An auto start/stop deactivation story

[Tim]

At the suggestion by NitroDarwin, I fired up the computer and checked - using forscan - to see if there were any DTC’s caused by my deactivation of the button light. There were none.

While I was there, I wondered if I could turn start/stop back on by changing the setting in the HVAC module back to it’s original value and if deactivating the button light had also deactivated start/stop. If changing the value at 733-01-05 to it’s original value reactivated start/stop and the light then deactivating the light had also deactivated start/stop.

Unfortunately, I had not recorded the original value for the 733-01-05 address.

I was thinking that I would enter a “1” where I had entered the “0” to deactivate the light in the button on the dashboard but I didn’t feel comfortable with guessing.

I saw that the HVAC module has an “easy” table for making changes.

The easy version in the HVAC table has a listing called “Start/Stop Strategy” that was disabled for my truck.

Curious as the whether enabling the “Start/Stop Strategy” would reverse the change that I made at the 733-01-05 address and reinstate start/stop for my truck, I enabled the strategy.

I then checked the 733-01-05 address and saw that the “0” I had inserted to deactivate the button light had changed to a “2”.

A subsequent road test showed the start/stop function was once again working as it had before I installed the 4D-Tech device and before I deactivated the button light.

Based on this experience, it appears that start/stop can be toggled off and on by enabling or disabling the start/stop strategy in the HVAC “easy” table and that an external device is not needed.

I didn’t do any additional testing so cannot guarantee that my conclusions are correct or not. I did not deactivate the start/stop strategy to see if doing that would disable start/stop in my truck but it might be something to try before buying an external device.

My truck is a 2021 XLT RCSB 5.0

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[Mt.F150..]

I installed a auto start stop eliminator and called it good

 

[XLT22]

Of course there is a reason to worry about wear and tear on the starter. Every part in a machine goes through wear and tear when you use it. The starter may be made "tougher" than a non auto start/stop starter, but a starter that starts the car twice/four times a day will live longer than a starter that starts the car 50 times day, no matter what Ford tells you.

It really and truly is NOT an issue. At all. Auto Stop/Start has an FMVSS requirement in addition to the fuel saving benefit. It is not an exaggeration to say that starter will outlast the engine. This is not a Ford thing it's an industry standard.

 

[XLT22]

At the suggestion by NitroDarwin, I fired up the computer and checked - using forscan - to see if there were any DTC’s caused by my deactivation of the button light. There were none.

While I was there, I wondered if I could turn start/stop back on by changing the setting in the HVAC module back to it’s original value and if deactivating the button light had also deactivated start/stop. If changing the value at 733-01-05 to it’s original value reactivated start/stop and the light then deactivating the light had also deactivated start/stop.

Unfortunately, I had not recorded the original value for the 733-01-05 address.

I was thinking that I would enter a “1” where I had entered the “0” to deactivate the light in the button on the dashboard but I didn’t feel comfortable with guessing.

I saw that the HVAC module has an “easy” table for making changes.

The easy version in the HVAC table has a listing called “Start/Stop Strategy” that was disabled for my truck.

Curious as the whether enabling the “Start/Stop Strategy” would reverse the change that I made at the 733-01-05 address and reinstate start/stop for my truck, I enabled the strategy.

I then checked the 733-01-05 address and saw that the “0” I had inserted to deactivate the button light had changed to a “2”.

A subsequent road test showed the start/stop function was once again working as it had before I installed the 4D-Tech device and before I deactivated the button light.

Based on this experience, it appears that start/stop can be toggled off and on by enabling or disabling the start/stop strategy in the HVAC “easy” table and that an external device is not needed.

I didn’t do any additional testing so cannot guarantee that my conclusions are correct or not. I did not deactivate the start/stop strategy to see if doing that would disable start/stop in my truck but it might be something to try before buying an external device.

My truck is a 2021 XLT RCSB 5.0

Messing around with easy mode is a way to end in tears.

If you want to find what your original as built was if you didn't save it and Motorcraft Service has already updated from the truck phoning home, find a near identical trim for sale online and get that VIN. Download the as-built from Ford and compare.

 

[FirstTimeFord]

It really and truly is NOT an issue. At all. Auto Stop/Start has an FMVSS requirement in addition to the fuel saving benefit. It is not an exaggeration to say that starter will outlast the engine. This is not a Ford thing it's an industry standard.

Brainwashed has entered the chat

 

[XLT22]

Brainwashed has entered the chat

Take your conspiracy theories elsewhere please. It's been over a decade now the system has been in widespread use and the number of starters I've had to replace might as well be nothing across two OEMs. You can feel free to complain you don't like the interruption the system causes. You have no evidence it leads to more failure modes than what we had before.

 

[sbi]

Take your conspiracy theories elsewhere please. It's been over a decade now the system has been in widespread use and the number of starters I've had to replace might as well be nothing across two OEMs. You can feel free to complain you don't like the interruption the system causes. You have no evidence it leads to more failure modes than what we had before.

And you have no evidence that it leads to "fuel saving". It does not contribute to even an ounce of fuel saving, all it does is satisfies the "Earth gurus" with supposedly less pollution. It is a political and public relation stunt. You fell to what governments and advertisement campaigns sold you.

 

[crazyaa214]

Of course it’ll save on gas. But is it worth it….imo….probably not. I highly doubt it would even save a few gallons a year. Not even worth the time or effort to play around with the stupid button, let alone let it turn off/on the truck at the very stop light. Common sense tells me that will cause wear and tear on everything. Just like the stupid power folding shifter that I have no use for since I don’t have the folding center console. I’d avoid using that just in case it breaks itself and causes me real money to fix it.

 

[Trainmaster]

I know not a single person who has had to replace a starter that was attributed to AS/S. Not one.

I doubt any mechanic's bill would attribute a starter replacement to "auto start/stop".

How about a turbo or two while we're at it? How's 50 daily start/stop cycles on Borg Warner turbos?

Or: "How come government fleets are exempt from auto start/stop and must be disabled as a mandatory $50 option to meet Ford warranty requirements?"

 

[sbi]

I doubt any mechanic's bill would attribute a starter replacement to "auto start/stop".

How about a turbo or two while we're at it? How's 50 daily start/stop cycles on Borg Warner turbos?

Or: "How come government fleets are exempt from auto start/stop and must be disabled as a mandatory $50 option to meet Ford warranty requirements?"

Are they?? I didn't know that. Well, there you go.
Yeah, it puts strain on everything, not just the starter. No one will convince me that when you come to a stop at a traffic light, the engine shuts down and when the engine starts again exactly a second and a half later because the red light changed to green right when the engine stopped, it does any good to the starter, engine and other parts.

 

[Trainmaster]

Just go ahead and mash the gas pedal after waiting to make the left In front of that cement truck and bet your life this stupid thing will crank and start for the 5,000th time and get you across the road in time.

Hey, if you're the guy who leases the thing or trades it in every three years, you'll probably never have a problem with "auto start/stop"..

And wow, If you bought into the whole green scheme stuff you can virtue signal to your neighbors that you're only driving this Ford until the Tesla arrives.

 

[Racerdave]

But if the starter outlives the rest of the truck, your point is completely irrelevant.

I know not a single person who has had to replace a starter that was attributed to AS/S. Not one.

I do, Ford replaced 3 starters under warranty on a friends F150 5.0

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