AGM battery reliability

[Floyd]

I replaced my battery last spring without any "keep-alive" power source. The only thing that happened is the power window lost its one-touch function. Ran it down and up - fixed. It may have lost radio presets but I don't know because I don't listen to broadcast radio anymore. So yes - any battery place can replace your battery. I did mine at home.

As far as this being your last Ford - all mfgrs are doing this now. Buying another brand will not help. You will still get ASS and dead batteries...

I am not sure there is a "battery time in service" parameter to reset. I don't think the charge parameters are linked to time. I certainly have not seen this in my Ranger.

I think the main (probably only) reason for the 70% charge is to squeeze every last bit of MPG out of the truck to meet their CAFE numbers. We pay the price in battery replacement costs.

I agree that they all are doing the same things,
My complaint is the absolute lack of support I get from my Ford Service Dept.
The local dealers seem incompetent and I can no longer get any help from corporate.

Being a fleet mechanic I have always had cooperation from dealers and companies.
Now , I get the impression that I am just a big fat pigeon when I walk in the door who must pay hundreds just to have them scratch their heads and make condescending remarks.
At these rates I expect competence, not confusion and obfuscation.


BTW. A battery is a wear item like tires and brakes, this one is likely just dying early.
Fortunately this truck remains flawless and reliable.

Once I get past the learning curve on this Ranger, I won't want another adventure into the unknown without a competent and cooperative guide.
I'll likely just keep what I have and stop buying new altogether.


An example...
My TC has an intermittent purge valve malfunction on the evap system.
It is still covered by the emissions warranty so I went to my dealer to have it replaced.
They demanded $167 deposit just to diagnose the problem and promised a partial refund only if Ford would cover the cost when they submitted the charge.
The TC has only 37000 miles on it, the part costs $27, and it takes about 10 minutes to replace.
This style purge valve has been a problem since it was introduced in 2009, so maybe they should have a clue

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[dtech]

Or it could just be poor quality batteries. Or made to a cheap specification. There is no proof changing the charge will will increase battery life.

However there is proof that a lead acid battery kept in an undercharged state will result in shorter battery life, in some ways I feel sorry for your battery but then again there is a reason it goes by Diehard, it may be malnourished and experience prolonged suffering.

 

[dtech]

The answer is simple. Replace the bad battery and plug the BMS sensor back in.

and let the same cycle repeat itself - not my idea of solving a problem.

 

[Muffin1]

Yea. I think I see Forscan in my future.

Got to say, the idea of having to put a vehicle on the maintainer just blows my mind. It's not some hot rod that gets driven 3 times in the summer. Just nuts. When I get it, it may get driven daily, or it may get driven on the weekend only. Depends on the week. Just nuts to have to think about the battery.

Yea I agree but in my case I don’t use the truck daily it can sometimes sit for weeks I have two other vehicles at my disposal lol.

 

[Muffin1]

The answer is simple. Replace the bad battery and plug the BMS sensor back in.

I’m not convinced the battery itself is bad, my non use, having the key in run or on position for a extended period added to that whatever normal draws occur additionally in this most recent issue for about 5 days we’ve had below normal temps here 5-10 degrees at night and only a couple degrees higher during the day.

 

[Rp930]

and let the same cycle repeat itself - not my idea of solving a problem.

Again, what you’re doing has not been proven. Has it?

 

[dtech]

Again, what you’re doing has not been proven. Has it?

Sure it absolutely has , before there was such a thing as bms millions and millions of lead acid batteries were always set to charge at 100% , and if you are so motivated you can go to multiple sites where people with extensive battery expertise all will say the same - lead acid batteries last the longest when consistently charged to 100% . And there are many examples where a faulty voltage regulator that charged a battery less than 100% necessitated replacement of both the alternator and the battery. Not sure what other proof you need except to say that leaving your diehard consistently undercharged - you may be convinced, albeit the (Die)hard way.
And I'll counter by saying can you prove to me that prior to bms auto charging systems didn't charge their batteries to 100% . But I choose to believe in what experts say regards lead acid batteries, and this is the whole reason behind battery maintainers which many endorse/use on here - to keep the battery at 100% charge, it works, trust me.

