12V battery replacement poll

[Pioneer74]

I've owned my truck over 3 years. Picked it up at the beginning of October, 2022, and currently have around 76k miles. Now, we don't have the electric doors like the Mach-E, but we have the same issue of a very small 12V battery that is needed to electronically unlock the doors and engage the DC to DC converter to "start" our vehicles. Even though I have had no 12V problems, with winter approaching, I have elected to proactively replace my 12 V battery. I ordered my OEM Motorcraft H3 AGM battery off of Rock Auto for less than buying from the dealership. Surprisingly, it showed up in 2 days.

I was just curious what others are planning on doing.

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[carys98]

I knew mine had been through hell with the bad BMS and failed software updates so 2 weeks ago (3 weeks before my 36 month warranty ran out) I took it in and asked them to test it. As expected it failed and I got a warranty replacement and an additional year of warranty.

 

[fhteagle]

I picked other, because....

I purchased my '22 Lariat used in June of this year, from a very very very warm place. So I already suspected the 12V might not have a lot of life in it because I know what that kind of temps does to lead acid chemistry. But winter temps up here are even worse.

As soon as the thermometer started showing "fall", I was getting "system off to save battery" messages on the center screen. Not interested in being stuck somewhere due to a dead 12V, so I went ahead and got a replacement. Like @Aminorjourney , I went with the Ohmmu Na-ion, but I _DID_ do the BMS reset. I'm about a month since that swap out, and I haven't seen the system off message in the center screen since.

I did also get a Bluetooth battery monitor and installed it at the same time. Holy crap the truck lets the 12V battery get _low_ before recharging it. 11.9, 11.4, yesterday I even saw 11.2V before the truck pushed it back up. That's way way way way too low for a lead acid to be hitting regularly. I expect gobs of regular lead acid failures in Lightnings this winter. Really don't know why the truck is programmed to wait that long to start a 12V top up cycle. Hopefully the Na-ion is more tolerant of those low SOC excursions, and everything I'm reading says they should be.

 

[TaxmanHog]

My June 2022 build has reached the 3 year age mark last August, I decided to be proactive and change it out, though the bench-top testing at the auto parts store indicated it was still serviceable and that I might be fine to let the dice roll, I opted to go with the new AGM battery.

Now that I've got the improved LVB BMS, and several OTA's have posted to the truck that improve load management, I expect this battery to perform better, and might let it roll past the next 3 year interval.

 

[JMD359]

Mines on its 3rd battery I’m pretty sure . I will replace when it fails I’ll still be under 3/36 most likely

 

[msadan]

I do a load test on mine every 6 months. I’ll replace it when it tests weak.

 

[jefrank]

My June 2022 build has reached the 3 year age mark last August, I decided to be proactive and change it out, though the bench-top testing at the auto parts store indicated it was still serviceable and that I might be fine to let the dice roll, I opted to go with the new AGM battery.

Now that I've got the improved LVB BMS, and several OTA's have posted to the truck that improve load management, I expect this battery to perform better, and might let it roll past the next 3 year interval.

Pretty much the same here (end of Aug 2022 delivery), but I did opt to have a spare sitting in the barn for a month or so before the weather started getting colder. Once I had my HVB faults crop up, I went ahead and swapped the 12v, just to be sure. Load testing on the old battery showed it as "good" after being "optimal" over the summer, so I think I picked the right time to do the swap.

 

[Lytning]

I proactively replaced my (second) OEM 12 volt battery at the 3 year mark with an Ohmmu Li-H3-BH (LFP) battery. It is definitely expensive, but I am very happy with results. It stays in the 90% to 100% SOC range, and SOC is viewable within Bluetooth range on a mobile phone.

I am not associated with Ohmmu in any way. They are offering a 20% Black Friday discount at the current time.

https://www.ohmmu.com/?utm_campaign...mail&cid=2cedc2fc-640b-47df-a436-dcc68464e997

 

[Wattsgas]

I just started getting the system shutting down messages on my 2022 Plat. I have just started checking the battery voltage with an ohm meter. I haven't done a load test yet. I am trying to decide what sort of replacement I want to go with. The other thing I don't understand is why Ford choose such a small battery with such a wonky charge cycle. Seems like Tesla also had the same issue early on. Although, I never had the same issue with my Tesla. Over the air updates and starting the car, computer booting up were not an issue. Couple with this some of the connectivity issues that I have had with the Lightning.

I probably would never had thought about this had I not been at the dealership when they were doing a software update that required the truck LVB to be on a charger. There charger crapped out during the update. The service Tech pulled up his diesel truck and used the alternator to keep the battery charged.

I would just like to fix it and not have an issue. Maybe just going with a new AGM battery every 3 years is the best option.

 

[chl]

I now have mine on a NOCO Genius1 trickle charger in AGM mode when not using the truck, or charging overnight which I expect to keep it healthy for a long time.

After reading about all the problems people have had on this and other forums, and having an OTA failure due to the 12v battery SOC being below 85% or so, I bought the NOCO Genius1 to avoid problems.

