Battery change ???s

[RangerBill]

Hmm, that makes sense and I appreciate your perspective. I suppose I've got nothing to lose asking them to look at it.

I'd probably prefer to get a higher quality battery on my own dime, but at the same time, I don't want to feel like a chump and second guess my own decision.

Some folks here have gotten decent mileage out of their batteries. I'd like to think that my steady use of the CTEK would keep it in good shape, but there are bad batteries out there ...

The Topdon battery tester requires a very good connection to both battery terminals to give an accurate reading on Cold Cranking Amps or Cranking Amps. Before replacing the battery, I would remove the positive battery terminal bus work and connect the red lead directly to the battery terminal. The negative terminal is much easier to get a good connection to. The battery positive terminal has many bolts and buses and is difficult to get a good connection to for capacity testing.

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[subquark]

The Topdon battery tester requires a very good connection to both battery terminals to give an accurate reading on Cold Cranking Amps or Cranking Amps. Before replacing the battery, I would remove the positive battery terminal bus work and connect the red lead directly to the battery terminal. The negative terminal is much easier to get a good connection to. The battery positive terminal has many bolts and buses and is difficult to get a good connection to for capacity testing.

Good advice, I'll do that this afternoon to be better informed for dealership visit - thanks!

Dang it, where's that 10mm ...

 

[AzScorpion]

Good advice, I'll do that this afternoon to be better informed for dealership visit - thanks!

Fang it, where's that 10mm ...

Did you say 10mm?

 

[airline tech]

Good advice, I'll do that this afternoon to be better informed for dealership visit - thanks!

Fang it, where's that 10mm ...

A word of CAUTION here, do not disconnect the (+) cable before the (-).
The (-) cable is ALWAYS disconnected first.
I have seen the aftermath of not following this step- the battery exploded, direct short, luckily the tech (student) as this was in high school had safety glasses on. He was replacing a starter solenoid on a ford. (Fender Mounted)

 

[rang19ca]

A word of CAUTION here, do not disconnect the (+) cable before the (-).
The (-) cable is ALWAYS disconnected first.
I have seen the aftermath of not following this step- the battery exploded, direct short, luckily the tech (student) as this was in high school had safety glasses on. He was replacing a starter solenoid on a ford. (Fender Mounted)

This is very good info for everyone. Thanks.

 

[subquark]

A word of CAUTION here, do not disconnect the (+) cable before the (-).
The (-) cable is ALWAYS disconnected first.
I have seen the aftermath of not following this step- the battery exploded, direct short, luckily the tech (student) as this was in high school had safety glasses on. He was replacing a starter solenoid on a ford. (Fender Mounted)

You bet, this modern stuff (compared to 1972 tech) is way beyond me and I try to be prudent. I did disconnect both and my challenge was unclipping that front connector (BMS?). Me and plastic ... =p

You were all correct! That TopDon is so sensitive, a totally great reading this time:

Thanks everybody for helping me learn and extra thanks to our resident tech ninja: @airline tech!

 

[moorejl57]

A word of CAUTION here, do not disconnect the (+) cable before the (-).
The (-) cable is ALWAYS disconnected first.
I have seen the aftermath of not following this step- the battery exploded, direct short, luckily the tech (student) as this was in high school had safety glasses on. He was replacing a starter solenoid on a ford. (Fender Mounted)

You lost me here. How did the battery short?

edit: I read up on it, has to do with the wrench hitting a body ground while removing the positive. By removing the negative first, the body is no longer a ground source for accidental contact.

 

[RangerBill]

You bet, this modern stuff (compared to 1972 tech) is way beyond me and I try to be prudent. I did disconnect both and my challenge was unclipping that front connector (BMS?). Me and plastic ... =p

You were all correct! That TopDon is so sensitive, a totally great reading this time:

Thanks everybody for helping me learn and extra thanks to our resident tech ninja: @airline tech!

Your battery is in excellent condition according to the tester.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Thanks Dave for giving me some confidence in the Motorcraft battery, if they replace it.

If TopDon is right, 500 cranking amps isn't much for next winter.

