Battery Question

[MotoWojo]

I have been having an issue with my battery over the past month. It has been sending my Ford Pass app "Remote features disabled..." messages to preserve battery. It also was giving me a message on Sync every morning when I went to start it, that I needed to either start the vehicle or turn off the ignition to preserve battery, or something to that effect. Anyway, I browsed thru the many threads involving battery issues and did not see a mention of this. I scheduled a visit to the dealer to get the battery checked. At the dealer, they put it on their Rotunda Battery tester and told me it would take 2 hours to fully run the test on that machine. Over four hours later, it was finally done testing. The dealer told me it sometimes takes the machine longer to do the test, depending on the battery, hence the 4+ hours. The end result was that the battery was good. Anyway, does anyone know what that Rotunda battery tester is? Seems it must be some type of de-sulfation charger, as my battery is definitely better than before it was on that machine. I have not gotten any warnings in several days. Only being 400 miles shy of my bumper to bumper warranty expiring, I am guessing my battery will now make it that far.

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[Frenchy]

So the tester they are talking about is used by most auto dealerships across the US. It can take some time to test the battery but it will do it right. How does it work? It does a quick load test analysis and then decides if the battery is able to be charged and how long it needs to charge it efficiently. After that it will either kick it out right away(I have seen it happen many times) or charge it for however long it needs to be charged. If it decides to charge the battery there is still a chance the battery could be bad but you will not know that until the tester determines this. Also that same tester is used for battery warranty codes. If the tester says the battery is bad it will print out a failure code that is required for the battery warranty.

A neat machine to say the least.

 

[MotoWojo]

So the tester they are talking about is used by most auto dealerships across the US. It can take some time to test the battery but it will do it right. How does it work? It does a quick load test analysis and then decides if the battery is able to be charged and how long it needs to charge it efficiently. After that it will either kick it out right away(I have seen it happen many times) or charge it for however long it needs to be charged. If it decides to charge the battery there is still a chance the battery could be bad but you will not know that until the tester determines this. Also that same tester is used for battery warranty codes. If the tester says the battery is bad it will print out a failure code that is required for the battery warranty.

A neat machine to say the least.

Thanks, the dealer did say that they needed a code from that to warranty the battery, which it did not give. When I got home, I tested the battery with my multi-meter, in which it was 12.5V, which settled down to 12.2V overnight. I had been checking the battery regularly over the past few weeks and I had not seen over 12.2V after a drive and it would settle down to 11.3-11.7V overnight (and give me the typical low battery messages). So I am wondering if the battery is on its way out or does my truck have a charging or battery management issue? That is why I asked this question, if that machine ran a desulfation process, and improved battery performance, than I can feel safe it is just the battery and not something with the charging system. I will exceed the bumper to bumper warranty in about weeks worth of driving, so I wanted to feel confident that it was just the battery.

 

[Frenchy]

Thanks, the dealer did say that they needed a code from that to warranty the battery, which it did not give. When I got home, I tested the battery with my multi-meter, in which it was 12.5V, which settled down to 12.2V overnight. I had been checking the battery regularly over the past few weeks and I had not seen over 12.2V after a drive and it would settle down to 11.3-11.7V overnight (and give me the typical low battery messages). So I am wondering if the battery is on its way out or does my truck have a charging or battery management issue? That is why I asked this question, if that machine ran a desulfation process, and improved battery performance, than I can feel safe it is just the battery and not something with the charging system. I will exceed the bumper to bumper warranty in about weeks worth of driving, so I wanted to feel confident that it was just the battery.

It is possible your battery is on its way out. Sometimes there are plenty of individuals like ourselves that will become unlucky and have the battery failed right after the warranty. Depending on how soon it happens after the warranty and the dealership you have will depend on whether or not the dealership will be kind and cover the battery. If it is not covered my suggestion is one of two things. Either buy a brand new battery at the dealership since Ford has one of the best warranties for batteries on the market or find a local dealer that sells Odyssey batteries. I can't speak for the warranty but to my understanding those batteries are top-notch.

 

[Jmarler]

Thanks, the dealer did say that they needed a code from that to warranty the battery, which it did not give. When I got home, I tested the battery with my multi-meter, in which it was 12.5V, which settled down to 12.2V overnight. I had been checking the battery regularly over the past few weeks and I had not seen over 12.2V after a drive and it would settle down to 11.3-11.7V overnight (and give me the typical low battery messages). So I am wondering if the battery is on its way out or does my truck have a charging or battery management issue? That is why I asked this question, if that machine ran a desulfation process, and improved battery performance, than I can feel safe it is just the battery and not something with the charging system. I will exceed the bumper to bumper warranty in about weeks worth of driving, so I wanted to feel confident that it was just the battery.

