Maximizing Battery Life

[moorejl57]

Truck hasn't been driven much lately so put the Noco 5 on it (original OEM battery) to run repair mode. Results are the battery is getting better.

Do you disconnect battery to run the repair mode? I have mine charging up on the NOCO G5 and want to run repair mode next.

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[IdahoRanger]

Do you disconnect battery to run the repair mode? I have mine charging up on the NOCO G5 and want to run repair mode next.

I don't and haven't had any issues. It usually runs the repair for about 4 hrs.

 

[Tom_C]

Hmm. I keep seeing the threads on battery maintenance. My battery is still fine in an Oct build 2020 ranger. I've only got 19K on it, so not a lot of driving. I haven't changed the max charge using forscan, don't use any charger, or anything else. Still seems to be fine.

I've probably jinx'd it and it will die tomorrow.

 

[Msfitoy]

Hmm. I keep seeing the threads on battery maintenance. My battery is still fine in an Oct build 2020 ranger. I've only got 19K on it, so not a lot of driving. I haven't changed the max charge using forscan, don't use any charger, or anything else. Still seems to be fine.

I've probably jinx'd it and it will die tomorrow.

How's your tranny shifting?

 

[Tom_C]

How's your tranny shifting?

It does the thing where it wants to hang out in 7th when it should shift down. I usually just tap the accelerator and it jumps to 4th or 5th. Other than that I don't really notice any hard shifts.

 

[got3fords]

I just finished installing the new NOCO Genius 2D onboard charger...we'll see how it goes...wish it had a Bluetooth app and connection so I can monitor it while in the house...

How is it set up to connect AC? Is there a plug in the bumper?

 

[Msfitoy]

How is it set up to connect AC? Is there a plug in the bumper?

The plug is sticking out by the left light pod...

 

[tgRanger]

How is it set up to connect AC? Is there a plug in the bumper?

I have mine coming out of the tow hook boot and tuck it right back in when not in use. Works perfect! Thanks to AzScorpian for the idea.

 

[Msfitoy]

I have mine coming out of the tow hook boot and tuck it right back in when not in use. Works perfect! Thanks to AzScorpian for the idea.

I don't have that rubber boot anymore after converting to shackles...

Azwho?

 

[TJC]

I have noticed a peculiar behavior when charging my battery in the Ranger. I have not quite put my finger on what is happening, or why it is happening, but I know it is happening - confusing huh!

I have my SOC set at 95% and I am still using the BMS sensor. I have an 8 amp BatteryMinder charger, and the BatteryMinder Onboard Desulfator installed.

If I connect the charger through the onboard desulfator pigtail I get different results then if I connect directly to the battery to the battery terminals. The only physical connection difference is that the onboard desulfator neg terminal goes through the BMS sensor on it way to the negative terminal. I expected the results to have been the same.

When charging through the Desulfator pigtail I get a lower final charge, but I see the onboard desulfator activate via the flashing desulfate LED ( as well as the desulfator that is built into the charger).

This means the onboard desulator is seeing more then 13.5V going into it from the charger but I find the battery final charge is lower then the connecting the charger directly to the battery terminals (bypassing the BMS sensor).

When I connect directly to the battery terminals (I use the stainless steel Positive terminal and bypass the BMS Sensor going directly to the Negative battery terminal), I rarely see the onboard desulfator activate (which means it is NOT seeing any voltage above 13.5v), but the charger desulfafor is active. The final battery charger level ends up higher.

The truck's BMS then lowers the charge state of the battery within 50-75 miles. My fully charged battery cab voltage when initially driving the truck starts out at 13.5v - 13.6v, but over the next 50 miles of continuous driving goes up to 14.1v. This tells me that the battery SOC has dropped to whatever the BMS wants and once down to that level the BMS begins to allow a charge to flow.

I expected the onboard desulfator to react the same when connected before or after the BMS sensor.

I am going to disconnect the BMS sensor one more time and rerun the charger test connecting to both locations to see if the results change.

Stay tuned...

 

[TJC]

Removing the BMS sensor resulted in the same behavior of the onboard desulfator whether 8amp BM charger was connected to the pig tail directly or the battery terminals. It appears the BMS system affected the charging rate when connected via the BMS sensor instead of bypassing it and connecting straight to the Neg battery terminal. (It would be nice if someone could validate/confirm my finding.)

I drove the truck about 5 miles and the charge voltage in the cab was 13.9v Add .2v to it to get the charge rate at the battery.

I have the truck on the 8amp BatteryMinder charger overnight.

We'll see what the voltages are tomorrow before starting the truck, and then while driving the truck on a 40 mile round trip with a stop at the midway point.