I put an SAE cord inside my charge port to make connecting the NOCO easier - just a small hole in the plastic and a 5 ft fused SAE cord with ring terminals to the battery (negative downstream of the BMS - connect at blue circles not red Xs) on the 6mm terminal screws:

BACKGROUND:

I've had lead-acid batteries, including AGM batteries, last over 14 years when on a trickle charger. As I learned in engineering school, unlike Li batteries, lead-acid batteries love being kept at 100% charge!

However, as I approach the end of my 3yr bumper-to-bumper warranty period I may unhook it from the truck and load-test it with my UT673A-675A battery tester.

If the indication is I need a replacement, I will use the 3yr warranty to get a new one.

If the test indication is the battery is still good, I will keep doing what I'm doing with trickle charging and feel confident it is not going to die any time soon.
----
Disclaimer

I am an electrical engineer but not a licensed electrician.

The information provided in this post is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute any endorsement or recommendation. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability, or usefulness of any information found in this post. It is your responsibility to verify and investigate this information.

 

[Robert1380]

I now have mine on a NOCO Genius1 trickle charger in AGM mode when not using the truck, or charging overnight which I expect to keep it healthy for a long time.

After reading about all the problems people have had on this and other forums, and having an OTA failure due to the 12v battery SOC being below 85% or so, I bought the NOCO Genius1 to avoid problems.

I put an SAE cord inside my charge port to make connecting the NOCO easier - just a small hole in the plastic and a 5 ft fused SAE cord with ring terminals to the battery (negative downstream of the BMS - connect at blue circles not red Xs) on the 6mm terminal screws:

BACKGROUND:

I've had lead-acid batteries, including AGM batteries, last over 14 years when on a trickle charger. As I learned in engineering school, unlike Li batteries, lead-acid batteries love being kept at 100% charge!

However, as I approach the end of my 3yr bumper-to-bumper warranty period I may unhook it from the truck and load-test it with my UT673A-675A battery tester.

If the indication is I need a replacement, I will use the 3yr warranty to get a new one.

If the test indication is the battery is still good, I will keep doing what I'm doing with trickle charging and feel confident it is not going to die any time soon.
----
Disclaimer

I am an electrical engineer but not a licensed electrician.

The information provided in this post is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute any endorsement or recommendation. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability, or usefulness of any information found in this post. It is your responsibility to verify and investigate this information.

Wouldn’t just plugging in your charger to the charge port accomplish the same thing, even if you’re not charging the battery? I’m not trying to be a smart ass, I really want to know cuz I’ve been wondering about this as well. I have several Battery Tenders and considered installing the wiring to utilize one of them. I just didn’t think it was necessary if I left the truck plugged in.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Wouldn’t just plugging in your charger to the charge port accomplish the same thing, even if you’re not charging the battery? I’m not trying to be a smart ass, I really want to know cuz I’ve been wondering about this as well. I have several Battery Tenders and considered installing the wiring to utilize one of them. I just didn’t think it was necessary if I left the truck plugged in.

The LVB receives extra DC/DC charging only when the HVB is also charging, once the HVB reaches target SOC cut-off then the truck resumes its other LVB maintenance strategy.

 

[chl]

Wouldn’t just plugging in your charger to the charge port accomplish the same thing, even if you’re not charging the battery? I’m not trying to be a smart ass, I really want to know cuz I’ve been wondering about this as well. I have several Battery Tenders and considered installing the wiring to utilize one of them. I just didn’t think it was necessary if I left the truck plugged in.

You'd think so, but you'd be wrong - BTW, no offense taken at the question, it is a reasonable ask.

Here's a good post about how the LV 12v battery gets charged from the Mach-e forum applies to the Lightning as well. The only thing I would add is be sure to use an AGM suitable charger.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/how-to-get-failed-otas-to-install.29749/

I repeat, be sure you get a trickle charger suitable for AGM batteries - they are different and some trickle chargers do not have an AGM mode.

The NOCO Genius1 has an AGM mode, as do many others.

 

[RLXXI]

I proactively replaced my (second) OEM 12 volt battery at the 3 year mark with an Ohmmu Li-H3-BH (LFP) battery. It is definitely expensive, but I am very happy with results. It stays in the 90% to 100% SOC range, and SOC is viewable within Bluetooth range on a mobile phone.

I am not associated with Ohmmu in any way. They are offering a 20% Black Friday discount at the current time.

https://www.ohmmu.com/?utm_campaign...mail&cid=2cedc2fc-640b-47df-a436-dcc68464e997

Doing the same thing only a different brand lfp due to my location, heater not needed like the Ohmmu has so it's a bit cheaper and caries a 10yr warranty. 50ah lfp from Ecoworthy.

 

[sotek2345]

I like to roll the dice. A little over 3 years and 47k miles in. Parked outside in the heat and cold. Still on the factory 12V battery with no issues. My wife is the same at 4 yrs and 57k miles on her Mach-e.

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