I would go back to the dealer and see if they can solve the issue before your warranty is out since you keep getting the message. Take a picture of it too so you can prove it. Since it may not show up when you get there.

 

[MotoWojo]

I would go back to the dealer and see if they can solve the issue before your warranty is out since you keep getting the message. Take a picture of it too so you can prove it. Since it may not show up when you get there.

That's the thing, I have not gotten any of those messages since it was on their machine. If it is just the battery going bad, I can deal with that, if it was due to the charging system, that may get a bit more costly. They did say the charging system was working as it should. The thing that gets me is I have been having these issues and if everything is testing out to be good, it's just not logical. If they would tell me the battery is on it's way out, but it is not bad enough yet for Ford to warranty it, I could live with that, but telling me everything is hunky dory, makes me worried.

 

[MotoWojo]

It is possible your battery is on its way out. Sometimes there are plenty of individuals like ourselves that will become unlucky and have the battery failed right after the warranty. Depending on how soon it happens after the warranty and the dealership you have will depend on whether or not the dealership will be kind and cover the battery. If it is not covered my suggestion is one of two things. Either buy a brand new battery at the dealership since Ford has one of the best warranties for batteries on the market or find a local dealer that sells Odyssey batteries. I can't speak for the warranty but to my understanding those batteries are top-notch.

No way I'll be buying a battery from Ford, the warranty part involves the whole PIA dealer interaction that I try to avoid. I am sure there are many great dealers out there, but they are not within reasonable driving distance from my home. I've used Odyssey batteries in my motorcycles before and they were good, but I cannot find a model # for the US based Ranger.

 

[Frenchy]

No way I'll be buying a battery from Ford, the warranty part involves the whole PIA dealer interaction that I try to avoid. I am sure there are many great dealers out there, but they are not within reasonable driving distance from my home. I've used Odyssey batteries in my motorcycles before and they were good, but I cannot find a model # for the US based Ranger.

For the Odyssey brand it is the group 48 and Group 94R batteries. The 94R is the Lariat battery. That should help

 

[Jmarler]

I would go back to the dealer and see if they can solve the issue before your warranty is out since you keep getting the message. Take a picture of it too so you can prove it. Since it may not show up when you get there.

The only thing I could think of to do is let the truck sit for a few days and see how the battery holds up if possible.

 

[cfhgarza]

I have the same exact problem. Dealer also said battery is "okay". Auto start/stop also doesn't work and says it's disabled for charging. Lots of other people have the same issue and some were able to get the battery replaced.

 

[MotoWojo]

For the Odyssey brand it is the group 48 and Group 94R batteries. The 94R is the Lariat battery. That should help

Excellent, 94R it is, as I have a Lariat. That is also what they showed for the Ranger on their site, but they did not have an option to select the US based Ranger.

 

[MotoWojo]

The only thing I could think of to do is let the truck sit for a few days and see how the battery holds up if possible.

Yup, that is what I am doing now, but unlike before it was on the Rotunda machine, it is holding steady at 12.2V and not dropping. I have to drive it tomorrow, so I will give it one more check tomorrow morning. I was more worried it was something with the charging or a parasitic draw, but it is seeming more and more like the battery is going south. I am not happy that I will probably end up paying for a battery, but better that than some other electrical issue.

 

[MotoWojo]

I have the same exact problem. Dealer also said battery is "okay". Auto start/stop also doesn't work and says it's disabled for charging. Lots of other people have the same issue and some were able to get the battery replaced.

Yes, I have read the other threads. I guess it depends if you get a good dealer or not? Do you also get the message when you go to start it for the first time of the day? The message I get is on the Sync3 screen, I don't remember the exact warning, but it tells you to start the vehicle or turn off the ignition to preserve battery, or something to that effect. I actually had two occasions where i needed a jump start.

 

[Jmarler]

Yup, that is what I am doing now, but unlike before it was on the Rotunda machine, it is holding steady at 12.2V and not dropping. I have to drive it tomorrow, so I will give it one more check tomorrow morning. I was more worried it was something with the charging or a parasitic draw, but it is seeming more and more like the battery is going south. I am not happy that I will probably end up paying for a battery, but better that than some other electrical issue.

Well hopefully it won’t give out anytime soon.

 

[cfhgarza]

Yes, I have read the other threads. I guess it depends if you get a good dealer or not? Do you also get the message when you go to start it for the first time of the day? The message I get is on the Sync3 screen, I don't remember the exact warning, but it tells you to start the vehicle or turn off the ignition to preserve battery, or something to that effect. I actually had two occasions where i needed a jump start.

Yeah I get it on startup. The radio also shuts within 30 seconds of turning off the truck. I haven't needed a jump start yet though.

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