Maximizing Battery Life

pboggini

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
194
Reaction score
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lightning Blue XL Ranger 4x2 Supercrew.
I replaced the battery a few months ago and deactivated the bms at that time.
OK, so in theory your battery is in much better shape than mine. :).

I've noticed that despite running Repair Mode last weekend and having SOC set to 90% my auto stop/start isn't as consistent as it was before. It worked great on Sunday right after the Repair Mode and it worked again on Tuesday but I haven't had it work any other time. One thing I do like about it is that it's the "canary in the coal mine" for battery stuff but it would be great if I knew more about the thresholds by which it worked and didn't work.
Sponsored

 

got3fords

Well-Known Member
First Name
James
Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Threads
75
Messages
2,682
Reaction score
6,238
Location
22973
Vehicle(s)
2021 XLT Sport
One thing I do like about it (BMS) is that it's the "canary in the coal mine" for battery stuff but it would be great if I knew more about the thresholds by which it worked and didn't work.
Good point, if BMS isn't working, there may be an issue with the battery
 

pboggini

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
194
Reaction score
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lightning Blue XL Ranger 4x2 Supercrew.
Doing an other NOCO Genius 5 "Repair Mode" today. I mentioned the voltage fluctuation in my last experience but this time it's not doing that. It started out in the 12.5 range and just slowly ticket up over the hours. It hit 13+ after about an hour and it hit 14 after 2.5 hours. Last check with around 30 minutes to go and the voltage was 14.16. Given that verbiage @dtech found I'm surprised that I'm not seeing that high voltage nor the pulsing of voltage like I saw last time. I guess it's possible that these NOCO's can somewhat sense battery condition and adjust and maybe it's just doing the pulsing now and not the voltage up and down like I saw last time. Shrug.

It's still interesting to me that I've yet to see anything above 14.99 which is the max I saw last time around. I'll take another few samples in the next 30 minutes to see what this cycle's max voltage is.
 

RangerBill

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bob
Joined
Jun 8, 2022
Threads
0
Messages
248
Reaction score
408
Location
PA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger Lariat Super Crew FX4
Occupation
retired
Doing an other NOCO Genius 5 "Repair Mode" today. I mentioned the voltage fluctuation in my last experience but this time it's not doing that. It started out in the 12.5 range and just slowly ticket up over the hours. It hit 13+ after about an hour and it hit 14 after 2.5 hours. Last check with around 30 minutes to go and the voltage was 14.16. Given that verbiage @dtech found I'm surprised that I'm not seeing that high voltage nor the pulsing of voltage like I saw last time. I guess it's possible that these NOCO's can somewhat sense battery condition and adjust and maybe it's just doing the pulsing now and not the voltage up and down like I saw last time. Shrug.

It's still interesting to me that I've yet to see anything above 14.99 which is the max I saw last time around. I'll take another few samples in the next 30 minutes to see what this cycle's max voltage is.
I don't think it will actually start the repair mode until the battery is fully charged. It may have been in charging mode before it will do the repair.
 

pboggini

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
194
Reaction score
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lightning Blue XL Ranger 4x2 Supercrew.
I charged it with the NOCO first so it was fully charged. And, Repair Mode was indeed flashing the whole time and then went into Standby just like last time. So I'm reasonably sure it was indeed in repair mode.

Oh, and, like last time, I disconnected the battery. This time, the radio stations came back as before but the time was 2 hours in the future. Last time it was spot on. Had to do the driver's window one touch thing again as I expected I'd have to.
 


OP
OP

TJC

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tony
Joined
Aug 28, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
1,449
Reaction score
3,404
Location
North Carolina
Vehicle(s)
93 Miata, 05 Ranger 4x4, 20 Ranger 4x4, 23 CX-5
Good point, if BMS isn't working, there may be an issue with the battery
I think that BMS works no matter the state of the battery. BMS is what shuts down ASS so that you won't find yourself stuck at an intersection with a Ranger that won't start.

As far as I am concerned, the BMS/ASS is much too complex for its own good... and is full of charging compromises. I don't know all that goes on inside the BMS/ASS black box, but I do know that is does an inadequate job keeping my battery optimized and fully charged.

That is why I simply pulled the plug!

Rest in Peace BMS / ASS!
 

got3fords

Well-Known Member
First Name
James
Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Threads
75
Messages
2,682
Reaction score
6,238
Location
22973
Vehicle(s)
2021 XLT Sport
I think that BMS works no matter the state of the battery. BMS is what shuts down ASS so that you won't find yourself stuck at an intersection with a Ranger that won't start.

