Replaced my battery with an H8. My observations:

[FirstFord]

OP here with an update. I started this thread after upgrading my factory H7 size battery to a H8 on January 19. As previously documented, like so many other F-150 owners, I was experiencing a myriad of annoying little electrical issues, and concluded that the root cause was the battery. And like so many other owners, implemented a solution of regularly using a battery maintainer/charger. This solution successfully addressed the electrical issues. However, I eventually found the practice of having to constantly plug-in and unplug from a charger became annoying. The purpose of the battery replacement was to eliminate the constant practice of plugging in the truck to a battery maintainer/charger.

There are all kinds of electrical experts on this forum who can bury me in technical information, facts, and data. So to be clear, I offer this update as nothing more than anecdotal evidence.

As of this writing, some 3+ months after upgrading the battery, I can report that 100% of my previous issues have disappeared. Nothing else has changed (frequency of driving, length of trips, etc.) other than swapping batteries and removing the maintainer/charger. No more issues. I've even had three successful OTA updates. Joy.

Update II:
OP here again. 11+ months since the battery size upgrade. Not a single low-battery voltage issue since. I have not put my truck on a battery maintainer/charger since January; EVERY battery issue has been resolved, and I have successfully received and installed OTA updates.

Just sayin'

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[Scotty M.]

So a larger battery without Forscan would be fine, but you'd will only see 80% still, but 80% of a larger number.

You are confusing amperage with voltage. A larger battery (H8) has a higher amp hour capacity than the original battery (H6 or H7). This is often measured / denoted by a higher cold cranking amp capacity.

The voltage potential remains the same - when fully charged all of the above batteries will be in the 12.5 to 12.8 voltage range. A larger battery does not have a higher voltage - so your “80% of a larger number” concept is erroneous with respect to voltage.

Modern computer controlled vehicles are highly voltage sensitive. If the system voltage drops much below 12 volts, you will start to see controllers using compensational algorithms. Once the voltage drops below 11 volts, some controllers will enter a safe guard mode (e.g. cannot be reprogrammed, etc.).

A larger (higher capacity) battery will hold out longer when in a state of discharge - which seems to be the underlying issue here.

My original comment remains valid - if you want the most output from any battery - even a larger one - it will need to be charged to 100% capacity. Hence, the need for reprogramming (Forscan).

 

[Snakebitten]

Does the Forscan edit result in the AGM being maintained at 100% SOC?

 

[Billy]

Update II:
OP here again. 11+ months since the battery size upgrade. Not a single low-battery voltage issue since. I have not put my truck on a battery maintainer/charger since January; EVERY battery issue has been resolved, and I have successfully received and installed OTA updates.

Just sayin'

FirstFord, I may have overlooked it if you said. What brand of H8 did you go with?

 

[FirstFord]

FirstFord, I may have overlooked it if you said. What brand of H8 did you go with?

To be clear, I did not do a "deep dive" research on batteries. I used the "KISS" philosophy (Keep It Simple, Stupid). At the time, I was sick of messing with the charger, and I wanted a solution. I just went to Walmart, they had one in stock (EverStart), I took it home and installed it. Problem solved. I don't even think about it anymore. I had a wire harness on my old battery that could reach through the grill so that I could plug in the charger without raising the hood. At the time that I installed the new battery, I transferred the harness over to the new battery. The next time I need to work under the hood (oil change, whatever), I'm now going to remove the harness - don't need it anymore. Joy!

 

[Deleted member 22921]

2021 F-150 Lariat FX4 SuperCrew 502A with standard 3.5 Ecoboost engine here. Built at Dearborn in January 2021 and purchased new in March 2021.

it came with a FoMoCo-labeled H6 AGM battery from the factory. After about 6 months, the Stop/Start function quit working and it went into Battery Saver mode.

So I took it to my local Ford dealer, Greene Ford in Gainesville, GA. Mechanic said the battery tested fine. I said well, nope, it’s not “fine” any more because computer screen says it’s in Battery Saver mode, and that the Stop/Start quit working. I politely but firmly asked for a replacement battery under warranty.

Service writer agreed with me. So they dropped in and hooked up a new Motorcraft H6 battery as the warranty replacement.

I noticed the “H6” label and refused to accept it. I showed them the Ford battery spec sheet that calls for the higher-capacity H7 for the Lariat model.

Mechanic and service writer eyeballed the spec sheet and said yep, you are right! So they swapped the H6 for a new Motorcraft H7.

This H7 is now about two and one-half years old. Now the Start/Stop has quit working. The Battery Saver mode has not yet shown itself on the screen yet, but I didn’t want to take any chances. So I went to my local WalMart and purchased a new Everstart Platinum AGM H8 battery that comes with a four-year warranty. It fit the battery tray with no problems.

The truck’s Start/Stop went back to working again. I’m happy, and I hope the new Everstart H8 lasts for four years.

Side note: I don’t want to worry and fool around with battery tenders, battery chargers, battery maintainers, battery tenders, and voltage meters, and other such jazz. I just want to get in my truck to drive it when needed.

