Having issues with electricals

[OnceAnEagle]

Anyone have this issue? I have an ordered bought new 2021 Ford Lariat Supercab that just went over 17,600 miles. About a month ago I noticed I could not lock or unlock my right front door automatically with the fob in my pocket by touching behind the door handle or touching the lock button on the handle. I went into settings and checked that they were correct for locking/unlocking automatically and they were correct. Then the auto unlock/lock would work fine one time I locked it and then it wouldn't, doing this off and on over the weeks. A few days after that issue had started, my steering wheel and seat would not move to the preset when I started the vehicle. I had to push the button in the door and then it would adjust. Then it would work normal the next start. Then no. Then yes. Then no. Soon thereafter I started getting a message on the digital display "System shut off to preserve battery. Shut off or start engine." The vehicle was off. They I started to get "Memory setting cannot be accessed when vehicle is moving." That message would hyper flash on the dashboard three to four times, although the engine was on but not moving. So yesterday I took the truck to the Ford dealership where they suspected a battery issue. The mechanic said I am not driving enough and should drive the truck at least 30 minutes on the highway once a week to keep the gel battery charged, which charges slower than other types of batteries. I am retired and I don't drive that much and when I do it is 2-3 times a week, to get to town, which is seven miles one way. Anyway, they tested the gel battery, and it was fine. They ran a diagnostic, and it showed low voltage but nothing else. The mechanic could not get the passenger door to open or lock automatically but he did get the seat to adjust. when the engine started. So I asked them what was causing it and they said they did not know since the battery had tested fine. So, on Monday I am taking the truck back and they are going to keep it all day or longer to download a bunch of software updates and see if that corrects the problem. As of now, they do not intend to replace the battery, as it tested normal. Any ideas/comments?

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[Snakebitten]

My own personal opinion is that your truck needs external help in keeping the 12V batteries at a healthy SOC. (State Of Charge)

These trucks have so many parasitic draws on the 12V system, as well as a very conservative battery charging strategy.

Your truck would certainly benefit from a battery maintainer being hooked up to it.

I can't guarantee that the passenger lock behaving differently from the drivers side lock is necessarily associated with voltage. But everything else you describe definitely fits the low voltage narrative.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Anyone have this issue? I have an ordered bought new 2021 Ford Lariat Supercab that just went over 17,600 miles. About a month ago I noticed I could not lock or unlock my right front door automatically with the fob in my pocket by touching behind the door handle or touching the lock button on the handle. I went into settings and checked that they were correct for locking/unlocking automatically and they were correct. Then the auto unlock/lock would work fine one time I locked it and then it wouldn't, doing this off and on over the weeks. A few days after that issue had started, my steering wheel and seat would not move to the preset when I started the vehicle. I had to push the button in the door and then it would adjust. Then it would work normal the next start. Then no. Then yes. Then no. Soon thereafter I started getting a message on the digital display "System shut off to preserve battery. Shut off or start engine." The vehicle was off. They I started to get "Memory setting cannot be accessed when vehicle is moving." That message would hyper flash on the dashboard three to four times, although the engine was on but not moving. So yesterday I took the truck to the Ford dealership where they suspected a battery issue. The mechanic said I am not driving enough and should drive the truck at least 30 minutes on the highway once a week to keep the gel battery charged, which charges slower than other types of batteries. I am retired and I don't drive that much and when I do it is 2-3 times a week, to get to town, which is seven miles one way. Anyway, they tested the gel battery, and it was fine. They ran a diagnostic, and it showed low voltage but nothing else. The mechanic could not get the passenger door to open or lock automatically but he did get the seat to adjust. when the engine started. So I asked them what was causing it and they said they did not know since the battery had tested fine. So, on Monday I am taking the truck back and they are going to keep it all day or longer to download a bunch of software updates and see if that corrects the problem. As of now, they do not intend to replace the battery, as it tested normal. Any ideas/comments?

Hey there. Can you send over a message with your VIN and the name/location the Ford dealer you have been working with? I would like to take a closer look at this on my end.

 

[Eskram]

My own personal opinion is that your truck needs external help in keeping the 12V batteries at a healthy SOC. (State Of Charge)

As the Snake Prophet says, if you don't drive much you will need to keep an eye on the 12V battery SOC. A longer drive and/or keeping the ventilation fan speed on 5 or greater will help.

