Power Drain

[pa-fatboy]

Since the beginning of May, my FordPass App has been alerting me that my truck is shutting down exterior functionality like remote start to conserve 12v power.

things I was doing to the truck around that time:

1. installed the Wolfhaus 12v outlet in the bed.
2. Installed the MX4 Tonneau cover
3. Purchased and played around with the VeePeak ODBCheck BLE+ Bluetooth adapter.

I initially had some fun using the ODB2 adapter. I tested it for one day and it’s sitting in the pouch that came with it in the glove box. I do not have anything installed and using power from the 12v power in the bed.

The battery has lost starting power twice. The first time I jumped the truck and then parked in the garage for overnight charging From a battery tender. This time I’m just charging it while it sits in the driveway.

the truck is my DD. However, I do not drive anywhere daily. I take it out about once a week for 40-50 minutes. At times, I can get a family member to take it to work. That’s not a whole lot though. I have had the truck for basically a year. It has 6,500 on the odometer. I took one trip that was a total of 2,000 miles. So... really looking at 4,500 miles a year. Damn... I should have leased it so I could upgrade every 2 years.

I am inclined to put a permanent battery tender port on the truck to make it easy to plug in between drives. Its currently borrowing the battery tender that is used on my 1966 Mustang.

what action plan would you guys take? Do I have a service issue I should get the dealer to look at? Is this normal from what I have described?

I am retired so I will not get into the daily drive to work when things clear up a bit more.

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[JaysOnTheEDGE]

I would look into a maintainer port so you can keep it charged up between the drives

 

[AzScorpion]

I got one of these with my FordPass points so it was basically free.

https://accessories.ford.com/catalo...art-battery-charger-maintainer/category/3115/

 

[BcP28]

So firstly, when you're trickle chargine these new(er) Ford vehicles with a BMS system (little black thing on the negative terminal), make sure the ground is on the chassis side of the terminal (where my finger is) or even on a separate chassis ground. Don't put the negative directly on the battery. This will allow the BMS and the vehicle charging system to learn the vehicle state-of-charge, and allow it to charge and maintain the battery properly. The system needs about 8 hours to relearn...

As for the battery not staying charged, likely a few things. You might have excess drain somewhere, but hard to pin-point, and doesn't sound like any of the things you installed would do it, but who really knows.

It could also just be a bad battery. The AGM batteries in these can be pretty temperamental, so that might be part of the issue. The battery could be bad from a drain and not being charged/maintained by the charging system, or could be just a bad battery period ?‍

I'd recommend taking it to the dealer and having them check the battery and/or replace it (under warranty) and see if it maintains charge, or if it drains too. Then from there, start to try to pinpoint things that might be pulling power.

 

[Rp930]

Disconnect everything you added and see how it is. The MX4 had nothing to do with it.

 

[pa-fatboy]

Thanks guys! I will take all of this great advice in.

Bennett, I was hoping someone might comment on my choice of the negative connection. Much appreciated!

I got my fluke test meter out. I will be checking the Wolfhaus 12v port when I shut the truck off, and two hours later when I believe it is supposed to turn off.

the truck is running fine today after being on the charger the most part of yesterday. I will need to pick up a second one.

thanks all. I will update this after my bed port test is complete. Also will update after the dealer takes a look at it.

 

[Traneman]

I got one of these with my FordPass points so it was basically free.

https://accessories.ford.com/catalo...art-battery-charger-maintainer/category/3115/

I am thinking of getting this as my drive is short in the winter.

The wire that goes to the battery, were you able to put the connecter from this to charger somewhere easy to plug in at the end of the day with out opening the hood?

 

[AzScorpion]

I am thinking of getting this as my drive is short in the winter.

The wire that goes to the battery, were you able to put the connecter from this to charger somewhere easy to plug in at the end of the day with out opening the hood?

I haven't had a chance to attach it yet so for now I've been just using the clamps. It's been well over 100 lately and I should've done this sooner. By looking at it it looks like you'll still need to open the hood because it's only 16" long. You could probably splice into it and make it longer and zip tie it to the corner of the grille?

 

[Traneman]

I haven't had a chance to attach it yet so for now I've been just using the clamps. It's been well over 100 lately and I should've done this sooner. By looking at it it looks like you'll still need to open the hood because it's only 16" long. You could probably splice into it and make it longer and zip tie it to the corner of the grille?

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, if it's only 16" long, I may have to splice it longer. Will have to look at the lay out closer and figure out something.

 

[pa-fatboy]

Problem Resolved! I dropped it off at my local dealer who validated the power drain was just the result of a bad battery. They replaced the battery under warranty. Which meant, no charge to me!

i was a bit worried they might have called theWolfhaus 12v outlet in the bed something that impacted warranty. Non-issue.

I have had it back for a week and it was been starting and stopping just fine.

now, I just bought a new battery for my John Deere x300 and it still will not start with new spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter, oil change and all the grease points freshly greased with genuine JD grease. Oops.. different forum!

 

[pa-fatboy]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, if it's only 16" long, I may have to splice it longer. Will have to look at the lay out closer and figure out something.

Would you connect the permanent trickle charge connector negative side to where Bennet is pointing to in his picture, or another spot that connects to the truck body or frame?

I am still going to move forward with getting it setup to be able to trickle charge it without opening the hood.

 

[pa-fatboy]

did you plug a nightlight into the outlet to prevent the auto/start/stop from activating?

Nope, its lived in a building separate from the house without power or any kind of heat. I did however throw it’s matching JD cover over it to keep it shiny. It’s gonna need to go into some mechanics that know what they are doing. I rolled it a few years ago and I think some things not right as a result. It has run since, but not on a regular schedule.

when I was in the air, flying off the seat, in my head I literally saw the page in the manual that explained how the blade auto stops when pressure is lifted off the seat. I was so glad I left it intact. A lot of people unplug this safety feature and bypass it. I wouldn’t be here if I did that.

 

[Traneman]

Would you connect the permanent trickle charge connector negative side to where Bennet is pointing to in his picture, or another spot that connects to the truck body or frame?

I am still going to move forward with getting it setup to be able to trickle charge it without opening the hood.

I would hook it up like Bennet has pointed out, and set it up with out opening the hood as well. I placed my order in last night for the charger.

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