Did a cold front kill my battery(s)?.... Sorta

[Jasont94]

The last two days we had a 40 degree dip in the temperature from where it was. And now I'm getting a error message in my Fordpass app saying its in "battery safer mode" and I need to drive it to access remote commands. Which I have done (3-20 minute trips), and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm assuming the 12V battery is dropping in power due to the cold...... But which one? Or one under the hood, or the one under the back seat? Are they connected or are they separate circuits? They both look relatively new, so when it warms back up, are they going to start preforming like that should again?

But other than the app saying so, I see no other indication that anything is going wrong. No warning lights, sluggish starts.... anything.

Is this a normal thing to happen in these complex and "electrical heavy" trucks when a cold snap comes through?

Sponsored

 

[Davexxxx]

The two batteries are in parallel and the only way I know to tell which might be ailing, would be to remove both from the truck, bench charge them and then put a load tester on them.

The warnings are a nuisance but are in fact, to preserve your batteries for the more critical mission of starting.

I've had bunches of warnings but the truck has never failed to start. Never left me sitting.

Any time things get a little glitchy ... Maybe the big screen loads slowly, or reboots itself, some new warning out of the blue that doesn't make sense, any electrical gremlins at all, thats your cue to put it on the charger. 20 minute trips won't do much.

 

[Jasont94]

The two batteries are in parallel and the only way I know to tell which might be ailing, would be to remove both from the truck, bench charge them and then put a load tester on them.

The warnings are a nuisance but are in fact, to preserve your batteries for the more critical mission of starting.

I've had bunches of warnings but the truck has never failed to start. Never left me sitting.

Any time things get a little glitchy ... Maybe the big screen loads slowly, or reboots itself, some new warning out of the blue that doesn't make sense, any electrical gremlins at all, thats your cue to put it on the charger. 20 minute trips won't do much.

Ok. Thanks for the explanation how how they are paired up. And I can see how those drives aren't long enough to make any sort of real difference in the batteries. But It should be noted that I made a 3.5 hour road trip the day before the issue showed up. So I'm probably seeing a battery replacement in my future.

This raises another question. (And I realize what this is going to sound like when I ask it).... What is the power source for the 120 volt outlet in the back seat area? and does the ignition/generator need to be running to supply power to it?

Theoretically, if the high voltage battery powers the inverter and the 120 volt plugs inside the cab are always hot..... Couldn't I pop a cute little battery maintainer in the open space next to the aux battery under the rear seat and plug it into the outlet in the back of the center console? (running the cord under the floor mat of course.)

So essentially, the big 'ol EV battery would be infinitely maintaining the two 12 volt batteries until thay are simply spent and fail over time.

I know that sounds like a stretch, but if the conditions are just right..... Why wouldn that work?

 

[Davexxxx]

Ok. Thanks for the explanation how how they are paired up. And I can see how those drives aren't long enough to make any sort of real difference in the batteries. But It should be noted that I made a 3.5 hour road trip the day before the issue showed up. So I'm probably seeing a battery replacement in my future.

This raises another question. (And I realize what this is going to sound like when I ask it).... What is the power source for the 120 volt outlet in the back seat area? and does the ignition/generator need to be running to supply power to it?

Theoretically, if the high voltage battery powers the inverter and the 120 volt plugs inside the cab are always hot..... Couldn't I pop a cute little battery maintainer in the open space next to the aux battery under the rear seat and plug it into the outlet in the back of the center console? (running the cord under the floor mat of course.)

So essentially, the big 'ol EV battery would be infinitely maintaining the two 12 volt batteries until thay are simply spent and fail over time.

I know that sounds like a stretch, but if the conditions are just right..... Why wouldn that work?

The cab outlets turn off, with the engine off.

 

[Jasont94]

The cab outlets turn off, with the engine off.

That's what I figured, but it was worth asking.

 

[tsigwing]

Run your fan on speed 5.

I have a bluetooth battery monitor on my 25. Fan speed 5 forces 14V to the battery.

Sponsored