Battery tender

[HammaMan]

When the truck is wanting to charge the batteries, you'll see the voltage up around 15. AGMs don't charge like FLAs. Keep in mind depending on where you're reading the voltage at, you can get different voltages based on many factors. Take for instance my LFP tests where I undersized the wire to drop the voltage and thus limit the current to the LFP. Voltage at the LFP was reading 13.5 while the truck was reporting 14.5 or so while 100a were flowing into the LFP. After a day or so of sitting and the AGM getting into the 90% the truck wouldn't even produce 12v supply instead running things off of the LFP until the gas pedal was pressed, then it'd bring 14.5v or so on until it replenished the LFP's charge then it'd float around 13.6ish v.

That thing has such a low resistance that if fitted with say 2' of 4ga wire connected at the DC/DC, it'd eat every amp coming out of it keeping its production pegged out.

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[Samson16]

AGM batteries have lower internal resistance and can handle higher charge rates for longer if I remember correctly. I went from post to post when taking readings. Interesting to use a smaller gauge wire deliberately as a resistor.

 

[Snakebitten]

You have a link to where you picked this up? Been looking for something to keep an eye on what's going on with my battery.

Here ya go
(you'll enjoy the app. Works great and you don't need to wake or even get close to the truck)

Battery Monitor BM2 BM3 Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Battery Tester 12V Automotive Battery Load Tester,Automotive Charging and Cranking System Monitor Digital Battery Analyzer for Android & iOS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GP1RXYZ?ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_dp_6RBMAXMH6VSJWEYCFDYS


Edit: just a preview of the battery monitor and app.
This is real-time. Me sitting in the RV, the truck outside and the app connected to the battery monitor via Bluetooth.

Before you get jealous that my Powerboost AGM is way healthier than perhaps yours, the app logs the battery status 24/7 and downloads to the app each time you connect. Here is today up to this moment

The orange line follows your finger so you can get exact voltage values and timestamps.

The flat line is the truck sitting all day today up until about 1:30pm?

That's when I threw the charger on the battery and started a 10Amp smart charge on it.

Circled below is simply what an AGM smart charge strategy looks like. Took just over 7 hours.

It'll only take a few days for the Ford battery management strategy to drag the battery back down to the 12.3X region. But I have repeated this reconditioning exercise every few weeks in order to keep the factory battery healthy enough to stay above deep sleep or error triggering status.

 

[Samson16]

Excellent presentation sir.

 

[Samson16]

I was thinking last night about this issue and my mind went to the engineers and what their thought process may have been. I wondered if they imagined me using generator mode more than I actually do. With that in mind I'm running an experiment.

My truck has been parked in generator mode with lights off, display off, AC off, dashboard dimmed, and the doors locked via keypad while the keys are in it for more than two hours now. Just went outside unlocked it opened the hood and read 12.97V between the battery posts. Engine compartment was warm but quiet.

Experiment continues...

 

[Snakebitten]

In generator mode the alternator (DC/DC converter) is running. So what you are reading as voltage across the battery is still the voltage from the DC/DC converter in play.

But after being in generator mode for 2 hours, that IS equivalent driving the truck for 2 hours, so the AGM battery has certainly been charging at whatever rate the battery management system has determined. The fact you read 12.97 tells me that your SOC has reached near or beyond 80% and Ford has lowered the DC/DC converter voltage from 14.X to 12.X

 

[Samson16]

Ford has lowered the DC/DC converter voltage from 14.X to 12.X

The PB's version of Float correct?

 

[Samson16]

I am attempting to use the PB as its' own battery charger/tender. I have nearly a full tank of gas but I didn't do any before prep regarding fuel usage. I have turned enough things off or down to SWAG fuel usage as minimal lol.

*Note: I'm using 93 octane so between that and the flux capacitor regen I may be able to time travel by noon if all goes as planned.

 

[Snakebitten]

Generator mode does indeed charge the AGM battery with very little ICE investment.
It's definitely a great option if away from home!

But it IS using the Ford "conservative" battery management strategy, compared to the typical external smart charger strategy.

One is extremely convenient to the other. I'll grant you that.

 

[Samson16]

But after being in generator mode for 2 hours, that IS equivalent driving the truck for 2 hours

Yes, but hopefully without the other circuit current demands robbing my battery of a good charge.?

 

[Samson16]

3 hours in and 12.97V. I'm going to stay in generator mode till 4pm EST.

It looks like two wires connect to the + post? Hard to tell with the wrapping etc. I'm wondering if I can get a clamp on DC Ammeter around the charge/discharge wire.

 

[RickBullotta]

Anyone have any advice on using a battery tender? I know there are two 12v batteries and the hybrid battery. I keep getting my truck going into deep sleep mode and I drive it every day. I'm assuming I had one of the trucks that was sitting on the lot waiting for chips and it drained the battery. I've thought about just replacing the batteries but I'd rather not drop $500 into my brand new truck already. Dealer said batteries tested fine after a no start issue I had.

Just want some feedback on a battery tender JR or something like that before I go frying the entire electrical system.

My POV is that if you need a battery tender for any period less than 2-3 months, something is wrong. It seems many people (including me) with deep sleep/no start issues had an OEM battery "test fine", but I was skeptical and replaced it anyway with a quality aftermarket (Duralast Platinum) and haven't had a single issue since. Battery was $250.