I will be curious to see if the voltage starts out in the 13.5v - 13.6v range and then moves up to the 14v range during the drive.

This was the behavior with the BMS active (BMS Sensor connected) with settings of 95% SOC and ASS turned off using Forscan.

Reminder - Below is what happened yesterday with a fully charged battery where the charger was attached directly to the battery. BMS was active with SOC at 95%.
My fully charged battery cab voltage when initially driving the truck starts out at 13.5v - 13.6v, but over the next 50 miles of continuous driving goes up to 14.1v. This tells me that the battery SOC has dropped to whatever the BMS wants and once down to that level the BMS begins to allow a charge to flow.
I know there is a drop from starting the truck, but that should be seen relatively quickly.

The rise in charge rate was very gradual and topped out at 14.1V in the cab(14.3V at the battery terminals). That is a .8v charge gain at the end of a 50 mile drive. Meaning the battery has been discharged during that time.

 

[got3fords]

Reminder - Below is what happened yesterday with a fully charged battery where the charger was attached directly to the battery. BMS was active with SOC at 95%.
My fully charged battery cab voltage when initially driving the truck starts out at 13.5v - 13.6v, but over the next 50 miles of continuous driving goes up to 14.1v. This tells me that the battery SOC has dropped to whatever the BMS wants and once down to that level the BMS begins to allow a charge to flow.
I know there is a drop from starting the truck, but that should be seen relatively quickly.

The rise in charge rate was very gradual and topped out at 14.1V in the cab(14.3V at the battery terminals). That is a .8v charge gain at the end of a 50 mile drive. Meaning the battery has been discharged during that time.

I have my 12V outlet voltmeter plugged in all the time. The charge voltage while driving seems to change with every drive. I cannot determine any rhyme or reason why it's always different. BMS still enabled and factory SOC.

 

[got3fords]

I just realized something interesting. Was sitting at a light, hot inside and AC on so ASS was not operating. The charge voltage was 13.2V. For yucks, I switched to tow mode (little trailer on the dash lit up), and the charge voltage increased to ~14.1V. It was repeatable. Is this because it thinks it needs more current for trailer lights?

 

[TJC]

I disconnected the BMS sensor last evening, then charged the battery 12 hours with a 1 hour rest period before each trip. Then started and drove 20 miles, did a little shopping and business, then drove the 20 miles back home.

I monitored the charge rate from beginning to end. i made the very same trip the day before with the BMS sensor connected.

I revisited this test after running the BMS with SOC set to 95%
and ASS disabled via Forscan for the last 6 months.

I have not been happy with the results. I have had to charge the battery on a regular basis to keep it healthy.

So I revisited the issue for the last time. And this last 2 day test has convinced me that running with the BMS Sensor disconnected is a better option with regards to battery health.

The simple table below tells me all I need to know.

With the battery fully charged exactly the same amount of time, I started the truck and drove it 20 miles, stopped for 30 minutes, the drove the 20 miles back home.

The voltages recorded are "in cab" voltages and are ~.2 to .3 v lower than when you measure at the battery terminals).

Here is the interesting thing, the starting and stopping voltages are inverse to each other.

When first starting the truck I would expect a higher charge rate due to battery drain from starting the engine. As I drive I would expect the charge voltage to slowly drop as the battery nears 100% charge.

This is exactly what happens when the sensor is disconnected. My voltage starts off at 14V (14.2 at the battery) and slowly drops down to 13.8v as I drive the truck the 20 miles. Turning on/off the headlights made no difference.

With BMS sensor connected, my initial startup voltage was 13.6v (13.5v on the first day test) and stayed low for over half the 20 mile trip. The charge rate then began to climb to 14.2v by the time I stopped at the end of the 20 mile trip. The trip back was different, The charge voltage was higher at 14v, then climbed to 14.2v. (Remember to add 0.2v to each voltage to obtain the actual voltage at the battery)

My conclusion is that even at an SOC of 95% with ASS disabled, the battery is still initially drained from a full charge to some lower state, then held at that lower state.

Based upon this latest test result, I've pulled the BMS plug permanently. I want my battery fully charged, and never intentionlly discharged unless I am using some function that draws power.

IMO, keeping the battery in an intentionally less the optimal charge state will lead to premature failure of the battery.

 

[TJC]

I just realized something interesting. Was sitting at a light, hot inside and AC on so ASS was not operating. The charge voltage was 13.2V. For yucks, I switched to tow mode (little trailer on the dash lit up), and the charge voltage increased to ~14.1V. It was repeatable. Is this because it thinks it needs more current for trailer lights?

The same thing should happen when you switch on headlights with BMS active. I saw my charge rate jump to 14.4v when headlights were turned on. Esp in winter.

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