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12V battery charge

chuck27p

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I've had my truck for a few years and haven't had a problem, but my 12v battery is testing in the 30% range each morning. I've used a trickle charger for two nights, which went from red to green light, and then the tester told me the battery was good and back to 100%. But a day later, in the morning before I have driven it, it's back down to 25-30%. It seems to charge during the day as I drive.

Is my battery shot? Do I need a new one? I don't want to get stranded. Or is it normal for it to be so low after sitting all night and then charge during the day.

I'm wondering if I should preemptively put in a new battery or if mine is still ok? It's a 2023, so it's almost 2 years old.

Thanks.
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TaxmanHog

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Trickle chargers aren't the best tool to diagnose a LVB capacity issues

If it's suspect have a comprehensive load test done on it at the Ford Service shop, if they find it's below spec, you might get a warranty swap.
 

RLXXI

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I've had my truck for a few years and haven't had a problem, but my 12v battery is testing in the 30% range each morning. I've used a trickle charger for two nights, which went from red to green light, and then the tester told me the battery was good and back to 100%. But a day later, in the morning before I have driven it, it's back down to 25-30%. It seems to charge during the day as I drive.

Is my battery shot? Do I need a new one? I don't want to get stranded. Or is it normal for it to be so low after sitting all night and then charge during the day.

I'm wondering if I should preemptively put in a new battery or if mine is still ok? It's a 2023, so it's almost 2 years old.

Thanks.
SLA batteries, including AGM type, are a crap shoot when they go bad. There's no way to know if and/or when it might happen. If you're getting readings like that and you know for a fact your measuring equipment is calibrated properly, I'd replace it to be safe.

I've had them last more than a decade and I've had them give up the ghost at 9 months of age in my own personal vehicles as well as customers.

Considering my career in automotive repair, I keep certain tools available for such things. You can always go to your local auto part store and let them load test it, which is the ONLY true way to determine a batteries health when they don't have built in diagnostics (BMS).

This is what I've used personally and professionally for decades. https://amazon.com/dp/B000AMBOI0?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_9
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