Like you, @Chris M , I'm leary of getting good service, but Ive only done 2 oil changes with them, maybe they'll be that rare unicorn of good service!

speaking of Ford unicorns

Hey David,

Similar to Dave‘s experience, my 2019 battery failed at 10 months (I’m convinced there was a quality control issue with the supplier) and was replaced on warranty. Four years and 30,000 miles later, still no issues. I Don’t use a battery tender.

Based on my experience with the replacement, the OEM battery should be just fine.

 

[got3fords]

I always take several readings at any giving test. The results can vary wildly, so after several consecutive tests, I take the best one, and owe to getting the best connection.
I also only test after the truck has been sitting for several hours. Even better, I will unlock, open the hood, and let it rest for a while so none of the automatic actuators or solenoids or whatever has energized in a while before a battery test.

 

[TomSim]

Simpler than that:

okay thanks for that

 

[RedlandRanger]

This thread, with the battery tester that @subquark posted got me to finally test my battery. I bought the same tester he did, and it came today. I've had a replacement battery sitting in my garage for almost a year now, in anticipation of needing to replace my battery. I was still on my original battery, which was 5 years and almost 4 months old. I knew I was on borrowed time.

Anyway, the battery tester told me what I expected, the battery needed replaced - it was at like 41% or something like that, so I pulled out the old one (MAN, there are a lot of wires attached to it!!!!) and put in the new one - a Weize AGM battery which I got for $125 delivered:

https://www.weizeus.com/products/we...otive-battery-140rc-850cca-36-months-warranty

I put the new one in, did the driver window reset, checked the new battery with the battery tester (100% all around which surprised me since its been sitting for so long), and then did a BMS reset using FORScan. I had to reset some of the gauge layouts I had done but other than re-selecting FM for the radio, everything else looked good. I did notice the TPMS sensors weren't working but after driving just a short distance (a tenth of a mile or so) they all chimed in.

Anyway, when I was doing the BMS reset, I noticed a DTC code - B11F0:

I cleared it and restarted and it came back - at first I thought it might have been something with the battery replacement but it does not appear to be. Anyone know about what this means and/or if I should worry about it?

 

[Tom_C]

You lost me here. How did the battery short?

edit: I read up on it, has to do with the wrench hitting a body ground while removing the positive. By removing the negative first, the body is no longer a ground source for accidental contact.

Yeah, I have a background in electronics, and I never understood why it matters. I guess it's more for the DOH! factor, and not anything electrically (other than the DOH!)

 

[IdahoRanger]

This thread, with the battery tester that @subquark posted got me to finally test my battery. I bought the same tester he did, and it came today. I've had a replacement battery sitting in my garage for almost a year now, in anticipation of needing to replace my battery. I was still on my original battery, which was 5 years and almost 4 months old. I knew I was on borrowed time.

Anyway, the battery tester told me what I expected, the battery needed replaced - it was at like 41% or something like that, so I pulled out the old one (MAN, there are a lot of wires attached to it!!!!) and put in the new one - a Weize AGM battery which I got for $125 delivered:

https://www.weizeus.com/products/we...otive-battery-140rc-850cca-36-months-warranty

I put the new one in, did the driver window reset, checked the new battery with the battery tester (100% all around which surprised me since its been sitting for so long), and then did a BMS reset using FORScan. I had to reset some of the gauge layouts I had done but other than re-selecting FM for the radio, everything else looked good. I did notice the TPMS sensors weren't working but after driving just a short distance (a tenth of a mile or so) they all chimed in.

Anyway, when I was doing the BMS reset, I noticed a DTC code - B11F0:

I cleared it and restarted and it came back - at first I thought it might have been something with the battery replacement but it does not appear to be. Anyone know about what this means and/or if I should worry about it?

Rob, you got some good life from your OEM battery. Desulfated my OEM earlier and it still has good numbers. Not sure what that code is but @airline tech probably does.

My battery:

 

[RedlandRanger]

Rob, you got some good life from your OEM battery. Desulfated my OEM earlier and it still has good numbers. Not sure what that code is but @airline tech probably does.

My battery:

Given how much electronics, etc there are on this truck I can't complain at all getting over 5 years on a battery. As I recall the internal resistance on my old battery was like 8 ohms and it was only at about 340CCA.

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