Thinking of Up Sizing or Replacing your Ranger battery, Learn from my experience

[importfighter01]

@Mid-Size I’m over a year in on my Lariat upsized battery in my XL and it’s been awesome. However a big difference is that I went with a traditional flooded lead cell battery from Walmart vs an AGM battery. I unplugged the battery monitor on the negative battery terminal so the alternator is sending 100% charge at all times too. Basically the battery and charging system are old school like my 99 Ranger and performing perfectly just like that old truck did. So upsize and go lead cell and don’t look back. ?

Sponsored

 

[jblc]

@Mid-Size I’m over a year in on my Lariat upsized battery in my XL and it’s been awesome. However a big difference is that I went with a traditional flooded lead cell battery from Walmart vs an AGM battery. I unplugged the battery monitor on the negative battery terminal so the alternator is sending 100% charge at all times too. Basically the battery and charging system are old school like my 99 Ranger and performing perfectly just like that old truck did. So upsize and go lead cell and don’t look back. ?

Interesting. I thought the purpose of going to AGM was due to autostart/stop functionality, where lead acid batteries don't have the lifespan for repeated surge for autostart.
Can anyone clarify?

 

[importfighter01]

Interesting. I thought the purpose of going to AGM was due to autostart/stop functionality, where lead acid batteries don't have the lifespan for repeated surge for autostart.
Can anyone clarify?

I disabled the autostart/stop in the first couple of months after I bought the truck by unplugging the battery monitor on the neg terminal vs having to push the button every drive. My AGM still crapped out in little over a year after it died twice and second time would no longer hold a charge overnight. Went old school battery and upgraded the size at same time and zero battery issues since. Cool thing is the truck still has a low battery minder in the system somewhere and when I leave the acc on too long it will state in the courtesy screen that it’s switching off to preserve battery.

The sensor on the neg terminal helps determine charge for auto start/stop functionality and measures capacity to determine how to fluctuate alternator output for reducing parasitic drag for mileage purposes and to not overwhelm an AGM battery that is temperamental in not liking an over 80% charge AND not liking being run down to need a jump start either.

Much ado about nothing imo as I noticed no difference in mileage converting my truck to run traditionally / old school in this area. I can imagine Ford did it to meet EPA mileage standards but they must have done it to eke out the .35 mpg they must have needed to put them over the desired goal as I noticed no recordable drops in mileage. This engine seems to be built efficient as is without these external mpg measures.

 

[Joyride]

Any of you consider lithium ion? I have a stereo system being installed soon and the installer suggested upgrading the battery. Looked at XS Power batteries...Believe the Titan8 specifically. I'm curious if there's any issues with moving away from AGM to lithium.

 

[pbethel]

Any of you consider lithium ion? I have a stereo system being installed soon and the installer suggested upgrading the battery. Looked at XS Power batteries...Believe the Titan8 specifically. I'm curious if there's any issues with moving away from AGM to lithium.

The battery management system won't have the proper charge profile for a lithium battery.
Being in San Diego you might not care that a lithium battery cannot be charged if the battery is below freezing without damage.

 

[Joyride]

The battery management system won't have the proper charge profile for a lithium battery.
Being in San Diego you might not care that a lithium battery cannot be charged if the battery is below freezing without damage.

Makes sense. The lowest it can typically get around my place is roughly 38 degrees. Was looking at XS Power batteries and ordered their Li 4800 battery but may need to call them to inquire. They may recommend an AGM.

 

[Msfitoy]

I realize this post will not appeal to the masses, but want to help others who want to ‘up size’ their current battery to allow longer accessory usage between starts. Back ground -- I do a lot of camping. I tend to park my truck and utilize Sirius/XM, added bed lighting, and 12VDC power points for long periods of time. I found myself having to periodically idle my truck for 15 minutes regularly when dash\ radio messages stating ‘turn off accessories to save battery. I have a FX4 XLT with 302A trim. After some research, I found that the Lariat Rangers come with a larger battery to accommodate the added accessories. (XLT – size 48, Lariat 94R). When you go to purchase a replace battery, be aware that Rangers come with a AGM (glass mat) style battery vs. a older style 'flooded' style. I went to Costco and purchased the larger 94R and found a couple unexpected issues. The first was overlooked, but obvious. The heat shield battery cover did not fit the new battery. I needed to replace it with a larger one (Ford part # KB3Z-10A687-A). The second was a complete surprise, but after a google search, it seems very common. When I installed the new battery, the negative post tightened down tight, but the positive post, even fully tightened, would easily spin on the post. Rangers have a weird post clamp set up that limits the clamp travel. My research found that it is common for after market battery post to be slightly smaller that OEM. I found a solution, search ‘battery post shims’. They are a lead cap that fits over the post creating a larger diameter. I ordered a set, thinking it would be a easy fix, only to find that the Ford clamp will not fit over the shim. I ended up cutting the lead shim and inserting a couple small sections between the post and clamp until I could get a tight fit. I hope this helps when members need to change / up-size their Ranger batteries.

@MustangMike2021 did you have to do any Forscan adjustments for this battery upgrade?

 

[oldnslow]

I did the same upgrade without any forscan adjustments. The truck seems to have adjusted itself.

 

[Grandaccess]

so you dont have to replace with an AGM battery????? what is the purpose o changing to AGM by ford? the cost is much higher so there must be a reason the bean counters didn't veto the extra cost of AGM. how do you disable the battery management to make it give a full charge?

AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) is basically a fancy Deep Cycle, there are a few reasons for AGM in newer vehicles, it does hold up a little better off roading and bouncing around like we do LOL, all the new electronics plus the start/stop at every light and they keep it at 80% SOC there is not enough time to recover between lights, my whole life I have run big deep cycle because I have more than one Ham radio going and they are almost always on even when my truck is off, Plus off road lights, I get about 4 to 5 years out of a battery and thats ok because the good ones are only about $150 for 1000 CCA

 

[Illking]

Thanks Mike for the original post. I just upgraded my XL to the Lariat size battery. It was a tight fit with my winch control box and trigger six box mounted in the area but its all neatly tucked away now and I'm happy to know i have some extra juice for my added accessories and winch. I just used the stock battery heat shield and snugged up the gap with a few zip ties, I doubt the 1/2" that goes uncovered will result in sizeable life loss of the battery.

 

[Msfitoy]

Thanks Mike for the original post. I just upgraded my XL to the Lariat size battery. It was a tight fit with my winch control box and trigger six box mounted in the area but its all neatly tucked away now and I'm happy to know i have some extra juice for my added accessories and winch. I just used the stock battery heat shield and snugged up the gap with a few zip ties, I doubt the 1/2" that goes uncovered will result in sizeable life loss of the battery.

install pics?

 

[Illking]

install pics?

under the Trigger six is a bracket that holds the module to the battery safety strap, also velcro to keep the module from wiggling around on the felt. Its very secure. You can see on the bottom left of the battery I had to bend out the white metal tab just a smidge to allow the fit of the battery. There is just enough room between the winch control box and my battery to work but to make unbolting the battery strap a complete PITA. And of course my frankenstein zip ties on the stock battery heat shield. Would have loved it it was hidden in the back right corner but its probably best so anyone working on my truck sees that first and knows how I operate lol.

Sponsored