So far, it has been an outstanding truck. No problems.

Oh! One more thing: I don’t care whether I get any over-the-air (OTA) updates or not. I don’t worry about it. If an OTA update ever comes in, then fine, so be it. Why worry?

 

[Scotty M.]

Does the Forscan edit result in the AGM being maintained at 100% SOC?

I just noticed your comment @Snakebitten - I am not certain if your question was directed toward myself, or simply toward anyone who could put forth an answer.

I am new to this Forum (and to being a Ford owner), but I have read many of your posts and am always impressed with your knowledge, empirical / scientific approach, and diplomatic way of responding to those with lackluster social decorum. I tend to be somewhat harsh by times - Yes, I am a Boomer (LOL).

I am retired now, but for several decades I operated a business that offered support for GM engine platforms (Vortec / LS / LT) in both OEM and custom vehicles. Custom tuning was a pillar of my business. Unlike most tuners, I also enjoyed chasing down specialized parameters that were not available in commercial tuning software. I have spent thousands of hours going through GM calibrations line by line in Hexadecimal format.

That said … I do not have a direct answer to your question … but I do have an inclination based on my previous experience with GM calibrations.

The experienced users of Forscan software seem often to use it to compare calibrations, where a target action functions as desired in one of calibration, but not in another calibration. This a is painstaking approach, which is sometimes little more than trial and error.

The difficultly with sometime like Alternator control (as an example), is that there will be switches (e.g. Enable / Disable), constants (e.g. startup delay), and tables (e.g. duty cycle versus load). There will also be modifier parameters (that multiply other parameters). Also, multiple modules (ECM, BCM, etc.) may be involved in the final operation of the Alternator.

In the other thread, the gentleman was comparing the calibration of a Police Vehicle with a greater battery charge level (and / or Alternator output), with a generic F150 - using Forscan.

His belief was that he had found the parameter for State of Charge (SOC) in the Police Vehicle calibration. He believed that this was set at 120 percent, with a Hexadecimal value of “07_80”.

He did report an improvement in battery charge level, but it is doubtful that the battery was actually reaching 100 percent charged.

The value of 120 percent does not make logical sense for SOC, nor for Alternator duty cycle (D.C.). I believe that he claimed that the value in the generic F150 calibration was 80 percent. This leads me to believe that this parameter is more likely a multiplier - which multiplies a target parameter by either 0.80 (80 percent) or 1.20 (120 percent).

If there was an increase in the amperage being received by the battery (increasing the charge level) after manipulating this variable, then my guess would be that it could be a modifier (multiplier) of some “desired amperage” parameter.

I believe that you may have measured a maximum of around 5 amps being routed to your battery ? If this does represent 80 percent of a target value, then the target value would be around 6.25 amps. Multiplying this target value by 1.2 (120 percent) would yield a result of 7.5 amps.

Just a hypothetical alternative …

 

[FirstFord]

I just noticed your comment @Snakebitten - I am not certain if your question was directed toward myself, or simply toward anyone who could put forth an answer.

I am new to this Forum (and to being a Ford owner), but I have read many of your posts and am always impressed with your knowledge, empirical / scientific approach, and diplomatic way of responding to those with lackluster social decorum. I tend to be somewhat harsh by times - Yes, I am a Boomer (LOL).

I am retired now, but for several decades I operated a business that offered support for GM engine platforms (Vortec / LS / LT) in both OEM and custom vehicles. Custom tuning was a pillar of my business. Unlike most tuners, I also enjoyed chasing down specialized parameters that were not available in commercial tuning software. I have spent thousands of hours going through GM calibrations line by line in Hexadecimal format.

That said … I do not have a direct answer to your question … but I do have an inclination based on my previous experience with GM calibrations.

The experienced users of Forscan software seem often to use it to compare calibrations, where a target action functions as desired in one of calibration, but not in another calibration. This a is painstaking approach, which is sometimes little more than trial and error.

The difficultly with sometime like Alternator control (as an example), is that there will be switches (e.g. Enable / Disable), constants (e.g. startup delay), and tables (e.g. duty cycle versus load). There will also be modifier parameters (that multiply other parameters). Also, multiple modules (ECM, BCM, etc.) may be involved in the final operation of the Alternator.

In the other thread, the gentleman was comparing the calibration of a Police Vehicle with a greater battery charge level (and / or Alternator output), with a generic F150 - using Forscan.

His belief was that he had found the parameter for State of Charge (SOC) in the Police Vehicle calibration. He believed that this was set at 120 percent, with a Hexadecimal value of “07_80”.

He did report an improvement in battery charge level, but it is doubtful that the battery was actually reaching 100 percent charged.

The value of 120 percent does not make logical sense for SOC, nor for Alternator duty cycle (D.C.). I believe that he claimed that the value in the generic F150 calibration was 80 percent. This leads me to believe that this parameter is more likely a multiplier - which multiplies a target parameter by either 0.80 (80 percent) or 1.20 (120 percent).

