12 volt battery monitor

[Tdub]

Why can’t Ford provide an update so we, the consumer, are able to visually monitor the 12 volt battery.

Maybe I don’t see the entire picture, but I feel it would be a simple OTA update for a very important part of our trucks. We now depend on the little square box under the frunk and behind a sheet of plastic to make our vehicle operate properly. We don’t know if it is on its last leg or still operating and providing the power the same way it did when we made the expensive purchase as we all did.

IMHO, I think we need to have this monitoring device installed on the center screen and maybe have it as an option to configure the screen for those of us that want that feature.

Stay Safe
Tom

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[GDN]

Why can’t Ford provide an update so we, the consumer, are able to visually monitor the 12 volt battery.

Maybe I don’t see the entire picture, but I feel it would be a simple OTA update for a very important part of our trucks. We now depend on the little square box under the frunk and behind a sheet of plastic to make our vehicle operate properly. We don’t know if it is on its last leg or still operating and providing the power the same way it did when we made the expensive purchase as we all did.

IMHO, I think we need to have this monitoring device installed on the center screen and maybe have it as an option to configure the screen for those of us that want that feature.

Stay Safe
Tom

Because they don't understand they even have a problem. Ever wonder why they aren't making this truck any longer?

 

[mr.Magoo]

Because they don't understand they even have a problem.

Well, there's "understanding" and then there's...

 

[Fireyrguns]

Well you can get and OBDII adapter and car scanner to monitor it. I use an old cell phone on a mag charger that I can let run while I'm driving.

 

[RickLightning]

One reason is because idiots owners would be constantly checking to see the status, which further wears down the 12v, causing the problem...

 

[Lytning]

@Ford Motor Company and its Engineers,

A formula for Customer Satisfaction: CS = D/E

CS is Customer Satisfaction, D is Delivered, E is Expected
<1 is Dissatisfied
1 is Satisfied
>1 is Delighted

Aim for Delighted and you will thrive.

 

[RLXXI]

Why can’t Ford provide an update so we, the consumer, are able to visually monitor the 12 volt battery.

Maybe I don’t see the entire picture, but I feel it would be a simple OTA update for a very important part of our trucks. We now depend on the little square box under the frunk and behind a sheet of plastic to make our vehicle operate properly. We don’t know if it is on its last leg or still operating and providing the power the same way it did when we made the expensive purchase as we all did.

IMHO, I think we need to have this monitoring device installed on the center screen and maybe have it as an option to configure the screen for those of us that want that feature.

Stay Safe
Tom

This is what I use. https://a.co/d/dPbEiWR

Works well.

 

[Adventureboy]

I have a similar monitor as @RLXXI. Knowledge facilitates understanding.

It tracks the voltage and calculates SOC with no fuss/muss and uses negligible power. Connect with Bluetooth and it downloads the history and shows exactly what is happening.

The upside, it does not need a connection to the Ford Servers to give you a reading and it does not disturb the current state of the truck (ie. you don't have to open doors or frunk, or activate modules through ODB2, and the truck can be in deep sleep mode or any other state so it gives you a true 12v voltage reading along with all of the history.
The downside - you have to be close to the truck to connect and read it. About 30 feet or so. Remote monitoring beyond 30 feet is not possible, but really, what can you do from several thousand miles away anyway?
My truck wasn't used much in the last several days. It was plugged in until the morning of January 4th (except for the driveway shuffles), then not plugged in for the rest of the timeline. The voltage spikes are driveway shuffles, the spikes with the square tops are short drives or HVB heating cycles and the longer square top is an HVB charge cycle (early Jan 1 and Jan 3rd). The last shorter square spike this morning is the truck charging the 12v battery on its own without being plugged in.

