Any real solution for the "Charging System Service Soon" message?

[StrandedHere]

For the past month, every time it is started I get the generic "Charging System Service Soon." message in red. No message is showing in the app and the local dealer said there is nothing showing on their computer when I had it in last week. They seem genuinely clueless and admitted they don't work on many hybrids. They said the batteries and alternator are "within spec."

FWIW, last winter when it was below 5 degrees F my powerboost would intermittently give me the "battery state of charge" warning but with warmer weather that has stopped. I don't know if it is related to the current message.

Truck drives fine and nothing is out of the ordinary. I turned off pro-power but that didn't make a difference. All recall items have been tended to. In searching the interwebs it seems this message confuses a lot of technicians and is not exclusive to hybrids.

I planned to trade this 2021 powerboost in for my Lightning but I imagine this warning will hurt that valuation of my trade. At this point I don't think I will buy a Lightning unless Ford can figure out the electrical/charging problem with my powerboost.

Any advice?

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[Porpoise Hork]

Chances are the 12v AGM battery is weak or connections are loose. If you do a lot of short trips the system may not be able to maintain the correct voltage to the 12v system. If the short drives is a factor either put a charger on the 12v system making sure to connect it up correctly so the battery management system detects the change to the state of charge. You can also change the battery state of charge default with Forscan from 80% to 95% with Forscan then go out and drive it for a good 30 minutes or so and then check the battery voltage to see if it comes up.

 

[StrandedHere]

Chances are the 12v AGM battery is weak or connections are loose. If you do a lot of short trips the system may not be able to maintain the correct voltage to the 12v system. If the short drives is a factor either put a charger on the 12v system making sure to connect it up correctly so the battery management system detects the change to the state of charge. You can also change the battery state of charge default with Forscan from 80% to 95% with Forscan then go out and drive it for a good 30 minutes or so and then check the battery voltage to see if it comes up.

why wouldn't the technician's scan indicate low battery?

 

[RickBullotta]

Well, for me it was swapping out for a Duralast Platinum H7 AGM battery and doing a BMS reset. No issues since. The truck should NOT have that much parasitic draw.

 

[RickBullotta]

why wouldn't the technician's scan indicate low battery?

My OEM battery tested fine, but I replaced it anyway (with a quality aftermarket battery) when the problems continued. No issues since.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

why wouldn't the technician's scan indicate low battery?

They can load test it to see if it has any shorted cells as well as the 12v charging system. Depending on the age of the truck they may or not replace it under warranty if its bad.

 

[Snakebitten]

why wouldn't the technician's scan indicate low battery?

There are countless posts regarding the dealership checking the suspect 12V battery on these Gen14 trucks and declaring them good, yet they aren't adequately holding charge above the problematic threshold.

It doesn't help that the current charging strategy is far too conservative for some usage types, like short commutes or infrequent driving.

If you installed an inexpensive Bluetooth battery monitor you can check the resting state of the 12V battery(s) without disturbing the truck. It will also log the battery status 24/7 and show you the voltage timeliness.

It will confirm that it's requires considerable truck usage to keep the battery at 12.4 and above. This is with no unusual parasitic draw on the battery when the truck is parked.

 

[Snakebitten]

This is an example

Here is a couple of minutes ago sitting in the Lazyboy in the RV... I open the app and a few seconds later the Bluetooth connects successfully

The historical log for today shows that I didn't drive it to the office today. (drove the Mazdarati Miata)

Note that above you can see activity at around 9am. That would be a typical thing to see if you walked close by the truck with the FOB and the truck's approach sensors kicked in. Oddly, I didn't this morning. ?

This is yesterday:

It was two different driving events, so you can see the actual voltage that the alternator was providing.
If you touch the screen, you can select an exact moment and see the voltage accordingly

Above was at 10 minutes before 6am and I started the truck.

Above is about 2 hours after I arrived and the truck was parked in the parking garage.

Below is a 7-day section.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

This is an example

Here is a couple of minutes ago sitting in the Lazyboy in the RV... I open the app and a few seconds later the Bluetooth connects successfully

The historical log for today shows that I didn't drive it to the office today. (drove the Mazdarati Miata)

Note that above you can see activity at around 9am. That would be a typical thing to see if you walked close by the truck with the FOB and the truck's approach sensors kicked in. Oddly, I didn't this morning. ?

