Kansan
Well-known member
Wondering if anybody ever tried the H4 upsize. I've been watching my Flash H3 with OBDLink and it will occasionally (but not always) drop from 95% SOC to 82% SOC in a few hours of being parked. A module, or modules, are doing something. The system would benefit from a bigger battery.
I also have a ICE 2023 F150 5.0 with what looks to be a similar 12V BMS. The battery that Ford provides in the 5.0 is an H6, which is far too small and many people (including me) have had problems with the H6 draining down while parked, especially in cold weather, resulting in the truck shutting down systems due to low voltage. Changing the charge level in ForSCAN made no difference - the BMS wouldn't push the battery to 90% charge. I swapped the H6 for an H8 and monitored the 12V system with an Ancel monitor and OBDLink. After installing the H8 and resetting the BMS the system went through a day of what looked to be a learning process during which it charged at very high rates - I presume it is a routine that the BMS uses to determine the size of a newly installed battery. After the learning process was over the BMS manages the larger battery very well and it resolved my low voltage issues (my driving habits did not change). The BMS charges the bigger battery at higher charge rates, so short drives recharge the battery more quickly. The extra reserve capacity comes in handy to power the modules during the lengthy active period after shutting off my truck. I did not have to change any settings in the BMS in order to achieve this result.
Watching the H3 in my Flash with OBDLink I see a noticeable difference between it and my H8. The Flash recharges the H3 at a higher amps and sustains the higher rate for much longer. I've seen my H3 battery achieve 98% charge during long drives. The BMS in my 5.0 very obviously throttles charge amperage and won't let the battery get over 93% SOC. This might be due to the fact that the BMS on my 5.0 is trying to act like a mini hybrid system - when the battery is at 89% SOC or higher, the BMS will draw from the battery during acceleration (to unload the alternator) and it will send extra charging amps to the battery during braking - in significant amounts (all to try to boost gas mileage by an infinitesimal amount.)
It's entirely possible that the 12v BMS in the Flash doesn't have the same capability (as the BMS in my 5.0) to adapt to different size batteries. So, wondering if anybody has been successful at upgrading the battery in their Lightning.
I also have a ICE 2023 F150 5.0 with what looks to be a similar 12V BMS. The battery that Ford provides in the 5.0 is an H6, which is far too small and many people (including me) have had problems with the H6 draining down while parked, especially in cold weather, resulting in the truck shutting down systems due to low voltage. Changing the charge level in ForSCAN made no difference - the BMS wouldn't push the battery to 90% charge. I swapped the H6 for an H8 and monitored the 12V system with an Ancel monitor and OBDLink. After installing the H8 and resetting the BMS the system went through a day of what looked to be a learning process during which it charged at very high rates - I presume it is a routine that the BMS uses to determine the size of a newly installed battery. After the learning process was over the BMS manages the larger battery very well and it resolved my low voltage issues (my driving habits did not change). The BMS charges the bigger battery at higher charge rates, so short drives recharge the battery more quickly. The extra reserve capacity comes in handy to power the modules during the lengthy active period after shutting off my truck. I did not have to change any settings in the BMS in order to achieve this result.
Watching the H3 in my Flash with OBDLink I see a noticeable difference between it and my H8. The Flash recharges the H3 at a higher amps and sustains the higher rate for much longer. I've seen my H3 battery achieve 98% charge during long drives. The BMS in my 5.0 very obviously throttles charge amperage and won't let the battery get over 93% SOC. This might be due to the fact that the BMS on my 5.0 is trying to act like a mini hybrid system - when the battery is at 89% SOC or higher, the BMS will draw from the battery during acceleration (to unload the alternator) and it will send extra charging amps to the battery during braking - in significant amounts (all to try to boost gas mileage by an infinitesimal amount.)
It's entirely possible that the 12v BMS in the Flash doesn't have the same capability (as the BMS in my 5.0) to adapt to different size batteries. So, wondering if anybody has been successful at upgrading the battery in their Lightning.
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