Also, you might try popping in a new battery for your keyfob - low batteries there can cause some strange issues as well.

 

[OnceAnEagle]

Hey there. Can you send over a message with your VIN and the name/location the Ford dealer you have been working with? I would like to take a closer look at this on my end.

Thank you for your reply. VIN is 1FTFX1E86MKE17532. The dealer is Conklin Ford in Newton, Kansas.

 

[OnceAnEagle]

As the Snake Prophet says, if you don't drive much you will need to keep an eye on the 12V battery SOC. A longer drive and/or keeping the ventilation fan speed on 5 or greater will help.

Also, you might try popping in a new battery for your keyfob - low batteries there can cause some strange issues as well.

Thanks!

 

[Boen]

As the Snake Prophet says, if you don't drive much you will need to keep an eye on the 12V battery SOC. A longer drive and/or keeping the ventilation fan speed on 5 or greater will help.

Also, you might try popping in a new battery for your keyfob - low batteries there can cause some strange issues as well.

I am having ths same old problem of not driving it enough to charge the battery, I was thinking installing the Norco Genius10 and plug it in once a week. I see you said put ventilation fan on 5 or more , can you explain what that does?

 

[Bryan Simon]

I have an XLT 301a
Mine, the auto start/stop won’t work.
But I also sit with the truck on “Accessory” for about 90 min a day.
Battery does not get a solid full charge on my commute of about 20 miles one way..
Now if I so chose to drive up to the north end of the county, the battery charges up enough for the auto start/stop to work properly for a few days.
It has on occasion, stopped, but would not auto start when the light turned green. Have to put it Park and physically restart it..
Battery is fine, just not driven long enough.

If this is going on with the lower level trucks, pretty sure the upper level are suffering similar and then some issues.

 

[GrandpaD]

Hopefully buying a non-Ford battery will resolve the issues I'm seeing lately. Tonight I got the 12 volt battery is low message (last driven 2 days ago for about 5 miles with fan speed set at 5). Ford Pass is always sending me the "remote disabled" notifications and, when turning off the ignition, I get the "System shutting down" pop-up on a fairly regular basis.

 

[jhelrey]

I'm at the stage of having to buy a new battery. Too much weird stuff going on due to it.

 

[OnceAnEagle]

Hey there. Can you send over a message with your VIN and the name/location the Ford dealer you have been working with? I would like to take a closer look at this on my end.

My truck is now at Conklin Ford in Newton, Kansas.

 

[skiteton]

My own personal opinion is that your truck needs external help in keeping the 12V batteries at a healthy SOC. (State Of Charge)

These trucks have so many parasitic draws on the 12V system, as well as a very conservative battery charging strategy.

Your truck would certainly benefit from a battery maintainer being hooked up to it.

I can't guarantee that the passenger lock behaving differently from the drivers side lock is necessarily associated with voltage. But everything else you describe definitely fits the low voltage narrative.

@Snakebitten Do you know what a good SOC is for the 12V battery? I got my first "remote features disabled" warning yesterday. Driving habits have not changed. Current 12V SOC is 45%.

 

[Snakebitten]

@Snakebitten Do you know what a good SOC is for the 12V battery? I got my first "remote features disabled" warning yesterday. Driving habits have not changed. Current 12V SOC is 45%.

I'd rather answer that outside the purview of Ford's PID for SOC. I have my own personal opinion about that value and how it's NOT what I would use primarily.

I think you need to know what the static resting voltage is for the battery when the truck is sitting idle for 75 minutes or longer. And I intervene with a battery charger if/when I catch it lower than 12.3V

I like it to be at 12.4-12.7 though, if truth be told. But I never experience any weirdness at 12.3V (real 70% SOC. Not Ford's BMS 70%)

 

[OnceAnEagle]

My truck is now at Conklin Ford in Newton, Kansas.

Ford update download #1 took 3 hours and failed. Truck kept overnight.

 

[scott011422]

Im not sure if normal (Non-PowerBoost) trucks do this also, But on my powerboost, Charging stops if I get out of the seat. FYI.

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