 

[Rp930]

Sure it absolutely has , before there was such a thing as bms millions and millions of lead acid batteries were always set to charge at 100% , and if you are so motivated you can go to multiple sites where people with extensive battery expertise all will say the same - lead acid batteries last the longest when consistently charged to 100% . And there are many examples where a faulty voltage regulator that charged a battery less than 100% necessitated replacement of both the alternator and the cid battery battery. Not sure what other proof you need except to say that leaving your diehard consistently undercharged - you may be convinced, albeit the (Die)hard way.
And I'll counter by saying can you prove to me that prior to bms auto charging systems didn't charge their batteries to 100% . But I choose to believe in what experts say regards lead acid batteries, and this is the whole reason behind battery maintainers which many endorse/use on here - to keep the battery at 100% charge, it works, trust me.

All well and good if we were talking about a lead acid battery. We are talking about AGM batteries. And no I don’t trust you. I have plenty of automotive experience to draw from of my own.

You run a greater risk of overcharging an AGM battery causing dry out.

 

[CB750F]

All I know is the wife drives the truck on a daily basis & ever once in while it will tell
us it's no longer doing something to preserve the battery.
Our temps go from about 90f to -20f. 2yrs, 30k miles, no issues, so far.

 

[Rene Michaels]

Well something is wrong with my battery. First exterior touch locks were not working. Then later the same day as I was driving the locks cycled on their own 100+ times. Next day the reverse sonar noise only came from the front left pillar speaker. Going into Ford Dealer at 1p for diagnostic.

Ignore this is for a Toyota but I wonder if one of these would help?https://www.cascadia4x4.com/collect...-watt-hood-solar-panel?variant=35028822163608

A Solar Hood Panel seems like an awesome idea! It will be interesting to see how these get used over time!

 

[dtech]

All well and good if we were talking about a lead acid battery. We are talking about AGM batteries. And no I don’t trust you. I have plenty of automotive experience to draw from of my own.

You run a greater risk of overcharging an AGM battery causing dry out.

News flash an AGM is a lead acid battery, that is fundamental to having a legitimate discussion on this subject matter.

 

[Rp930]

News flash an AGM is a lead acid battery, that is fundamental to having a legitimate discussion on this subject matter.

Yes. I stand corrected. It also has a different construction than a flooded battery. Once the gas escapes from overcharging it can no longer keep itself hydrated. So a different charging strategy is needed.

Since you are smarter than the Ford engineers what safeguards against overcharging do you have in place now other than the trial and error method?

That said I normally agree with your posts but trying to convince everyone or some to alter the charging strategy just doesn’t sit well with me.

Can we agree to disagree on this one?

 

[dtech]

Yes. I stand corrected. It also has a different construction than a flooded battery. Once the gas escapes from overcharging it can no longer keep itself hydrated. So a different charging strategy is needed.

Since you are smarter than the Ford engineers what safeguards against overcharging do you have in place now other than the trial and error method?

Sorry I no longer feel this to be a productive discussion, I give you evidence why many people on this board believe that even an AGM battery is best maintained at 100% capacity via use of battery maintainers and you bring up other objections, what I attempted in this thread is provide logical explanations how the bms interacts with a traditional vehicle charging system and a hypothesis why the soc of charge is set at 70% and why that ties to the battery failures posters have experienced, you manage your battery the way you choose and I'll will manage mine, thus far my oem battery is doing just fine at a 100% charge rate.
Just to add the history of auto mfg there are numerous errors, miscaclulations, oversights etc as it pertains to design and engineering, that's one of the reasons we have recalls, redesigns, premature failures and so on, engineers don't always get it right and some decisions are made in the pursuit of chasing mpg efficiency that can and have had negative consequences.

 

[Rp930]

Sorry I no longer feel this to be a productive discussion, I give you evidence why many people on this board believe that even an AGM battery is best maintained at 100% capacity via use of battery maintainers and you bring up other objections, what I attempted in this thread is provide logical explanations how the bms interacts with a traditional vehicle charging system and a hypothesis why the soc of charge is set at 70% and why that ties to the battery failures posters have experienced, you manage your battery the way you choose and I'll will manage mine, thus far my oem battery is doing just fine at a 100% charge rate.

Please reread my corrected post above.

Truce?

 

[dtech]

yes truce, I try to avoid personal conflicts on here - live in fear of the fate of the banana man. But if you've read the posts of some others on here they also believe that the soc of 70% is intended primarily to get better fuel efficiency by limiting alternator load - Ford is not the only mfg that is doing this.

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