Charging System, Service Now

[Hyperguy]

Hi All,

New guy here. I have a 19 Ranger Lariat that I bought new. Right around 82k on the clock. Great truck, and I've had few if any problems with it; until now. Just like some other members, I've run into some anomalies with my Charging System.

In my case, the "Charging System, Service Now" light comes on in the left dash panel. When I hit the OK button, that sends the notification down to a small Battery Icon next to the odometer reading. After a few minutes, the Battery Icon disappears and I go on my merry way. This happens just about every time I drive the truck. This has been going on for a few weeks now.

Lately, when I get in the truck, the Touch Screen illuminates with the notification below. This is before I even start the truck. When I turn the ignition on, it goes away.

The other thing that is happening is that when the notification above goes away, the touch screen shows that the radio is not on even though it was on when I turned off the truck.

Once I turn the radio on, everything goes back to normal.

Outside of these "notifications" there are no drivability issues with the truck. Before I start digging in to this, I figured I'd check with the experts to see if anybody knows what's going on? As a side note, the truck still has the original battery.

Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[RangerBill]

Hi All,

New guy here. I have a 19 Ranger Lariat that I bought new. Right around 82k on the clock. Great truck, and I've had few if any problems with it; until now. Just like some other members, I've run into some anomalies with my Charging System.

In my case, the "Charging System, Service Now" light comes on in the left dash panel. When I hit the OK button, that sends the notification down to a small Battery Icon next to the odometer reading. After a few minutes, the Battery Icon disappears and I go on my merry way. This happens just about every time I drive the truck. This has been going on for a few weeks now.

Lately, when I get in the truck, the Touch Screen illuminates with the notification below. This is before I even start the truck. When I turn the ignition on, it goes away.

The other thing that is happening is that when the notification above goes away, the touch screen shows that the radio is not on even though it was on when I turned off the truck.

Once I turn the radio on, everything goes back to normal.

Outside of these "notifications" there are no drivability issues with the truck. Before I start digging in to this, I figured I'd check with the experts to see if anybody knows what's going on? As a side note, the truck still has the original battery.

Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

Sounds like a bad battery or a charging system issue. I would get the battery tested and if ok, test the charging system.

 

[IdahoRanger]

What Bob said. I wonder if you have an original 2019 battery.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Five year old 2019 Battery finally giving in? Might be. Those warnings seem familiar. Has your Autp Stop/Stop system stopped working? It does that when the battery isn’t up to par - another telltale sign it’s failing. It’s an easy $200 fix or less. Make sure you get the larger of the two AGM batteries offered for Rangers because you have a Lariat. H7 I believe.

 

[Hyperguy]

What Bob said. I wonder if you have an original 2019 battery.

It is the original battery that came with the truck in 2019.

 

[Hyperguy]

Five year old 2019 Battery finally giving in? Might be. Those warnings seem familiar. Has your Autp Stop/Stop system stopped working? It does that when the battery isn’t up to par - another telltale sign it’s failing. It’s an easy $200 fix or less. Make sure you get the larger of the two AGM batteries offered for Rangers because you have a Lariat. H7 I believe.

I hadn't really paid attention but, the auto stop system has not been active lately.

 

[shovelhd]

Have your battery load tested and replace if needed. Do you drive mostly short trips? These trucks have an overly complicated battery management system that intentionally keeps the battery charge well under 100%. If the alternator cannot get enough charging time, the battery starts down a death spiral. If you have a battery charger, top it up first. Make sure that you connect the positive terminal to the battery itself, not the metal piece behind the battery sensor. It may be as simple as taking it for a weekly long drive.

 

[Hyperguy]

Have your battery load tested and replace if needed. Do you drive mostly short trips? These trucks have an overly complicated battery management system that intentionally keeps the battery charge well under 100%. If the alternator cannot get enough charging time, the battery starts down a death spiral. If you have a battery charger, top it up first. Make sure that you connect the positive terminal to the battery itself, not the metal piece behind the battery sensor. It may be as simple as taking it for a weekly long drive.

I work probably a mile and a from my home so yes, most of my trips are short. Every now and again we do go on a bit of a drive, but not often.

 

[IdahoRanger]

It is the original battery that came with the truck in 2019.

Don, mine too is original and I have to charge and desulfate the battery with my low usage. May just get a new one before winter.

5 years on these batteries is really good.

 

[shovelhd]

I work probably a mile and a from my home so yes, most of my trips are short. Every now and again we do go on a bit of a drive, but not often.

That, right there, is your problem.

Keep it on a smart charger or take it for an hour drive weekly.

 

[got3fords]

Just change the battery, it's due anyway. Better now than during the winter.

 

[Filobeddoe]

It is the original battery that came with the truck in 2019.

Had a similar situation with my 2019 Ranger Lariat (with 17k miles).
I have been having some issues with my battery for months and was monitoring and charging. Kept records of SOH (state of health), SOC (state of charge), voltage, CCA, etc.

I started getting the same messages about charging system service required. At that point, I charged battery and after charge I had a SOC of 67%. Not great but battery was still OK. Next day I checked battery and SOC was down to 10%!
Apparently the battery was not holding a charge (I suspected a dead cell?).
Soooo, after this and reading many posts about battery life on this forum the last couple years, I concluded that 5 1/2 years was time to replace battery....
Went with an Interstate battery with 850 CCA and hope to get at least 5 years out of it ?
The Lariat requires a heavier duty? battery than other models (800 CCA)
Enjoy your new battery ? ?

 

[Msfitoy]

82,000 miles eh? That battery has had a good long life...

 

[LT Dangle]

Dont forget to reset your Battery Management System!!

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/reset-bms.27283/

 

[Hyperguy]

82,000 miles eh? That battery has had a good long life...

Picking up a new Interstate battery tonight after work.

Sponsored