SOC is only calculated, but it paints a pretty clear picture. Short drives or driveway shuffles result in a net loss on 12v SOC. The 12v charge cycle early this morning is a result of the 12v SOC dropping to around 40% then the truck charging it to full over about an hour with no input from me. The truck was not plugged in at the time. My 12v cycle this time of year with a 2-year-old battery is just over 2 days. In the summer, it was about 5-6 days.

It is almost impossible to capture this type of passive insight any other way.

 

[Tdub]

This is what I use. https://a.co/d/dPbEiWR

Works well.

Thanks, I’ll give it a try!

 

[Lytning]

I have a similar monitor as @RLXXI.

Nice analysis and presentation!
Which monitor and data app do you use?
It looks like the trigger point for the HV battery to charge the LV battery is 40% SOC, which I believe is the original trigger point. Have you had the 12 volt BMS replacement completed? I expected the new BMS would have had a higher trigger point than 40% SOC.

 

[Tired Lizard]

BM2 Quicklynks in 3 cars to monitor with one app(Multi-Batt Mon).

 

[MountainAlive]

I’ve seen these online but not sure if they work or not. https://amzn.to/49gYjIB

 

[dww]

Why can’t Ford provide an update so we, the consumer, are able to visually monitor the 12 volt battery.

Maybe I don’t see the entire picture, but I feel it would be a simple OTA update for a very important part of our trucks. We now depend on the little square box under the frunk and behind a sheet of plastic to make our vehicle operate properly. We don’t know if it is on its last leg or still operating and providing the power the same way it did when we made the expensive purchase as we all did.

IMHO, I think we need to have this monitoring device installed on the center screen and maybe have it as an option to configure the screen for those of us that want that feature.

Stay Safe
Tom

Yes! I just had my 12v die suddenly over the weekend. 150mi trip one day, got a hat out of the truck the next evening, following morning dead. 5.63v. No PAAK, no FOB, no physical key, completely locked out. After an hour of trying everything it unlocked (still not sure why or how). Luckily it happened at home and did not strand us 100mi away. The battery did not seem to want to charge and never charged enough to turn everything back on fully. I took it to the dealer for a $200 replacement. The battery was 26mo old and showed some signs of swelling. I put the bluetooth monitor back on that I had removed (because I did not want it on there for a service call). I’m also trying to figure out the best place for an external 12v jumper so if this happens again I can jump it from outside the truck.

 

[Adventureboy]

Nice analysis and presentation!
Which monitor and data app do you use?
It looks like the trigger point for the HV battery to charge the LV battery is 40% SOC, which I believe is the original trigger point. Have you had the 12 volt BMS replacement completed? I expected the new BMS would have had a higher trigger point than 40% SOC.

I had the 12-volt BMS replaced over a year ago when the CSP came out. Take the SOC as a rough estimate only. The monitoring unit is using an algorithm to calculate it based on the voltage and timeline, so 40% SOC on the monitor might be +/- 10% or more compared with the BMS SOC that actually tracks the Ah in/out. If I had to guess, I would say it is estimating a bit low because our trucks have a constant power draw that the monitor doesn't really know about. (I have an electrical engineering background). It's good for watching the trends. Voltage, on the other hand, is pretty accurate.
App is BM6. It allows me to monitor 4 cars. I have a monitor on my Lightning, my wife's MME and our old ICE Volvo.

 

[PJnc284]

Nice analysis and presentation!
Which monitor and data app do you use?
It looks like the trigger point for the HV battery to charge the LV battery is 40% SOC, which I believe is the original trigger point. Have you had the 12 volt BMS replacement completed? I expected the new BMS would have had a higher trigger point than 40% SOC.

Microsoft Word - P034R1_POLICE MOD Bulletin
" While ignition is off, if 12V battery reaches 40% state of charge, then vehicle waits 48 hours , before the DC-DC transfers 300 Watt-hours of energy to recharge the 12V battery. The HV power comes from either HV battery or wall power while on plug. If the 12V battery state of charge reaches 30%, then this HV to LV energy transfer happens immediately with no delay. "

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