Battery Tender

[OneFiddy]

How are people connecting on board trickle chargers?

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[Blue22]

How are people connecting on board trickle chargers?

I connect my Noco Genius10 behind the driver's side tow hook. After I unplug it, I slide the connector back behind the rubber boot. When I need to charge it, I pull it out from behind the rubber boot. Initially I had a Noco Genius GenPro10x1 onboard charger but exchanged it for an external charger.

 

[OneFiddy]

I connect my Noco Genius10 behind the driver's side tow hook. After I unplug it, I slide the connector back behind the rubber boot. When I need to charge it, I pull it out from behind the rubber boot. Initially I had a Noco Genius GenPro10x1 onboard charger but exchanged it for an external charger.

What about on the battery terminals?

 

[Blue22]

What about on the battery terminals?

I used this to connect to the battery.
https://smile.amazon.com/NOCO-GC002...o&qid=1671572804&sprefix=noco,aps,225&sr=8-20

And I used this to extend the charger cable to the driver's side tow hook.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004LWV0GQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

The charger is mounted on a wall in front of my truck for easy access and I ran the charger cable from the battery underneath the plastic radiator cover and fished it down to the backside of the tow hook. I used some wire loom to protect the charger wire where it goes down to the tow hook but still need to put some loom on the battery side to clean it up.

 

[FirstFord]

Jimi: You are definitely going down the right road with wanting to use a battery maintainer. There are other threads in this forum under "Electrical" that cover a lot of ground and has some need-to-know information. You might want to check out this thread:

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

Like you, my '22 Lariat is not a daily-driver, i.e., it's not my regular "car" so-to-speak. I use it when I need a truck. So, it may get used daily, or every few days, or every few weeks - no way to predict. These trucks have a ton of technology packed into them and technology requires power. So, if they aren't driven regularly or only for short drives, the battery can slowly get drained - but a lot of that is covered in the thread I mentioned.

Like several of the other posters, I too, am a big fan of the NOCO products, and I have several of them. Yes, they are a little more expensive, but well worth it IMHO. That's all I use anymore. I have a NOCO Genius 1A, several 2A, and a number of 5A charger/maintainers. I just bought the new Genius10 for the truck (no, this isn't a paid endorsement for NOCO). I situated a harness attached to the battery (properly connected, as described in the aforementioned link), so I just reach through the grill, retrieve the connector, and plug the charger to it. I don't mess with raising the hood, or anything. One thing worth noting - because I'm starting to get a little forgetful anymore, I leave a note for myself on the driver's seat reminding me to unplug it before I go somewhere

 

[PaulGrun]

Been looking into charger/maintainers a bit and thought to share one or two things I've learned about NOCO devices.

First, here's a user review that seemed quite helpful:
https://moundalexis.com/v2/2020/08/01/noco-genius.html

Second, most charger/maintainers use an industry-standard SAE connector inline in the low voltage cable going to the battery, allowing you to e.g. substitute ring terminals for the alligator clamps.

The NOCO devices use a proprietary connector called X-Connect instead. Noco does supply a full range of accessory cables (e.g. ring terminals, extensions, etc) as well as an X-Connect-to-SAE adapter if needed. So I don't view this as a downside at all, just something to be aware of.

I mention this because a few folks have given Amazon links to extensions that have been used in semi-permanent under hood installations. At least some of these use SAE connectors, so may or may not be compatible with Noco stuff.
Just something to be aware of.

For me, I'm headed toward the NOCO Genius10. Genius5 would be adequate for our trucks, but for the relatively small price delta, the Genius10 seems worth it to shorten the charge time.

 

[Gros Ventre]

The chemistry of a lead acid battery causes it to lose about 1% of charge per week without any any electrical drain on the battery. Using a battery maintainer is appropriate for infrequent use, particlularly in cold climates (in my neck of the woods it got down to -36ºF the other day without windchill). I have seen so many OEM battery problems on this website, and appeared to be starting down that path on my OEM battery, that I have concluded Ford bought a defective batch of batteries. As it turned out I replaced my OEM battery with a NAPA unit some 18 months ago and have not had a peep out of the electrical system since. Consider doing a low rate "Wetting down" charge right after taking a new battery home.

 

[PaulGrun]

The chemistry of a lead acid battery causes it to lose about 1% of charge per week without any any electrical drain on the battery. Using a battery maintainer is appropriate for infrequent use, particlularly in cold climates (in my neck of the woods it got down to -36ºF the other day without windchill). I have seen so many OEM battery problems on this website, and appeared to be starting down that path on my OEM battery, that I have concluded Ford bought a defective batch of batteries. As it turned out I replaced my OEM battery with a NAPA unit some 18 months ago and have not had a peep out of the electrical system since. Consider doing a low rate "Wetting down" charge right after taking a new battery home.

I too, have come to suspect a batch of defective batteries. But my suspicions are largely religious in nature - I have no data whatsoever to affirm/deny those suspicions...only anecdotal evidence from a fairly small self-selected population.
Likewise, I've seen no data with which to affirm/deny the hypothesis that Motorcraft batteries are inherently inferior. Could be, we just don't know.
While I'm on a rant, I also find it Intereshing that folks are experimenting with an SOC parameter via Forscan without really understanding what that parameter impacts. For example, there is text in some Ford documentation posted a couple of days ago on another thread suggesting that 80% (whatever it means!) is chosen as part of an anti-sulfation strategy involving periodic "refresh" cycles. Somewhere along the line we've all gotten the idea that 80% is some kind of target or limit governing the charging of the battery, but there's some experimental evidence posted by someone else on the other thread that the SOC parameter may have nothing whatsoever to do with how much charge is packed into the battery. It might - we just don't know.

Anyway, ranting aside. I posted what I'd learned about NOCO products because there seems to be significant interest among folks, possibly including me, in deploying a battery maintainer.

 

[Snakebitten]

I'm curious if that parameter in Forscan is actually a SOC value that might be the LOWEST SOC allowed before the BMS triggers some change in strategy?

So as you mentioned, it might not be a "target" for maximum SOC at all?

My good buddy @Big Dog Daddy suggested this and I can't get it out of my head. ??

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