 4-5 years no matter as I buy my vehicles new and keep them for an average of 10-15 years. I would feel better with the battery showing 12.6 or better than the 12.1 I have now.

 

[gbritt89]

So we have a group of people on this forum that are out in their driveways running multi-meters on batteries that work at starting their trucks without issue... and we have a group of people on this forum that sniff their dipsticks lol

@Rinn69 Removing the BMS cable looks interesting to me if I ever run any accessories that would warrant the need to do so. I wonder if thats the solution ford would be doing at an owners request... (if owners were actually able to get the dealership to do in-depth requests without pulling teeth)

Curious if anyone on the forum that's replaced their batteries followed this tidbit...
"When a battery replacement is required, the battery should only be
replaced with a Ford recommended replacement battery which matches
the electrical requirements of the vehicle. After battery replacement,
or in some cases after charging the battery with the external charger,
the BMS requires eight hours of vehicle sleep time (key off with doors
closed) to relearn the new battery state of charge. Prior to relearning the
state of charge, the BMS may disable electrical features (to protect the
battery) earlier than normal."

Believe I read a member on the forum saying he replaced his batteries that were at like 12.0/12.1 resting voltage.... without removing the BMS, I imagine you'd be getting the same readings on your new batteries as well right? Possibly even reading further off if the above "relearn" step was not followed

 

[JonB]

@Rinn69 Removing the BMS cable looks interesting to me if I ever run any accessories that would warrant the need to do so.

I run a 50-watt ham radio in my Ranger. It's wired to the positive battery cable and chassis ground with 10GA wire (manual says not to attach accessory grounds to the negative cable so as not to confuse the BMS). The radio monitors battery voltage and, when transmitting at full power, th voltage drops below 11 VDC. I've remedied this, for the moment, by not using high power -- but I would like to. Would pulling the plug on the negative cable's module help keep the alternator's output up sufficiently to allow full power transmit?

 

[Rinn69]

@Rinn69 Removing the BMS cable looks interesting to me if I ever run any accessories that would warrant the need to do so.

I run a 50-watt ham radio in my Ranger. It's wired to the positive battery cable and chassis ground with 10GA wire (manual says not to attach accessory grounds to the negative cable so as not to confuse the BMS). The radio monitors battery voltage and, when transmitting at full power, th voltage drops below 11 VDC. I've remedied this, for the moment, by not using high power -- but I would like to. Would pulling the plug on the negative cable's module help keep the alternator's output up sufficiently to allow full power transmit?

From what I remember reading here, some of the F-150 guys were the ones that discovered this "mod". One of their Ford Techs said something to the effect of-- "when you unplug the BMS plug, it reverts to being like an "old style" charging system, so it will keep the battery fully charged".
I tried to find the post that mentioned that, but couldn't.

 

[SemperVee]

Curious. I disconnected the plug and took a 120 mile RT drive yesterday and measured voltage both with and without connectioned at neg battery post. Without plug connected 12.55 resting and 13.9 running. With oem connection the Alt running voltage jumps up to 14.6 running? Resting overnight voltage 12.5 - Why disparity with plug connected for alternator output? Hmmmmm?

 

[JimJa]

At one time I thought I knew a lot about batteries since my father sold them. I didn't know squat. For an education Google deep cycle batteries. People living off the grid are anal about their batteries. Here's a little that may help for our application:
- Generally speaking, an AGM battery has higher internal resistance than a full-float battery. Do not give an AGM battery a "farmer's charge." That means, don't throw on a charger and crank up charging amps to 30-40. It will cause boiling of the gel and once the bubbles circle the plate the battery is toast.
- AGM batteries like to be kept at 100% ALL the time. If left for an extended period without a charge with only parasitic losses, often the battery will not recover. I learned this the hard way. Installed a new AGM and didn't start the car for four months while I was away. Afterwards the battery would not hold a charge (6mo old). Installed a deep cycle battery (one meeting the CCA requirement) and a 3/4 amp Del Trans trickle charger (quick disconnect plugged in after every drive) and kept the battery in operating condition for 16 years.
- Deep cycle AGM battery life is measured in cycles to 50% Depth of Discharge (DOD). The most popular AGM is the Optima - 400 DOD cycles. The best was Concordia (a marine battery) - 1000 DOD cycles. More expensive, but cheaper per cycle.

Does anyone remember that battery saver thing that was connected to your battery and will allow discharge down to 10 or so volts then automatically disconnect the battery until it detected you were attempting to start your vehicle, then kick on? Is it possible Ford has something like that imbedded within the ECU? A way to test for that would be to start your truck then immediately shut it off and test the voltage. If it jumped back up to 13 or so volts that would indicate so since the battery would not have time to reach that voltage in the very short time it was running. Have no idea but might be worth trying. Something like that could be programmed to keep the parasitic loss items connected - like radio pre-sets.

 

[Capt Jon]

Had my Ranger in the dealer last week for the first service, "The Works" since I bought it last April. Mileage 8040. Have had no issues so far. Anyway when they called to pay and deliver the vehicle back to me they said the battery tested bad and they replaced it, under warranty. BTW they left me a 2020 Ranger to use while mine was in the shop.

 

[SemperVee]

Finally went in to the dealer to pick up my (bought with Ford points) NOCO battery starter JIC I need to use it - and had the dealer check my battery. They maintain as long as it is 12 volts it is normal. LOTS of complaints coming in from vehicles that had sat for a week with problem starting due to electrical parasitic drain - BUT I finally had him put it on the machine for a load test and it came back "Good" with 12.5 so I am done for now and will just deal with it and disconnect the plug that keeps the SS system off and the alternator working old school style charging the battery as normal, NOT keeping it in a depressed voltage state.

 

[LurchOR]

- Generally speaking, an AGM battery has higher internal resistance than a full-float battery.

Do you have a source for this information?

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