Happy Anniversary 12v battery failure

[chl]

Y'all should call Guinness book of world records and Ripley's Believe it or not then go buy a lottery ticket. I've been working in this industry over 40 years and have never seen or heard of any type of lead acid battery last that long except for IFLA.

We replace red and yellow top Optima batteries about every year or two at work. I'll never buy one that much is certain. On any given month we have stacks of them waiting for recycling and the oldest one I can remember was 3 years old, most of them barely a year.

My 2001 Ranger had a Motorcraft 100 month battery (8-1/3 yrs) that lasted more twice that - it was around 17 years when I finally had to replaced it with another 100 mo. battery. It was kind of pricey at $182 or so I thought at the time (2018).

I did keep it on a solar trickle charger placed on my dash, which will extend the life of any lead-acid battery - they last longer when kept fully charged - its a chemistry thing.

That's the problem with the Lightnings' 12V system - the truck does not keep the battery fully charged even though it could by using the HV battery and the on-board DC-DC converter. The programming has been updated, but originally it let the battery get down to 40% for 48hrs before activating the DC-DC, as I recall.

Poor design.

AGM batteries do not like to go below 50% so they (Internet experts) tell me.

My plan is to do like others and check it when I get close to the 3 yr B-to-B warranty date and have Ford replace it if it's on its last legs.

Then keep the replaced one on a trickle charge somehow - maybe use a solar dashboard charger and run a wire to the battery compartment.

One nice feature of my 2012 Nissan Leaf was a solar panel integral with the roof to trickle charge the 12V when outdoors. Mine is in my garage so it is on a $35 battery tender. BTW, that 12V battery is now nearly 14 yrs old and still works fine.

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[RLXXI]

My 2001 Ranger had a Motorcraft 100 month battery (8-1/3 yrs) that lasted more twice that - it was around 17 years when I finally had to replaced it with another 100 mo. battery. It was kind of pricey at $182 or so I thought at the time (2018).

I did keep it on a solar trickle charger placed on my dash, which will extend the life of any lead-acid battery - they last longer when kept fully charged - its a chemistry thing.

That's the problem with the Lightnings' 12V system - the truck does not keep the battery fully charged even though it could by using the HV battery and the on-board DC-DC converter. The programming has been updated, but originally it let the battery get down to 40% for 48hrs before activating the DC-DC, as I recall.

Poor design.

AGM batteries do not like to go below 50% so they (Internet experts) tell me.

My plan is to do like others and check it when I get close to the 3 yr B-to-B warranty date and have Ford replace it if it's on its last legs.

Then keep the replaced one on a trickle charge somehow - maybe use a solar dashboard charger and run a wire to the battery compartment.

One nice feature of my 2012 Nissan Leaf was a solar panel integral with the roof to trickle charge the 12V when outdoors. Mine is in my garage so it is on a $35 battery tender. BTW, that 12V battery is now nearly 14 yrs old and still works fine.

When it comes time to replace mine I'm using an LFP battery, 10 year warranty but will likely last twice that long and it doesn't mind being run down low, built in BMS protects itself.

Costs the same or less than AGM.

 

[K6CCC]

I had one of the portable Lithium jump start batteries in my ICE pickup. It's now in the Lightning. Used it twice a couple weeks ago (a few days apart) on two different ICE vehicles. But it's available if the Lightning 12V battery needs help...

 

[RLXXI]

I had one of the portable Lithium jump start batteries in my ICE pickup. It's now in the Lightning. Used it twice a couple weeks ago (a few days apart) on two different ICE vehicles. But it's available if the Lightning 12V battery needs help...

Good call, I have one of those things as well that I'll add to the truck for just in case. Thanks for the reminder. I have AAA but the waiting is the hardest part.

 

[TaxmanHog]

In my older trucks I've had great life-span on the battery's, including the F250, those two 12v's in parallel lasted ~ 8 years (OEM) and that includes an episode where I ran the pair flat leaving it parked for over a month with an aftermarket GPS plugged in and active while in the garage, it was August, warm and dry, at the time I was able to ride the Harley to work 5+ weeks in a row.