As far as I am concerned, the BMS/ASS is much too complex for its own good... and is full of charging compromises. I don't know all that goes on inside the BMS/ASS black box, but I do know that is does an inadequate job keeping my battery optimized and fully charged.

That is why I simply pulled the plug!

Rest in Peace BMS / ASS!
I will correct myself. What I meant to say was, if the ASS is not working, it may be an initial indication that something is going awry with the battery or BMS.
 
Last edited:

pboggini

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
194
Reaction score
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lightning Blue XL Ranger 4x2 Supercrew.
I think that BMS works no matter the state of the battery. BMS is what shuts down ASS so that you won't find yourself stuck at an intersection with a Ranger that won't start.

As far as I am concerned, the BMS/ASS is much too complex for its own good... and is full of charging compromises. I don't know all that goes on inside the BMS/ASS black box, but I do know that is does an inadequate job keeping my battery optimized and fully charged.

That is why I simply pulled the plug!

Rest in Peace BMS / ASS!
The hotrodder in me sympathizes wit those of you who've done this since it removes a lot of excess complexity. If I hated auto stop/start I would have done the same thing. Now I'm on a mission to figure out the best %.

Who knows, one day could end up saying "screw it" and doing the same.
 

Bsthroop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Brian
Joined
Oct 4, 2022
Threads
6
Messages
438
Reaction score
2,079
Location
New Mexico
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lariat 4x2 Sport
Occupation
Broadband/ Microwave Engineer
The hotrodder in me sympathizes wit those of you who've done this since it removes a lot of excess complexity. If I hated auto stop/start I would have done the same thing. Now I'm on a mission to figure out the best %.

Who knows, one day could end up saying "screw it" and doing the same.
Yes I am trying to make it work properly, currently at 95% and it is working well with my newer battery. Currently not needing to use the trickle charger.
 

pboggini

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
194
Reaction score
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lightning Blue XL Ranger 4x2 Supercrew.
Yes I am trying to make it work properly, currently at 95% and it is working well with my newer battery. Currently not needing to use the trickle charger.
That's good to know. I had mine at 95 for a week and then I read something here about the regenerative charging and dropped it to 90. I'm very tempted to put it back to 95.
 
OP
OP

TJC

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tony
Joined
Aug 28, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
1,449
Reaction score
3,404
Location
North Carolina
Vehicle(s)
93 Miata, 05 Ranger 4x4, 20 Ranger 4x4, 23 CX-5
With BMS off and my truck sitting a few days I am seeing 14v in 85F temps which drops down to the 13.8v range in a little while.
 

pboggini

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
194
Reaction score
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lightning Blue XL Ranger 4x2 Supercrew.
And for me, after running the "Repair Mode" again over the weekend is that my voltages are down to 14.3/14.4 at startup, it goes down to 14.2-14.0 somewhat shortly after. Then, when the temps go up, I'm even seeing 13.9 and even down to 13.7. Auto stop/start seems to be back to normal and works like it did when the truck was new. Checking CCAs each morning, they are higher. If this continues, I'll be happy with the SOC at 90%. If it seems like it's degrading, I'll consider 95%.

NOCO swears that the Genius 5 runs the same Repair Mode every time and didn't seem to have an explanation for why I saw different voltages during the second run.
 

airline tech

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2022
Threads
20
Messages
1,612
Reaction score
3,422
Location
Midwest - KS
Vehicle(s)
2022 Ranger Lariat-Super Crew, Cactus Gray
Occupation
Aircraft Tech
I have a question for you, TJC and others who are working on this - As this is one area that is not clear in the service manuals.

So, I know that disconnecting the battery for a short period will not cause any memory loss, Radio Presets Etc.
But how long are you having the battery disconnected?

I know the system has (KAM) - Keep Alive Memory, this enables you to perform a quick battery replacement, and not lose any presets.
But the manuals do not state - how long the Keep Alive Memory will retain itself, older vehicles it was a simple 5 minutes or so, the Ranger is much longer, up to 15 minutes or more.

I am only asking to determine if the various posts on fixing issues of things not working the first suggestion is always disconnecting the battery to fix it.

I have seen some posts about it creating faults itself, Engine Off Timer -DTC set, basically it is a Time discrepancy between the BCM and PCM (Internal Memory)
and
pboggini - reporting that the sync clock was 2 hours ahead.

