Thoughts on our OEM batteries.

[My 2ND Ford]

Last February I finally replace the OEM H-6 in my 2021 Job 1 Platinum with a Walmart H-8, best move I made. The reason for this post is I took my old battery and put in in my neighbors John Deere diesel tractor which had a failing battery. The tractor sits and doesn't see much use unless I use it. I finally used the tractor in last weeks snowfall and it started right up after sitting for about 4 months. I even used the intake heater to help it start.
My point is that most of these batteries are replaced not because they are bad, but simply because they are undersized from the get go, they get run down constantly and that damages them. I always used a battery maintainer on mine, but it was getting tiresome. The H-6 that Ford installed at the factory simply did not have enough reserve capacity to keep all the electronics going while the truck sat.

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[Ricksc]

Just give it time. I am on my 3rd battery in my 22 OEM H6 kept going to deep sleep. Replaced on my own after 8months. Second battery a H7 lasted almost 2 years. Battery still under warranty but would not replace it. They said good voltage and cranking amps. Yet truck was going into deep sleep. Bought my 3rd battery time will tell. Yes BMS was reset each time. My SOC changed in forscan to 100%, yet 5 months into new battery seems to be ranging from 70-85% SOC.

 

[sporkfed]

My conspiracy theory is that they purposely undersize the battery to save money and so the auto start/stop never runs in the real world, which saves them on engine recalls under warranty.

My factory H6 would never hold charge. Every night it would be drained down 10-15%. I thought I had a parasitic loss, but when I replaced the battery with a new H7 from Costco, everything magically worked. Battery only loses a percent or so overnight now. Very suspicious if you ask me.

 

[JohnTrigger]

My conspiracy theory is that they purposely undersize the battery to save money and so the auto start/stop never runs in the real world, which saves them on engine recalls under warranty..

Could be, lol! Regardless, to eliminate both issues, and since Motorcraft batteries seem to suck lately for whatever reason, I upgraded to a non-Motorcraft H8 and bought a 4DTech A-S-S eliminator to counter both problems.

 

[JeffC57]

Last February I finally replace the OEM H-6 in my 2021 Job 1 Platinum with a Walmart H-8, best move I made. The reason for this post is I took my old battery and put in in my neighbors John Deere diesel tractor which had a failing battery. The tractor sits and doesn't see much use unless I use it. I finally used the tractor in last weeks snowfall and it started right up after sitting for about 4 months. I even used the intake heater to help it start.
My point is that most of these batteries are replaced not because they are bad, but simply because they are undersized from the get go, they get run down constantly and that damages them. I always used a battery maintainer on mine, but it was getting tiresome. The H-6 that Ford installed at the factory simply did not have enough reserve capacity to keep all the electronics going while the truck sat.

Your '21 Platty should not have been shipped with a H6 battery. Specs that year were either a H7 or H8. My '21 502 Lariat was supposed to be shipped with a H7 but when it came down the line in KC, they put a H6 in it. I argued with the dealer when it kept going to sleep on me, but they wouldn't replace it and give me a H7 per the specs. Admittedly, I don't drive it every day, so I just gave up and dropped a H7 in. No more sleepy time for my truck even if it sits for several days.

 

[MrHat102]

2021 Platinum 3.5 EB. Had H6 replaced twice by dealer. Finally had enough of using trickle charger all the time. I changed in the past few weeks to Duralast H8, charged to 100% b4 install. BMS reset upped SOC to 90%, letting truck set overnight locked after BMS reset. But still losses 30 percent overnight.
Tried everything I can find in forums. Did I miss any tricks?

I cannot believe we have to put up with this crap from Ford.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

Your '21 Platty should not have been shipped with a H6 battery. Specs that year were either a H7 or H8. My '21 502 Lariat was supposed to be shipped with a H7 but when it came down the line in KC, they put a H6 in it. I argued with the dealer when it kept going to sleep on me, but they wouldn't replace it and give me a H7 per the specs. Admittedly, I don't drive it every day, so I just gave up and dropped a H7 in. No more sleepy time for my truck even if it sits for several days.

Yeah I know I should have had an H-7 from the factory, but it didn’t. I didn’t bother fighting with the dealer over it. Was it annoying yes, was it critical, not really. The point of my post was that the batteries were undersized, but not necessarily bad.

 

[Goldeneye36]

It seems to be pretty universal that the H6 is undersized for these trucks. My '24 PB came with an H7 from the factory but I had the OEM battery give up the ghost on my previous truck after only a couple years so I'm expecting to replace this one sooner rather than later.

 

[F-1Fiddy]

I just upgraded my crappy OEM H6 to a AGM H8. Factory battery insulation fit on the H8 with a little stretch.
I also disabled auto start/stop using FORscan. I’ll update the battery SOC settings tomorrow.

just wanted to make sure people realized that unless you have a power boost. A H8 will fit perfectly in the battery tray. Battery cables reach without any modifications. And OEM battery blanket will work.
skip the H7 and get the H8.

 

[Calson]

I was slow to appreciate that the problem was not with the battery but rather the Ford Battery Management system which negatively affects trucks and cars. A parasitic draw can deplete the largest battery that will fit in the engine compartment and deep discharges quickly damage starter type batteries. This is exclusively a Ford problem and you will not find similar posts on the forums for Chevy/GM, Toyota, or Ram cars and trucks.

 

[popeye2856]

THIS!!! It's totally a Ford problem. They actually tell you to drive around without A/C or put on a charger. WTF! Pitiful engineering

 

[F150Fordzilla]

These AGM batteries don’t like sitting around for days. My ‘18 platinum had the original battery when I traded it on the new one earlier this year. 150k plus and it never failed me once. Maybe I got lucky

 

[My 2ND Ford]

These AGM batteries don’t like sitting around for days. My ‘18 platinum had the original battery when I traded it on the new one earlier this year. 150k plus and it never failed me once. Maybe I got lucky

No, the AGM batteries don't like sitting around, my brother in law, who drives approximately 120 miles a day, has never had to replace the OEM battery. His last truck, a 2020 had 165K on the battery when he traded it.

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