Auto Stop-Start Steering Angle Issues

[Shepherd]

Hello there,

I recently bought a 2021 Wildtrak. The Stop Start has never worked properly for me. It always said 'Engine on due to vehicle charging'.
I charged up the battery a couple times and reset the BMS (Which I know you are not meant to do unless you are actually replacing the battery.) then after a short drive the stop start would function as it should. After the engine would be off overnight it would not work the next day. I read somewhere that the BMS resets after 8 hours of sleep. So maybe it realised it was being tricked and decided to disable auto stop start again. Anyway, I bought a battery tester and realised I had a bad battery.

I replaced the battery today, however now the auto stop start says 'engine on due to steering angle'. The steering wheel is straight at this time. I tried turning it multiple different ways but it still shows the message. Bare in mind I haven't taken it for a drive yet since replacing the battery today.

If anyone had any tips that would be great.

Thank you.

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[RangerBill]

I would drive it and see if it corrects after being driven awhile.

 

[TJC]

I would unplug the BMS sensor at the neg battery terminal, and happily drive the vehicle without ASS. Your battery will thank you..

 

[Grandaccess]

I would unplug the BMS sensor at the neg battery terminal, and happily drive the vehicle without ASS. Your battery will thank you..

or use Forscan and change the SOC - state of charge to 90% up from the factory 80% then turn off ASS for good, it doesnt save any gas ....

 

[OGMix376]

or use Forscan and change the SOC - state of charge to 90% up from the factory 80% then turn off ASS for good, it doesnt save any gas ....

Removing ASS with FORscan stop the ASS dash indicators from coming up too or no?

Hello there,

I recently bought a 2021 Wildtrak. The Stop Start has never worked properly for me. It always said 'Engine on due to vehicle charging'.
I charged up the battery a couple times and reset the BMS (Which I know you are not meant to do unless you are actually replacing the battery.) then after a short drive the stop start would function as it should. After the engine would be off overnight it would not work the next day. I read somewhere that the BMS resets after 8 hours of sleep. So maybe it realised it was being tricked and decided to disable auto stop start again. Anyway, I bought a battery tester and realised I had a bad battery.

I replaced the battery today, however now the auto stop start says 'engine on due to steering angle'. The steering wheel is straight at this time. I tried turning it multiple different ways but it still shows the message. Bare in mind I haven't taken it for a drive yet since replacing the battery today.

If anyone had any tips that would be great.

Thank you.

I had no idea ASS and steering angle matters.. your wheel is turned so no ASS for you ? what the heck?
like the guys said just disable it, make sure nothings wrong with the steering and all. Just disable the dumb ASS after that. (I drive in sport mode, so that automatically gets disabled in my truck anyhow.)

 

[moorejl57]

Removing ASS with FORscan stop the ASS dash indicators from coming up too or no?




I had no idea ASS and steering angle matters.. your wheel is turned so no ASS for you ? what the heck?
like the guys said just disable it, make sure nothings wrong with the steering and all. Just disable the dumb ASS after that. (I drive in sport mode, so that automatically gets disabled in my truck anyhow.)

It's so when you are making a turn while braking, the engine doesn't shut off. Like many others, I despise the ASS system. The only good thing about it is that the starting motor is designed to last longer.

 

[OGMix376]

It's so when you are making a turn while braking, the engine doesn't shut off. Like many others, I despise the ASS system. The only good thing about it is that the starting motor is designed to last longer.

Ohhhhh, ok that makes total sense to me now.
just me again exposing how much of a knucklehead I am sometimes?

 

[TJC]

I have experimented with the different methods of turning ASS off and neutering the BMS system.
In a nut shell I found unplugging the BMS sensor at the battery terminal gives me the most consistent charging patterns. Very much like those of my 2005 Ranger, which I used as my objective.

I have installed the ASS bypass module that remembers the setting. It works but BMS still did it (negative) thing.

I have adjusted the ASS/BMS settings using Forscan including the SOC (all the way up to 95%) and still had strange charging patterns that were not ideal for battery health.

Even after optimizing the charging patterns, I still had a large dark power drain when the truck sat unused. I used Forscan to turn off unnecessary power draws. Turning off headlights instead of leaving them on for 30 seconds after turning off the truck.

It still was drawing too much power.

I finally pulled the the fuse for telemetrics (Fuse 8) and physically unplugged the cellular modem, and turned off telemetrics in Forscan. I did this because I didn't want my truck sending data to whoever without my consent (What can I say, I am a privacy nut). Ford (or anyone else) has no need to know how slow or fast I drive or where I go, or any of my other actions while driving my truck.