So, I am looking at the comparison to disconnecting the battery for long period of time, so more than 12 hours or even longer for that matter - How would the truck react, if someone were to disconnect battery for say a month, then reconnect it?
Would it create havoc with the modules?
vs
A current posters issue of his TCU, not communicating after the truck set idle for 2 weeks. and the truck reacting via (BMS) and shutting down the modules to save battery power.
I am certain that is what has triggered the issue he has with the TCU

So, since you few have been toying with charging and disconnecting are you seeing any issues from disconnecting for long periods of time?

I know that resetting the KAM can be done with scan tool or battery disconnect with jumping positive to negative - draining the power from the modules, another method is turning on the headlights to do the same - This fully resets the adaptive learning tables for Idle, Transmission Etc.

Just Curious - Thanks
 

pboggini

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
194
Reaction score
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lightning Blue XL Ranger 4x2 Supercrew.
I disconnected my battery for the just under 4 hours to do the NOCO repair mode process. The first time, the only thing I had to do was retrain the drivers window one touch. The second time, I had to do that and set the clock back 2 hours.

I do think my basic sync has some notion of network time given the Ranger Daylight Time thread I started a year or so ago and maybe that's why the clock changed but I really don't know. I do think the sync update I did fixed the clock being off by up to 3 hours around daylight savings changes.

Everything else seems normal and I haven't noticed any differences when driving it around with my normal commute.

So 4 hours seems like it's got minimal impact in the system.
 
OP
OP

TJC

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tony
Joined
Aug 28, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
1,449
Reaction score
3,404
Location
North Carolina
Vehicle(s)
93 Miata, 05 Ranger 4x4, 20 Ranger 4x4, 23 CX-5
I have a question for you, TJC and others who are working on this - As this is one area that is not clear in the service manuals.

So, I know that disconnecting the battery for a short period will not cause any memory loss, Radio Presets Etc.
But how long are you having the battery disconnected?

I know the system has (KAM) - Keep Alive Memory, this enables you to perform a quick battery replacement, and not lose any presets.
But the manuals do not state - how long the Keep Alive Memory will retain itself, older vehicles it was a simple 5 minutes or so, the Ranger is much longer, up to 15 minutes or more.

I am only asking to determine if the various posts on fixing issues of things not working the first suggestion is always disconnecting the battery to fix it.

I have seen some posts about it creating faults itself, Engine Off Timer -DTC set, basically it is a Time discrepancy between the BCM and PCM (Internal Memory)
and
pboggini - reporting that the sync clock was 2 hours ahead.

So, I am looking at the comparison to disconnecting the battery for long period of time, so more than 12 hours or even longer for that matter - How would the truck react, if someone were to disconnect battery for say a month, then reconnect it?
Would it create havoc with the modules?
vs
A current posters issue of his TCU, not communicating after the truck set idle for 2 weeks. and the truck reacting via (BMS) and shutting down the modules to save battery power.
I am certain that is what has triggered the issue he has with the TCU

So, since you few have been toying with charging and disconnecting are you seeing any issues from disconnecting for long periods of time?

I know that resetting the KAM can be done with scan tool or battery disconnect with jumping positive to negative - draining the power from the modules, another method is turning on the headlights to do the same - This fully resets the adaptive learning tables for Idle, Transmission Etc.

Just Curious - Thanks
Wow! That's a loaded question and I have not even contemplated it. I actually purchased a small "settings saver" device to prevent me from losing settings when I had to disconnect or replace the battery. This was purely out of precaution, and I think worth the $15 I paid for it.

I did disconnect the battery once (prior to the purchase above) when I installed my Amp Research Power Steps - I had to tap into a couple of wires and didn't want to risk electrical damage.

I only kept the battery isolated for 30-45 minutes or so. I do remember that my radio lost presets, my power window lost the auto down feature, and the transmission had lost it shift points (I am not sure I am using the correct language here). Let me just say it had to relearn my driving style.
I also remember my gas mileage (temporarily) dropped significantly.

Your question has me now pondering just what systems would be affected if power is left off for a significant amount of time. It would be nice to know the trip point, and (when/how) the electrical sub systems affected.

I remember reading that Ford has two Power Saving features. One called Transport Mode, and the other called Consumer Mode. And that once the truck was set to Consumer Mode it could not be placed back into Transport Mode.

Implication of the above is that Ford did not want the power removed from the electrical system completely for a extended period.

I think that I am going to do a little digging!
Sponsored

 
 



Top