 

[Blue22]

My POV is that if you need a battery tender for any period less than 2-3 months, something is wrong. It seems many people (including me) with deep sleep/no start issues had an OEM battery "test fine", but I was skeptical and replaced it anyway with a quality aftermarket (Duralast Platinum) and haven't had a single issue since. Battery was $250.

I agree with you @RickBullotta that something is wrong. The buyer of a brand new vehicle, no matter if it's a $30k vehicle or $100k one, should not have to purchase a battery tender or a new battery to have the options the vehicle was supposed to come with. I don't drive my truck much and the deep sleep prevents me from using the Ford Pass app to do things like remote start, or lock and unlock the doors via the app. And when the dealer looks at it they always say the battery is fine and I just need to drive it more. I wasn't aware that I "had" to drive my new truck a certain amount to get the full functionality. On top of that is the thought in the back of my mind that it's going to leave me and my family stranded from not starting.

So the only options are to live with the deep sleep mode and lose some functionality, buy a battery tender and plug it in like an EV, or buy a new battery, all of which are unacceptable to me and should be to everyone else. Ford really screwed the pooch on their BMS, or maybe it's a bad batch of batteries and they are not admitting it due to fear of a class action law suit or a recall but something is definitely not right.

I'm an easy-going kind of guy, but having the truck on a tender for several days or even a week and then getting the deep sleep message after a few days of it being unplugged really gets under my skin. I made so many sacrifices to save up to buy my first new vehicle that the joy I should be experiencing is slowly being taken away little by little. Gone are the days of just jumping in your truck and heading out. Now I have to unplug the charger, tuck the cable away behind my tow hook and remove my "unplug charger" reminder note on the steering wheel. Then when I get home I have to do everything in reverse. First world problems I know, but the point is, it's something that shouldn't need to be done on a new vehicle.

Sorry for the rant, but I keep reading all of these posts on here and other F150 forums about the deep sleep problems and it just makes me shake my head in disbelief how Ford has not addressed the issue. I know for me I am getting to the point where I am going to demand my dealer replace my battery. One thing is for certain, after already buying a higher-end charger, I am not about to spend anymore money on an issue that I shouldn't be dealing with in the first place.

 

[RickBullotta]

I agree with you @RickBullotta that something is wrong. The buyer of a brand new vehicle, no matter if it's a $30k vehicle or $100k one, should not have to purchase a battery tender or a new battery to have the options the vehicle was supposed to come with. I don't drive my truck much and the deep sleep prevents me from using the Ford Pass app to do things like remote start, or lock and unlock the doors via the app. And when the dealer looks at it they always say the battery is fine and I just need to drive it more. I wasn't aware that I "had" to drive my new truck a certain amount to get the full functionality. On top of that is the thought in the back of my mind that it's going to leave me and my family stranded from not starting.

So the only options are to live with the deep sleep mode and lose some functionality, buy a battery tender and plug it in like an EV, or buy a new battery, all of which are unacceptable to me and should be to everyone else. Ford really screwed the pooch on their BMS, or maybe it's a bad batch of batteries and they are not admitting it due to fear of a class action law suit or a recall but something is definitely not right.

I'm an easy-going kind of guy, but having the truck on a tender for several days or even a week and then getting the deep sleep message after a few days of it being unplugged really gets under my skin. I made so many sacrifices to save up to buy my first new vehicle that the joy I should be experiencing is slowly being taken away little by little. Gone are the days of just jumping in your truck and heading out. Now I have to unplug the charger, tuck the cable away behind my tow hook and remove my "unplug charger" reminder note on the steering wheel. Then when I get home I have to do everything in reverse. First world problems I know, but the point is, it's something that shouldn't need to be done on a new vehicle.

Sorry for the rant, but I keep reading all of these posts on here and other F150 forums about the deep sleep problems and it just makes me shake my head in disbelief how Ford has not addressed the issue. I know for me I am getting to the point where I am going to demand my dealer replace my battery. One thing is for certain, after already buying a higher-end charger, I am not about to spend anymore money on an issue that I shouldn't be dealing with in the first place.

I was in the same mindset, and then just accepted my fate and that it was costing more time and money and would result in time without my truck versus just replacing the battery. I can't guarantee it will work for you, but it did for me, and was way less stressful!

 

[Snakebitten]

The truck is trying to make a fool of me.

I stated that once the SOC of the AGM reached a certain point, the DC/DC converter would ratchet down the voltage from 14.X to 12.X

And this morning, when I started the truck for my commute, the truck had recalibrated for the SOC as a result of the charging last night. It was 89% SOC. (Something the truck's battery management would not ever achieve on its own) The charging voltage was 12.7, just as I expected it to be.

But somewhere along on the commute the charging voltage increased to 14.X ?

And the SOC actually increased by 1% to 90% by the time I got to the office.

47 minutes.

After an external charger charging cycle I don't think I've ever seen the truck increase the SOC until it gets "dragged down" to ~80% or less.

And while I understand the sentiment that something is wrong if you need to trickle charge your battery to avoid any issues, I'd argue that even if putting a new battery in gets rid of the deep sleep or Auto-SS disabling, it's only a matter of time before the AGM is operating at a lower SOC than it did as a new battery. And that SOC is closer to the threshold of issues.
Or put another way, my personal opinion is that other than perhaps the trucks that get adequate daily usage, the AGM battery life in these trucks are getting taxed in a way that they won't have the lifespan that might be expected.

An occasional battery reconditioning or a trickle charger, depending on preferences, can extend that lifespan.

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