Factory battery ongoing issues

[Samson16]

That's a win right there! Nice!

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[DadBald]

Is this the battery megathread? I couldn't find it... Anyway, I replaced my OEM H7 battery on my 2021 with a new NAPA battery as preventative maintenance a few weeks ago. No issues prior, but to my dismay, I got all kinds of "charging system service soon" warnings right after the replacement. I kept the original battery around because I wasn't confident in the new one or what the truck was doing with it.

Over time the warnings have diminished. Originally it happened every time I started the truck, sometimes mid-drive. It blipped at me once after a 4hr drive up north which really surprised me - I figured it would have been charging it that whole time - but this was only a split second on the dash and went away on its own. Happened once or twice after that, and nothing for the last week or so. I tightened down the battery terminals again somewhere in the middle of this journey post-replacement, might have helped.

I do moderate driving on the weekends, and by that I mean a few 20-minute drives on each of Sat and Sun. Weekdays I only do very short drives (10mins or less) - wasn't expecting this to charge much at all. But after a solid week or two of no warnings I finally had enough confidence to go take my old battery back and reclaim the core charge. So that's good. Call me cautiously optimistic now.

I got the bluetooth battery monitor to feed my battery anxiety. I'm finding that currently (over the last couple weeks or so), it hovers around 12.6-12.8V when sitting in the driveway - overnight, during the day, whatever. It dips to about 12.3 when it wakes up from the key nearby. From other people's comments in this thread, this seems pretty good, and it seems the truck agrees (for now).

I'm chalking up my experience to buying a good battery that probably sat on the shelf a while and the truck just took a while to charge it up with it's "advanced" BMS. Still monitoring, but looking ok for now.

 

[Calson]

Lead acid batteries have a limited charging rate and the charging is controlled to avoid damage to the battery and reducing its useful life. A 20 minutes drive may not be enough to have the SOC return to the optimum level for the battery.

With my truck I fixed the morning startup problems by replacing the H6 with an H7 battery and by the use of a 1.5 amp battery maintainer whenever the truck is parked at my house. There are obviously parasitic drains while the truck is parked with the latest generation of F-150 trucks and for me the simplest and most effective solution was to invest in a long extension cord and a guality battery maintainer.

Voltage is not a good indicator of the state of charge of any battery type. The way I got an accurate SOC with the original battery was to attach a battery charger that showed the actual SOC as it charged. With the H6 battery the SOC was at 4% and in theory the Ford BMS is not supposed to allow the SOC to fall below 50%.

 

[STL04]

Hey all,

I upgraded the shitty Motorcraft (Clarios) battery to the X2 (Northstar) from Batteries Plus, and most of my issues went away.

(Our battery size is a 94R)

Just an FYI.

Hey all,

Lots of discussion on this battery issue.

A few points to take into consideration:

I haven't had a lick of issues since upgrading to the purelead battery and changing my SOC to 95%.

I know everyone thinks Noco chargers are great and awesome and all, but they are one of the worst name brand charges available. (I test batteries and chargers for a living, and trust me when I say Noco sucks)

If you want a great all-around charger, then get a Victron IP65 15A from Amazon.

 

[JJSnell]

Hey all,

Lots of discussion on this battery issue.

A few points to take into consideration:

I haven't had a lick of issues since upgrading to the purelead battery and changing my SOC to 95%.

I know everyone thinks Noco chargers are great and awesome and all, but they are one of the worst name brand charges available. (I test batteries and chargers for a living, and trust me when I say Noco sucks)

If you want a great all-around charger, then get a Victron IP65 15A from Amazon.

I don't test batteries for a living but my Nocos have been great? Got one for each family member, my boat, (dual batteries) and one for both our jetskis.

Not doubting your expertise or experience but could you please elaborate on why you don't care for them? I have two kids away at college and 'cold cranking' is right around the corner and I want to make sure they won't be stranded.

 

[scott011422]

Hey all,

Lots of discussion on this battery issue.

A few points to take into consideration:

I haven't had a lick of issues since upgrading to the purelead battery and changing my SOC to 95%.

I know everyone thinks Noco chargers are great and awesome and all, but they are one of the worst name brand charges available. (I test batteries and chargers for a living, and trust me when I say Noco sucks)

If you want a great all-around charger, then get a Victron IP65 15A from Amazon.

