Battery ready to replace after three years..?

[Baywolf]

I have a 21 Sport model. Honestly, I don't drive it everyday, and usually only short trips. But now I am going to be driving more and longer. The message that the battery is low is pretty much a constant now, but if I drive for a longer trip it goes off. The dealer told me that the average battery life is three years. I'm at that now. How often is the battery needing to be replaced. Am I getting this message because the battery is starting to fail, or because I don't drive it enough to keep it charged? What can I do to prolong the charge and ultimately the battery life?

What is the best alternative to replace the stock battery with when the time comes?

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[discothan]

Some of those 2021 were sitting in lots during COVID slowly draining battery doing various things. Lots of posts here about owners taking delivery and soon after driving off the lot, LOW Battery warnings pop up. I would suggest just replacing the battery with one made for your potential cold weather. That cold can suck the life out of a battery. If it is garaged kept, maybe add a battery tender to keep it topped off when its down for longer periods.

 

[Gros Ventre]

I had a weird reading going down the road at 65... 4 months after delivery. It was Thanksgiving weekend and family travels... So I stopped in a nearby NAPA (I'm partial to them) and got an off the shelf, catalog battery. Dropped it in and went on down the road. On return home I did what's called a "wetting down charge." This is a low rate long time charge. Took about 10 hours for the AGM charger to call it done. Not a peep since out of the system. 3 years is the old rule of thumb for battery life. By several things I learned in the Submarine world I've gotten a flooded cell type to go 8 years... Since your is an OEM... just replace it with a non-Ford battery. Then unless the battery really gives you a problem I'd bet they'll go 4 or 6 years.

 

[JohngaltinOC]

I have a 21 Sport model. Honestly, I don't drive it everyday, and usually only short trips. But now I am going to be driving more and longer. The message that the battery is low is pretty much a constant now, but if I drive for a longer trip it goes off. The dealer told me that the average battery life is three years. I'm at that now. How often is the battery needing to be replaced. Am I getting this message because the battery is starting to fail, or because I don't drive it enough to keep it charged? What can I do to prolong the charge and ultimately the battery life?

What is the best alternative to replace the stock battery with when the time comes?

I took mine in 2 weeks before 36 months & told them no start stop, interior lighting, fob recognition periodically, low voltage messaging, etc., for months. They replaced it and all that disappeared so far. When this one craps out I'll get an H8

 

[SumGuy]

My 21 needed a battery replacement already. I was having all kinds of small weird electrical issues and the new battery solved them.

 

[mxwrk]

I mostly only drive short trips, and my 2022 battery was replaced under warranty after about a year and a half. Now I have a charger and hook it up periodically.

 

[Kodiak]

If your truck is a PB (Powerboost) then it will take up to a H7 size battery. If it is a normal gas only (ICE) engine, then your battery well will accept up to a size H8. It probably has a H6 battery in it and 3 years for the OEM H6 battery is not bad. Could be better but many have had worse. If you can get it replaced under warranty you will get another H6.

Personally if I lived in a cold area I would just replace it with an aftermarket H7 or H8, depending on your engine.

Also if you do replace it make sure you, or the auto store, reset the BMS. It is an easy method but I do not remember it off my head. Do a battery search in the manual or on this forum and you will find it posted in a number of different threads. Good luck.

 

[Severdog]

Someone who was/is in the battery industry recommended NorthStar, which was acquired by the same company that makes Odyssey. I think the NorthStar battery is now packaged as "X2 Power" which I picked up at Batteries Plus. My voltage delta (between highest charge voltage and lowest no-charge "drain" voltage) is now significantly tighter. Before I was going beyond 15V during max charge and below 12V on the "welcome" cycle. Now the max charge is about 14.6 and the lows are at 12.4V.

Some of this might be attributed to the possible new charging algorithm, but I replaced the battery a couple of months ago during winter and the delta was immediately tighter.