After getting it jumped started, I was able to drive it for a couple hours to recharge the pair, they lasted 6 years from that incident!!

OTOH

We've seen several failures of the H3's, IMHO they are undersized and overworked per the 40% drop & charge service cycle, I ain't trusting it, YMMV.

 

[rdr854]

Yesterday was my 3 year anniversary of owning my lightning. Today my 12v battery failed! Nice, real nice. I know lots of folks are already or coming up on their 3rd year of ownership. Hopefully all goes well for everyone. This is my first out of pocket expense. Love my truck!

Are these covered under the Ford Platinum/Premium Care Service Plan?

 

[tls]

Thanks for the reminder, I need to hop over to the auto parts store, have them do a basic load test, if it's marginal I'm replacing it, I DO NOT like surprises.

Load tests don't work as well on AGM or gel cells as they do on traditional wet-plate designs. I say this as someone who's been responsible for several large lead acid backup battery arrays in the course of my career. We replaced batteries on a fixed cycle, or sooner if there had been a major draw on them.

 

[Pioneer74]

Are these covered under the Ford Platinum/Premium Care Service Plan?

No. 3 year / 36k miles.

 

[jetfixr1]

Load tests don't work as well on AGM or gel cells as they do on traditional wet-plate designs. I say this as someone who's been responsible for several large lead acid backup battery arrays in the course of my career. We replaced batteries on a fixed cycle, or sooner if there had been a major draw on them.

This immediately came to my mind when someone posted about load testing a battery. It doesn't work the same way. At this point, its good to be proactive and replace on or before 36 months.

 

[RLXXI]

I use the old fashioned "Toaster" some call it, battery load tester. Works on ALL batteries you might find in a vehicle, golf cart, cell phone tower, even lithium batteries, etc.... I don't trust the digital testers, I want to put that battery to work and see if it can handle the load. Hasn't let me down my entire career.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AMBOI0?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

 

[K6CCC]

AGM batteries can be tested, but a simple load tester is not the best. At work where we have many hundreds of 180 AH 12V AGM batteries, we use a conductivity tester. Very accurate, but it's a $7K box to do it.

 

[RLXXI]

Are these covered under the Ford Platinum/Premium Care Service Plan?

Batteries like tires and brake pads are considered a consumable/wear item. You get full warranty on them for 12 months after purchase then prorated to 3/36. ESP doesn't cover them either.

 

[RLXXI]

AGM batteries can be tested, but a simple load tester is not the best. At work where we have many hundreds of 180 AH 12V AGM batteries, we use a conductivity tester. Very accurate, but it's a $7K box to do it.

It's worked for me for over 40 years, I'm gonna stick with it.

P.S. There's nothing special about AGM batteries, all they are, are regular lead acid batteries with Absorbed Glass Mats between the plates, that's it. I work for a very large fleet, nationwide, and we still use the toaster at the shop.

 

[MaintGrl]

I use the old fashioned "Toaster" some call it, battery load tester. Works on ALL batteries you might find in a vehicle, golf cart, cell phone tower, even lithium batteries, etc.... I don't trust the digital testers, I want to put that battery to work and see if it can handle the load. Hasn't let me down my entire career.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AMBOI0?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

Yep, an analog Load bank. When I was working we had one that was about 3" x5' x 4' we used it to put a Load on our Stationary GenSet's. It had several sets or windings to slowly increase the load. Dang If you Turned it on Full the GenSet would belch out some smoke...(Diesel)

 

[GDN]

I haven't given the 12v too much thought, but I'm in the same area as @sstevetx @LUXMAN @bmwhitetx and others. Same climate and have hit the 3 year mark on the truck.

I'm not wanting to drop hundreds more on a battery, but what are the thoughts about upsizing? These batteries seem to be the weak point in the 12v system and especially SW updates. Are there bigger sizes and what would be the downsize of getting a bigger one?

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