Truck was in battery saver mode twice a week recently

[stlgrym3]

we drive it at least twice a week, and park outside of our garage. it's 45-60 degrees out in southern california, and the truck has entered the battery saver mode twice now this week. each time i had to fire up the engine and drive around the block to get it out of the mode. i've already brought this up to the service dept and they ran some test on the battery and said no fault codes on the battery, so not gonna replace it. what should i do to prevent this from happening? drive everyday? i do have a VIOFO dash cam hard wired to the truck's always-on fuse box, but supposedly the power to the dashcam will be cut if the battery is below 9v. i'm thinking if i should just remove that dash can and install some cheaper one that shuts off when the truck is off.

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[redline]

battery tender is your friend

 

[stlgrym3]

battery tender is your friend

can you elaborate that a bit? is this a tool i can buy and how do i use it?

 

[MetalCord]

can you elaborate that a bit? is this a tool i can buy and how do i use it?

Battery tenders are automatic battery chargers and maintainers for motor vehicles. They're typically used for vehicles that are being stored long term, like a sports car you park in the garage for the winter season or a motorcycle you don't ride often. This is a pretty common issue for PowerBoost owners, myself included. However, I drive mine everyday and I STILL have the problem. I'm pretty sure my battery is weak because it sat in a lot for months before it was sold (to me). You have some options: You can deal with hooking your truck up to a battery tender anytime you're not using it or, since the dealer won't replace the battery, you can roll the dice and purchase a new battery that is almost guaranteed to be superior to the OEM battery.

I'm actually using a NOCO Genius5 battery charger until I can get into the dealer. I suspect my obviously bad battery is going to "test good" and I'll be on the hook to just replace it.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

we drive it at least twice a week, and park outside of our garage. it's 45-60 degrees out in southern california, and the truck has entered the battery saver mode twice now this week. each time i had to fire up the engine and drive around the block to get it out of the mode. i've already brought this up to the service dept and they ran some test on the battery and said no fault codes on the battery, so not gonna replace it. what should i do to prevent this from happening? drive everyday? i do have a VIOFO dash cam hard wired to the truck's always-on fuse box, but supposedly the power to the dashcam will be cut if the battery is below 9v. i'm thinking if i should just remove that dash can and install some cheaper one that shuts off when the truck is off.

Can you please send over a message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer? I would like to look into this battery issue on my end.

 

[stlgrym3]

Battery tenders are automatic battery chargers and maintainers for motor vehicles. They're typically used for vehicles that are being stored long term, like a sports car you park in the garage for the winter season or a motorcycle you don't ride often. This is a pretty common issue for PowerBoost owners, myself included. However, I drive mine everyday and I STILL have the problem. I'm pretty sure my battery is weak because it sat in a lot for months before it was sold (to me). You have some options: You can deal with hooking your truck up to a battery tender anytime you're not using it or, since the dealer won't replace the battery, you can roll the dice and purchase a new battery that is almost guaranteed to be superior to the OEM battery.

I'm actually using a NOCO Genius5 battery charger until I can get into the dealer. I suspect my obviously bad battery is going to "test good" and I'll be on the hook to just replace it.

thanks for the input. is it true our powerboost uses different battery than the ecoboost? if i were to pay out of pocket for a better battery, which brand name and model should i go for? thanks.

 

[MetalCord]

thanks for the input. is it true our powerboost uses different battery than the ecoboost? if i were to pay out of pocket for a better battery, which brand name and model should i go for? thanks.

As far as I know, they're all AGM batteries. However, I believe the standard EcoBoost trucks can accept a battery with more cells than the PowerBoost battery tray will allow. Someone else that knows a lot more than I do will hopefully chime in!

 

[redline]

i thought powerboost can take an h7 and ecoboost can take a h8...

both i think have h6 standard.

On brand of battery, as long as it is agm battery, you are good. everyone has there brand that they like and trust. to me it i am not sure if it matters much

 

[Borchelt]

I changed mine for an Autozone H7 Platinum. The PB will not accept an H8 do to the generation equipment in the way. Here’s my battery tender setup so I don’t have to deal with running power cords or have the hood open to attach.

Added a NOCO Genius 10 charger permanent battery connect. I hate having to route an extension cord, open the hood and deal with positioning the clamps and then unhooking. I added a NOCO permanent battery connection and NOCO extension routed to the driver's side since that is closest to the workbench outlets. Hate having cords on the floor. When connecting to the battery, make sure you connect the black (neg) eyelet above the BMS module as shown by green arrow or a suitable chassis ground as @rugedraw did. If you connect to the negative terminal on the battery directly, it will bypass the BMS - Red Arrow. Might do a custom job and route the charger connection out through the fender XLT badge for a cleaner look and totally out of the weather. The end cap should protect it for now (garage kept) until I get some time for a custom fab. Make sure you do a BMS reset if you changed the battery as well.

 

[stlgrym3]

I changed mine for an Autozone H7 Platinum. The PB will not accept an H8 do to the generation equipment in the way. Here’s my battery tender setup so I don’t have to deal with running power cords or have the hood open to attach.

Added a NOCO Genius 10 charger permanent battery connect. I hate having to route an extension cord, open the hood and deal with positioning the clamps and then unhooking. I added a NOCO permanent battery connection and NOCO extension routed to the driver's side since that is closest to the workbench outlets. Hate having cords on the floor. When connecting to the battery, make sure you connect the black (neg) eyelet above the BMS module as shown by green arrow or a suitable chassis ground as @rugedraw did. If you connect to the negative terminal on the battery directly, it will bypass the BMS - Red Arrow. Might do a custom job and route the charger connection out through the fender XLT badge for a cleaner look and totally out of the weather. The end cap should protect it for now (garage kept) until I get some time for a custom fab. Make sure you do a BMS reset if you changed the battery as well.

thanks for the input, so the difference between Genius 5 and 10 are the electric current? which one is better at preserving the battery life?

 

[stlgrym3]

if i upgrade the OEM H6 battery to a H7, will that resolve the battery save mode issue i've been experiencing? if so, i may just buy a H7 battery and be done with it, without the hassles of the battery tender.

 

[Chef1612]

Can you please send over a message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer? I would like to look into this battery issue on my end.

I was contacted by our friendly Ford BOT and after some more information excnage I was told to go to the dealer. Did get an appointment but was told the SAME thing most people here get told. DRIVE MORE. Battery is fine.
Unfortunately thats not correct.The battery is obviously not up to the task in the Poweerboost

 

[takalow]

if i upgrade the OEM H6 battery to a H7, will that resolve the battery save mode issue i've been experiencing? if so, i may just buy a H7 battery and be done with it, without the hassles of the battery tender.

The OEM is H7

 

[stlgrym3]

I was contacted by our friendly Ford BOT and after some more information excnage I was told to go to the dealer. Did get an appointment but was told the SAME thing most people here get told. DRIVE MORE. Battery is fine.
Unfortunately thats not correct.The battery is obviously not up to the task in the Poweerboost

i share your pain. me too was told by dealer twice the battery is fine, no fault codes were detected using their diagnostic tool. i wish i had gone with a Tundra and be done with it.

 

[stlgrym3]

The OEM is H7

thanks, if i were to pay out of pocket for a better battery than OEM, any specific brand i should go with? they're not cheap, i just checked Autozone.

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