I like the X2 product, but not cheap. Others have reported good success with basic Costco or Autozone upgrades.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

I too am retired with a 21 and an H6 OEM battery. My truck gets used enough, but I invested in a noco Genius 10 maintainer/charger and the truck sits on charge about once a week. I worked for Napa and I am partial to their batteries, but many on the forum have used Walmart ever start batteries with good results. I don't have a powerboost so when my battery fails I will install an H8 as I have the room in the battery tray. As far as battery life is concerned, it depends on a lot of factors and conditions. Keeping a battery charged with a good maintainer goes a long way to ensuring a long life if the vehicle is not used regularly .
If you are concerned about your battery you can usually have an auto parts store test it at no charge and if it shows marginal or replace , invest in a good quality battery. Good luck.

 

[rslong110]

I too am retired with a 21 and an H6 OEM battery. My truck gets used enough, but I invested in a noco Genius 10 maintainer/charger and the truck sits on charge about once a week. I worked for Napa and I am partial to their batteries, but many on the forum have used Walmart ever start batteries with good results. I don't have a powerboost so when my battery fails I will install an H8 as I have the room in the battery tray. As far as battery life is concerned, it depends on a lot of factors and conditions. Keeping a battery charged with a good maintainer goes a long way to ensuring a long life if the vehicle is not used regularly .
If you are concerned about your battery you can usually have an auto parts store test it at no charge and if it shows marginal or replace , invest in a good quality battery. Good luck.

I also have a '21 and maintain mine on a Genius battery charger every other week or so. Pretty much necessary with all of the electronics and a very delayed sleep state for the truck. Some accessories stay awake for up to at least 75 minutes.

 

[ReverendQ]

I have a 21 Sport model. Honestly, I don't drive it everyday, and usually only short trips. But now I am going to be driving more and longer. The message that the battery is low is pretty much a constant now, but if I drive for a longer trip it goes off. The dealer told me that the average battery life is three years. I'm at that now. How often is the battery needing to be replaced. Am I getting this message because the battery is starting to fail, or because I don't drive it enough to keep it charged? What can I do to prolong the charge and ultimately the battery life?

What is the best alternative to replace the stock battery with when the time comes?

As large as you can fit Walmart or Motorcraft. Keep in mind if you have a camera like I do, Parking Mode can be 5Wish itself so a good 10W Noco is recommended for short trippers. If you park outside in sun, https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...ap-tremor-hood-installation.22951/post-441121 ?

 

[Baywolf]

Thank you all for all the input and recommendations. I just returned home from a 40 day trip and my truck is completely DEAD. The door locks won't even work. Dash has no response...the thing is dead.

Now what? Is there some serious issues I need to deal with or pay for because the battery is completely dead? What's the safe way to jump start this? (3.5 Ecoboost Sport edition All Gas model)

What's the safe procedure for changing the battery? I don't want to end up frying something and now an expensive battery becomes an astronomical repair fee.

Please give me some input.

 

[Zappy]

Thank you all for all the input and recommendations. I just returned home from a 40 day trip and my truck is completely DEAD. The door locks won't even work. Dash has no response...the thing is dead.

Now what? Is there some serious issues I need to deal with or pay for because the battery is completely dead? What's the safe way to jump start this? (3.5 Ecoboost Sport edition All Gas model)

What's the safe procedure for changing the battery? I don't want to end up frying something and now an expensive battery becomes an astronomical repair fee.

Please give me some input.

I went to Autozone and got their top tier house brand H8 AGM battery.

Just change it like a normal battery. I was taught the Santa procedure....he takes off he's black boots then red socks. Just reverse it for install. Make sure to make your last connection quickly to minimize arcing.

I'd just recommend making sure your lights are in the off position and your doors are close so the interior lights are causing a draw.

And then I used ForScan to reset the BMS.

I'm a few months on with my replacement and I have no issues.

 

[rslong110]

Thank you all for all the input and recommendations. I just returned home from a 40 day trip and my truck is completely DEAD. The door locks won't even work. Dash has no response...the thing is dead.

Now what? Is there some serious issues I need to deal with or pay for because the battery is completely dead? What's the safe way to jump start this? (3.5 Ecoboost Sport edition All Gas model)

What's the safe procedure for changing the battery? I don't want to end up frying something and now an expensive battery becomes an astronomical repair fee.

Please give me some input.

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...MFA41039&vFilteringEnabled=True&buildtype=web

 

[Baywolf]

Thanks all. Heading over to get a new battery....

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