This is yesterday:

It was two different driving events, so you can see the actual voltage that the alternator was providing.
If you touch the screen, you can select an exact moment and see the voltage accordingly

Above was at 10 minutes before 6am and I started the truck.

Above is about 2 hours after I arrived and the truck was parked in the parking garage.

Below is a 7-day section.

Wow, quite a lot of information . Is all this on an app that you download to your phone?

 

[Snakebitten]

Yes sir.
I first heard about this particular item in the "deep dive" thread regarding the Battery Management System of our Gen14 trucks.

Note the thread can get a bit confusing at times when the posts don't differentiate between ICE and Powerboost, but if you do dive in, it becomes clearer as it continues.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...operly-charge-how-to-power-accessories.13862/


Here is an Amazon link to the device:


Battery Monitor BM2 BM3 Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Battery Tester 12V Automotive Battery Load Tester,Automotive Charging and Cranking System Monitor Digital Battery Analyzer for Android & iOS https://a.co/d/1kEsKjt

 

[Ford Motor Company]

For the past month, every time it is started I get the generic "Charging System Service Soon." message in red. No message is showing in the app and the local dealer said there is nothing showing on their computer when I had it in last week. They seem genuinely clueless and admitted they don't work on many hybrids. They said the batteries and alternator are "within spec."

FWIW, last winter when it was below 5 degrees F my powerboost would intermittently give me the "battery state of charge" warning but with warmer weather that has stopped. I don't know if it is related to the current message.

Truck drives fine and nothing is out of the ordinary. I turned off pro-power but that didn't make a difference. All recall items have been tended to. In searching the interwebs it seems this message confuses a lot of technicians and is not exclusive to hybrids.

I planned to trade this 2021 powerboost in for my Lightning but I imagine this warning will hurt that valuation of my trade. At this point I don't think I will buy a Lightning unless Ford can figure out the electrical/charging problem with my powerboost.

Any advice?

Hello there! I can look into this for you. Feel free to send over a private message with your VIN and dealership information at your earliest convenience.

 

[powerboatr]

also SOME f150s were delivered with less than specified batteries as per the build book
my battery was a lesser battery and after the issue was made aware to my dealer and some help here they put the battery in that was specified by ford for the 2022 kr.
since the swap i have had maybe one deep sleep event from truck . i also set the soc to 95% in forscan
i have had a few low battery deep sleep user caused events, from my own power usage while doing forscan or the like
bruce is dead on the charging rate or programming is not really up to speed to recharge trucks that arent driven long distances, _i paraphrase_

 

[{tpc}]

There are countless posts regarding the dealership checking the suspect 12V battery on these Gen14 trucks and declaring them good, yet they aren't adequately holding charge above the problematic threshold.

It doesn't help that the current charging strategy is far too conservative for some usage types, like short commutes or infrequent driving.

If you installed an inexpensive Bluetooth battery monitor you can check the resting state of the 12V battery(s) without disturbing the truck. It will also log the battery status 24/7 and show you the voltage timeliness.

It will confirm that it's requires considerable truck usage to keep the battery at 12.4 and above. This is with no unusual parasitic draw on the battery when the truck is parked.

I think the dealers "check" on the battery doesn't do enough. I suspect its little more than a voltage tester, and the fact they do it almost immediately after pulling in (before you even make it to the service counter) leads me to believe they know this too, and don't want to keep replacing batterys.

My truck, if left in the garage for a little over 3 days, will go into deep sleep to "save the battery" or whatever the message says. It always starts fine, though I have to drive it for a bit before the default ip cluster chimes go away. I'll ask the dealer next time I am in, but I am guessing that they won't replace they battery...since they always say its good!

 

[StrandedHere]

thanks everyone for the input. A few hours with a technician today and the message cleared although they are not certain why. They checked all connections, tested batteries (again), etc. Hopefully this takes but I'll be sure to report back.

 

[StrandedHere]

Just an update that the message remains clear but the dealer called and said Ford now knows why it happened and is sending a part for a repair.

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