What I discovered (after lobotomizing my telemetry system) was my dark power drain was almost completely eliminated! My truck can sit for a week to 10 days without significant power drops in the battery. Ford must be sending / receiving a boatload of data with the truck turned off.

I no longer require the trickle charger with the desulfator. I did install a desulfator that does its thing whenever the battery charge rate is >=13.5v. I have been using it on all my autos for years and routinely get 10 years out of my batteries.... including my 2005 4.0L 4x4 Ranger.

The net of it all is highlighted in the 2 bold lines in this note. Pull the plug and turn off telemetry. (For good measure, I also turned off the headlights delay, the seat belt nanny bells, and door chimes.)

I started a really exhaustive thread where I tried a great deal of things in an effort to optimize my battery health. Follow this link if you want to punish yourself with all the gory details - "Maximizing Battery Life"

 

[ControlNode]

So far most here are not looking at this from the OPs POV. He didn't complain about ASS working, he complained that it's not working, so all the post about how to disable it are not helping the OP with their concern.

After replacing the battery, some systems may require some drive time to relearn the positions of some sensors like steering, likely using something like Forscan you may be able to force learn it quickly, but if driving it will work it's worth a try. The alternative would be in the future when you replace the battery, find an alternate way to provide +12V to the system while the battery is removed so that no module gets reset, just be very careful with that +12V terminal while it's loose. With all the computers in modern cars, avoiding disconnecting the battery unless you need to do to the work you are performing requires no power to the rest of the truck is the best plan.

 

[Dahveed]

So far most here are not looking at this from the OPs POV. He didn't complain about ASS working, he complained that it's not working, so all the post about how to disable it are not helping the OP with their concern.

After replacing the battery, some systems may require some drive time to relearn the positions of some sensors like steering, likely using something like Forscan you may be able to force learn it quickly, but if driving it will work it's worth a try. The alternative would be in the future when you replace the battery, find an alternate way to provide +12V to the system while the battery is removed so that no module gets reset, just be very careful with that +12V terminal while it's loose. With all the computers in modern cars, avoiding disconnecting the battery unless you need to do to the work you are performing requires no power to the rest of the truck is the best plan.

Every post here when auto start/stop is brought up just turns into a big circlejerk about how “terrible” it is.

It is disabled for steering angle because the electric power steering needs the amperage from the alternator to be consistent. It would slowly get weaker if only running from the battery.

Perhaps ForScan is able to display steering angle? If it’s a Wildtrak it’s a ROW Ranger and may be different from our USDM models.

 

[Grandaccess]

Removing ASS with FORscan stop the ASS dash indicators from coming up too or no?




I had no idea ASS and steering angle matters.. your wheel is turned so no ASS for you ? what the heck?
like the guys said just disable it, make sure nothings wrong with the steering and all. Just disable the dumb ASS after that. (I drive in sport mode, so that automatically gets disabled in my truck anyhow.)

you will notice if you turn the wheel a little, the truck will restart, steering angle matters

 

[OGMix376]

you will notice if you turn the wheel a little, the truck will restart, steering angle matters

I did that today on the way to take my step daughter to her orthodontist appointment.. it was nice to learn something new about the technology, and all the little details that go into the operation of things (I feel) often get overlooked or under appreciated.. however sometimes it can be frustrating in situations like the OP is dealing with.. thank you sir.

 

[AzScorpion]

Removing ASS with FORscan stop the ASS dash indicators from coming up too or no?




I had no idea ASS and steering angle matters.. your wheel is turned so no ASS for you ? what the heck?
like the guys said just disable it, make sure nothings wrong with the steering and all. Just disable the dumb ASS after that. (I drive in sport mode, so that automatically gets disabled in my truck anyhow.)

Cheapest and easiest way to disable ASS is plug in a LED nightlight into the rear plug behind your console. It draws just enough to disable it and shuts down automatically after 15-20 minutes after turning the truck off. Save your money for important stuff like dampers and 303 products! You're welcome. ?

 

[Beach]

Cheapest and easiest way to disable ASS is plug in a LED nightlight into the rear plug behind your console. It draws just enough to disable it and shuts down automatically after 15-20 minutes after turning the truck off. Save your money for important stuff like dampers and 303 products! You're welcome. ?

The plug impacts ASS? So you need a night light on while driving then? ?

 

[AzScorpion]

The plug impacts ASS? So you need a night light on while driving then? ?

It does disable it and you could always black it out with some spray paint. Others have just plugged in a charging head and say that works too.

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