Victron def for the win there. We are (and still am) a noco family. I will admit that every charger we have has some kind of problem. With buying the Odyssey battery wanted a "GOOD" charger. It was between the Victron and the Odyssey charger. Went with the Odyssey because its their charger for their battery. But anything Victron is a win!

 

[STL04]

Victron def for the win there. We are (and still am) a noco family. I will admit that every charger we have has some kind of problem. With buying the Odyssey battery wanted a "GOOD" charger. It was between the Victron and the Odyssey charger. Went with the Odyssey because its their charger for their battery. But anything Victron is a win!

Nice!

Yeah, the other part is these pure lead batteries (in our 94R size) really need a min of a 15A charge to maintain the plates properly.

The Victron is badass because you can use the app to bring it down to a 4A charger for lawnmower-size stuff and change it to a power supply instead of a charger.

 

[STL04]

I don't test batteries for a living but my Nocos have been great? Got one for each family member, my boat, (dual batteries) and one for both our jetskis.

Not doubting your expertise or experience but could you please elaborate on why you don't care for them? I have two kids away at college and 'cold cranking' is right around the corner and I want to make sure they won't be stranded.

Yeah,

So using Noco for a float charger works fine, but recharging a dead battery is where they fall short.

(their Jump packs are overrated roughly 300%!!!- their "1,000A" pack puts out roughly 220-250 amps)

A few years ago I tested roughly 15 different chargers and about 20 various batteries (AGM and Flooded-directly from manufacturers deep cycle and starting (calcium, purelead, and antimony))

After charging, I would let the batteries rest for 24H, then discharge at 0.25C with a BK discharger.

The Noco, on average, only recharged the batteries 85-90%. (yes, the voltage was on par with "fully charged," but the insides were not 100% (surface charge).


But I will say they have great marketing.

 

[scott011422]

Yeah,

So using Noco for a float charger works fine, but recharging a dead battery is where they fall short.

(their Jump packs are overrated roughly 300%!!!- their "1,000A" pack puts out roughly 220-250 amps)

A few years ago I tested roughly 15 different chargers and about 20 various batteries (AGM and Flooded-directly from manufacturers deep cycle and starting (calcium, purelead, and antimony))

After charging, I would let the batteries rest for 24H, then discharge at 0.25C with a BK discharger.

The Noco, on average, only recharged the batteries 85-90%. (yes, the voltage was on par with "fully charged," but the insides were not 100% (surface charge).


But I will say they have great marketing.

About right on from what we see. My father has had a few NoCo's totally die on him. But not one of the Noco's we have ever had fully charge the battery after about a year. Not a one. Most terminate at 75%. Great advertising and its nice that they are all weather. Definitely not a great charger, But a decent all around charger for the money.

 

[JJSnell]

Yeah,

So using Noco for a float charger works fine, but recharging a dead battery is where they fall short.

(their Jump packs are overrated roughly 300%!!!- their "1,000A" pack puts out roughly 220-250 amps)

A few years ago I tested roughly 15 different chargers and about 20 various batteries (AGM and Flooded-directly from manufacturers deep cycle and starting (calcium, purelead, and antimony))

After charging, I would let the batteries rest for 24H, then discharge at 0.25C with a BK discharger.

The Noco, on average, only recharged the batteries 85-90%. (yes, the voltage was on par with "fully charged," but the insides were not 100% (surface charge).


But I will say they have great marketing.

Ahhh ok, yah I have only used as a jump box.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

Is this the battery megathread? I couldn't find it... Anyway, I replaced my OEM H7 battery on my 2021 with a new NAPA battery as preventative maintenance a few weeks ago. No issues prior, but to my dismay, I got all kinds of "charging system service soon" warnings right after the replacement. I kept the original battery around because I wasn't confident in the new one or what the truck was doing with it.

Over time the warnings have diminished. Originally it happened every time I started the truck, sometimes mid-drive. It blipped at me once after a 4hr drive up north which really surprised me - I figured it would have been charging it that whole time - but this was only a split second on the dash and went away on its own. Happened once or twice after that, and nothing for the last week or so. I tightened down the battery terminals again somewhere in the middle of this journey post-replacement, might have helped.