If there was an increase in the amperage being received by the battery (increasing the charge level) after manipulating this variable, then my guess would be that it could be a modifier (multiplier) of some “desired amperage” parameter.

I believe that you may have measured a maximum of around 5 amps being routed to your battery ? If this does represent 80 percent of a target value, then the target value would be around 6.25 amps. Multiplying this target value by 1.2 (120 percent) would yield a result of 7.5 amps.

Just a hypothetical alternative …

Respect, sir. Total respect. Well done - all the way around.....

 

[Bryan Simon]

The truck’s Start/Stop went back to working again. I’m happy, and I hope the new Everstart H8 lasts for four years.

Side note: I don’t want to worry and fool around with battery tenders, battery chargers, battery maintainers, battery tenders, and voltage meters, and other such jazz. I just want to get in my truck to drive it when needed.

So far, it has been an outstanding truck. No problems.

Oh! One more thing: I don’t care whether I get any over-the-air (OTA) updates or not. I don’t worry about it. If an OTA update ever comes in, then fine, so be it. Why worry?

I have an early (Jan) 21. Went thru 2 H6 batteries in 3 yrs, then installed an H8.
I have a simple mid level XLT, so not of fluff.
Stop/Start was not my only issue.
(and I did disable the A S/S because just the existence bothered me)
Sometimes it would stop and not restart, but the windows acting up just pissed me off. Would have to do a relearn every day.
Since the H8 (early March this year), I have not had window issues.
A bunch of updates came about within the first week, however, none since.
Like you, don’t care if I get them at this point. Everything is working as it should with the exception of the rear camera on demand ( and I did use this pulling thru parking stalls to make sure my bumper is on my side of the line).
I also have no desire to plug my truck in on a weekly basis.
Hell, I just went out to move my 98 k1500 after it sitting for 4-5 months, and it struggled a second, but it did start, radio and windows worked just fine.
Not sure the 21 is able to sit that long without freaking out.

 

[Snakebitten]

Your 98 not only can go to sleep, but it has coma mode.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Your 98 not only can go to sleep, but it has coma mode.

Coma mode—-I like that

 

[Snakebitten]

Coma mode—-I like that

My 2012 F150 and 2016 Miata truly go into a low voltage coma after a few minutes. And the Miata has a pretty small AGM, so it would not live long in a vehicle with a TCU/GWM.

The 2005 Porsche, on the other hand, has a rather large AGM, but it'll drain that battery in 2 days if you just leave the door unlocked. That sweet ride has always required a maintainer if you weren't dailying it. Obviously it's not because of fancy technology and modules. It's just a German thing. ?

 

[Azben]

I replaced my original H7 in Nov 2023 with a H8 on a 2022 3.5 eco. I did not have the truck on a maintainer. All was well until about 3 weeks and now the truck will is back to deep sleep, etc. Even with charging now only get about 5-7 days before back under 50% soc.

I don't drive the truck all the time, only when I need it.

I plan to replace the battery, my question is will having a battery maintainer regularly connected to the new battery extend or hurt the life of the battery?

 

[FirstFord]

I replaced my original H7 in Nov 2023 with a H8 on a 2022 3.5 eco. I did not have the truck on a maintainer. All was well until about 3 weeks and now the truck will is back to deep sleep, etc. Even with charging now only get about 5-7 days before back under 50% soc.

I don't drive the truck all the time, only when I need it.

I plan to replace the battery, my question is will having a battery maintainer regularly connected to the new battery extend or hurt the life of the battery?

Your post has brought to mind several thoughts:
-Was your new (at the time) H8 replacement battery FULLY charged / topped off when you installed it? Or was it put in as-is, as it came off the shelf? I ask because my new (at the time) off-the-shelf replacement battery was far from fully charged. If I remember right, it was somewhere around 60% SOC.
-Did you reset the BMS when the H8 was installed?

Like you, I drive my truck when I need a truck. So, it could be driven every day, or every 3-4 days, or sit for 2 weeks. I'm going on 11 months with my H8 with 0 issues, but I also performed the tasks mentioned above.

Regarding long-term use of a "battery maintainer" charger causing damage: Back in the day, there really wasn't such a thing as a "smart charger", or a "battery maintainer". The closest thing was using a trickle charger. In those days, I would answer your question saying "yes", battery damage could happen through over charging - even from a trickle charger. But that was then and this is now. Technology has made great strides forward, and now so-called "smart chargers" / battery maintainers are designed for that specific purpose and aren't suppose to harm your battery. But not all of them are created equal. Some are really better (MUCH better) than others.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

I am located in rural north central Indiana. Most all my trips are short. My truck is in the shop, which is about 40 yards from the house, no heat. In the winters, I use a battery tender on all vehicles. It’s cheap insurance.

For the truck, I use a NOCO 1 amp charger. I have a lead that extends to behind the grille. It’s easy to plug in at night or over the weekend.

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