Battery Saver Mode

[jwrezz]

I went to start the heat from the app this morning. I couldn't do anything because it was in Battery Saver Mode. I had driven the truck a couple times during the day. We had a bunch of snow, and temps dipped into the teens, but the snow wasn't bad. I plugged it into my level two charger at 7pm or so. HVB was at around 80%. All research I've done leads me to believe this shouldn't have happened. The LVB was healthy last I checked. I went outside to start it and nothing was showing on the dash regarding the Battery Saver Mode. It started and I turned the heat on manually. 10 minutes later I was in the truck driving to work. No issues. I'm thinking the app was a fluke. I should've shut it down and opened it again. Any one else ever have a similar issue?

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[Adventureboy]

There are many reasons why the 12v would get low enough to cause sleep mode. Short drives and driveway shuffles or simply opening the door can light up modules for a while drawing on the battery. A series of these events can be challenging. Also, short charge cycles of less than an hour to reach target SOC can leave the 12v battery lower than desirable, especially if you have a high power EVSE.

 

[Albern]

I got the above notification for the first time 2-weeks ago. From my observations I believe I triggered a low 12V battery SOC due to looking at the Ford app several times throughout the day and the outside welcome lights being triggered a few times.

Haven't seen the low 12V battery SOC notice since then.

 

[chl]

Putting the truck 12v on a trickle charger with an AGM mode is the solution to avoid these types of problems in the future. It will add longevity to the battery as well.

Many of us do that. I originally did it to be sure I could get OTA updates.

Many ways to charge up the 12v see this Mach-e post - they have similar problems.

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

See this for how to make trickle charging easier:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/charging-12v-battery.16979/

 

[chriserx]

I have had the issue maybe twice in 6 months of ownership but I also have a comma and obdlink mx plugged in at all times, when I go grocery shopping or anything quick, I just leave the truck running now, power draw is typically less than a kW so at the 30 min timer that's more or less half a kWh and I'm typically out before the timer expires. Plus I figure it's probably easier on the majority of the components involved.

 

[chl]

I have had the issue maybe twice in 6 months of ownership but I also have a comma and obdlink mx plugged in at all times, when I go grocery shopping or anything quick, I just leave the truck running now, power draw is typically less than a kW so at the 30 min timer that's more or less half a kWh and I'm typically out before the timer expires. Plus I figure it's probably easier on the majority of the components involved.

There seems to be a substantial parasitic drain when the truck is off with F-150s, both Lightnings and the ICE versions have issues with battery drain from what I read, as does the Mach-e.

Probably a lot of new vehicles with computer systems have the same issues we've had.

 

[jwrezz]

I had it again this morning and last nite I got a push notification on the Ford app. Something to the effect of a device is draining the battery check for aftermarket devices...etc etc. I have a rearview mirror camera that is usually unplugged, and my OBD2 BT dongle that is never unplugged. Oddly, the NOCO trickle charger was on the battery last nite.

Speaking of that what difference does it make where I put the negative cable? I mean it's all attached to the battery. The NOCO is registering as charged and within an hour or less it is fully charged. I can't imagine that in the few hours after I check the charger, go to bed and wake up (less than 7 hours usually) that it has time to die that much. My truck sits at work from 7-330 daily without the level 2 charger or the NOCO charger attached and it doesn't do this.

 

[chl]

I had it again this morning and last nite I got a push notification on the Ford app. Something to the effect of a device is draining the battery check for aftermarket devices...etc etc. I have a rearview mirror camera that is usually unplugged, and my OBD2 BT dongle that is never unplugged. Oddly, the NOCO trickle charger was on the battery last nite.

Speaking of that what difference does it make where I put the negative cable? I mean it's all attached to the battery. The NOCO is registering as charged and within an hour or less it is fully charged. I can't imagine that in the few hours after I check the charger, go to bed and wake up (less than 7 hours usually) that it has time to die that much. My truck sits at work from 7-330 daily without the level 2 charger or the NOCO charger attached and it doesn't do this.

The Battery Monitoring System sensor keeps track of the flow to and from the battery so if you bypass it, the system will not know you charged the battery and think it is low perhaps, or higher than it really is.

Not sure if it corrects itself over time, I think the ICE BMS might, some say that about the ICE BMS.

Anyway, that's the reason.

 

[Adventureboy]

I had it again this morning and last nite I got a push notification on the Ford app. Something to the effect of a device is draining the battery check for aftermarket devices...etc etc. I have a rearview mirror camera that is usually unplugged, and my OBD2 BT dongle that is never unplugged. Oddly, the NOCO trickle charger was on the battery last nite.

Speaking of that what difference does it make where I put the negative cable? I mean it's all attached to the battery. The NOCO is registering as charged and within an hour or less it is fully charged. I can't imagine that in the few hours after I check the charger, go to bed and wake up (less than 7 hours usually) that it has time to die that much. My truck sits at work from 7-330 daily without the level 2 charger or the NOCO charger attached and it doesn't do this.

You said you have an OBD2 dongle. Check the Quiescent amperage. This will tell you the average power the truck draws from the 12v when everything is supposed to be shut down. Normal numbers are around 30mA. Mine runs around 50mA because I have a dashcam that stays on for a short while after shutdown but that number doesn't seem to bother it.

It is not uncommon for these symptoms to show up in the winter when the 12v battery is less efficient. Try unplugging your ODB2 dongle overnight and see if the problem goes away.

 

[chl]

It is more than just the 0.05A vampire draw that depletes the battery.

It is the draw when the truck is on as well, especially if you take mostly short trips.

When on, the 12v system is powering quite a number of things, and it seems the DC-DC converter is not able to add enough energy back to the battery while things are on to avoid the battery charge being depleted over time when the driving is mostly short trips.

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