I do moderate driving on the weekends, and by that I mean a few 20-minute drives on each of Sat and Sun. Weekdays I only do very short drives (10mins or less) - wasn't expecting this to charge much at all. But after a solid week or two of no warnings I finally had enough confidence to go take my old battery back and reclaim the core charge. So that's good. Call me cautiously optimistic now.

I got the bluetooth battery monitor to feed my battery anxiety. I'm finding that currently (over the last couple weeks or so), it hovers around 12.6-12.8V when sitting in the driveway - overnight, during the day, whatever. It dips to about 12.3 when it wakes up from the key nearby. From other people's comments in this thread, this seems pretty good, and it seems the truck agrees (for now).

I'm chalking up my experience to buying a good battery that probably sat on the shelf a while and the truck just took a while to charge it up with it's "advanced" BMS. Still monitoring, but looking ok for now.

One thing I’ve always done when installing new batteries is put on a charger for a day or two. The charger I’ve had for years starts out 10A and then lowers itself to two as the battery becomes more charged.

I wonder if this will help, these trucks don’t seem to charge very well if short trips are driven.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

LOTS of information to digest in this thread.

I read through about 10 pages and saw that NOCO chargers are bad, but Victron is good.

I guess my old Schumaker wouldn't be smart to use then?

I will be shopping for a charger. This one work well enough?
Amazon.com: Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 12-Volt 15 amp 120VAC, Single Output Battery Charger NEMA 5-15, Bluetooth : Automotive


I had already been researching auxiliary replacement options even though I have a bumper-to-bumper warranty since I've added a couple Audison amps to replace the lackluster B&O.

I know I will have to do some dremel work to make this battery fit, but is there any reason why I wouldn't want to run this in the stock location? 300 cca, 18ah, AGM, and it has excellent ratings......

Amazon.com: Weize YTX20HL-BS Battery, High Performance - Maintenance Free - Sealed AGM ETX20HL BS Motorcycle Battery : Automotive

 

[HammaMan]

As long as the charger can charge AGM, that's all you need and even then you really don't 'need' that. As for battery size, I put an LFP in mine and it required hacking up the battery box a little bit but here's the end result.

Yes it closes and works just fine but still needs the fan 5 trick to charge because the underhood batt is always at 100% SOC and the DC/DC sags the voltage down 13.2 v or so and it really needs to be up at 14.2 or better. With this in place the underhood batt's only job is rolling starts using the BISG. I need to play with some of the police settings for voltage so that I don't have to resort to fan 5, but I don't care.

 

[scott011422]

LOTS of information to digest in this thread.

I read through about 10 pages and saw that NOCO chargers are bad, but Victron is good.

I guess my old Schumaker wouldn't be smart to use then?

I will be shopping for a charger. This one work well enough?
Amazon.com: Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 12-Volt 15 amp 120VAC, Single Output Battery Charger NEMA 5-15, Bluetooth : Automotive


I had already been researching auxiliary replacement options even though I have a bumper-to-bumper warranty since I've added a couple Audison amps to replace the lackluster B&O.

I know I will have to do some dremel work to make this battery fit, but is there any reason why I wouldn't want to run this in the stock location? 300 cca, 18ah, AGM, and it has excellent ratings......

Amazon.com: Weize YTX20HL-BS Battery, High Performance - Maintenance Free - Sealed AGM ETX20HL BS Motorcycle Battery : Automotive

I honestly don't know. They used to be really good. I'm not sure if they still are? My last and current jump pack are Schumaker and have been great. There are a few fleet chargers we use that are also Schumaker, but they are not smart chargers.

 

[DadBald]

One thing I’ve always done when installing new batteries is put on a charger for a day or two. The charger I’ve had for years starts out 10A and then lowers itself to two as the battery becomes more charged.

I wonder if this will help, these trucks don’t seem to charge very well if short trips are driven.

Well, I did not do that, and I was getting a lot of "service charging system soon" messages , but they decreased on frequency and only happen rarely now. So I'm sure it was just a low charge from sitting on the shelf when I bought it.

However, even now that the battery is charged, I still get this warning every once in a while. It's very odd. I got one this morning, and check out my battery charge - it was 12.7v before I got in, should have been completely fine.

Why am I getting this message? Do I need to replace my aux battery by chance?

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