2023 - Battery dies quickly while camping

[Andy B]

I have had SUVs for decades (98 Durango, 2010 Expy, now 2023 Exp SPP)

I have a use pattern that is causing problems only with the 2023.

I camp at music festvials. Car camping. So I am in and out of the truck frequently. It's where I keep the coolers and food out of the sun and safe from critters as well as store less used items that don't need to take up tent space.

This has always been fine before, but with the 2023 it seems like 2 days or so is the limit before the battery gets low and it goes i to dark mode. (and if I ignore it, it goes dead).

Is there anything I can do to extend this? Really what I would like is to turn off EVERYTHING except for the door locks. But every time I open the door all the computers and screens wake up. I assume this is the difference with the new truck.

Thanks in advance for tips and ideas.

(One note. Last year I added a small solar panel and battery tender. This works, but it's a pain to set up AND only works if it is sunny.)

 

[GaryH]

If the solar panel battery tender doesn't work for you, try starting the vehicle and running it for 20 minutes every day.

 

[Andy B]

Nvmd.

Nvmd?

 

[GaryH]

Nvmd?

I had originally suggested you install a solar battery tender before I read your last sentence. Hence Nvmd, (Never mind).

 

[Andy B]

I had originally suggested you install a solar battery tender before I read your last sentence. Hence Nvmd, (Never mind).

Thanks for the reply! Appreciate it.

 

[Rob6805]

I have had SUVs for decades (98 Durango, 2010 Expy, now 2023 Exp SPP)

I have a use pattern that is causing problems only with the 2023.

I camp at music festvials. Car camping. So I am in and out of the truck frequently. It's where I keep the coolers and food out of the sun and safe from critters as well as store less used items that don't need to take up tent space.

This has always been fine before, but with the 2023 it seems like 2 days or so is the limit before the battery gets low and it goes i to dark mode. (and if I ignore it, it goes dead).

Is there anything I can do to extend this? Really what I would like is to turn off EVERYTHING except for the door locks. But every time I open the door all the computers and screens wake up. I assume this is the difference with the new truck.

Thanks in advance for tips and ideas.

(One note. Last year I added a small solar panel and battery tender. This works, but it's a pain to set up AND only works if it is sunny.)

Those older vehicles didn't have nearly the KOEO (key on, engine off) demand on the battery that your new 2023 does. And you are correct, every time you open the door the vehicle wakes up and everything turns on. Do that multiple times over the course of a few days without starting or driving the vehicle and you see the result, dead battery. Your solar battery tender is a really good idea. As someone else suggested, you need to start and run the vehicle for a good 15-20 min each day (or maybe more).

Maybe get one of these so you can monitor the battery voltage

https://www.amazon.com/Palumma-Charger-Adapter-Display-Battery/dp/B0773BYS6P/ref=sr_1_3?crid=WFQH6JL72KBL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0qkhLCvyeC2m9hln0snTqyqEM2lIeBx5kzHGzHR2Y4L9dEDoorlX1y34Fv9ab_YXA8zJy-KgGyCakNGin5cFbV42rQgLP5eLQ_vN7HulOhUU375_M5Fm8NKa1bg0LiRAB-XVqxuJh3wzuXv8Z679suLxa-AmJhKPwhjN-Zlo8yWAmgx8xYLtDuivFQNDykflc84rq5TMb6qQb-IXoONTrGtYDbHs5IYeMcgnLcNlGY_frBklrYKJNY3N2m--jK8X2-r72Iwy-d0GV15bDk4TSX5aAJc6CvetFWIuPaN2bSQ.dnnzep9JIOO6eyLWW6X5DyiC6rLnVFJd4EopckDF5uY&dib_tag=se&keywords=12v%2Bplug%2Bin%2Bbattery%2Bmonitor&qid=1731959903&sprefix=12v%2Bplug%2Bin%2Bbatter%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3&th=1

 

[BigOleFordFan]

Yep, the newer vehicles tend to draw down the batteries quicker with all the electronics, sensors & displays that power up every time you unlock or open the doors/hatch etc...

A few days after buying my wife's '17 Acadia, we discovered that it does this too, and it took a few weeks to get used to

But running the vehicle for 15-20 mins/day would probably help, or you may want to consider getting a larger-capacity battery too.....

 

[Fizzy]

Get two new identical batteries and wire them in parrelel. Same voltage, double the capacity. Although where you'd mount the second one under the hood would be interesting.

<Note: This is only a semi-serious response>

 

[gasman5045]

I'm not sure about the 23 model but I run dual battery setup under the hood and 2 more aux batteries on floor behind passenger seat. All high reserve agm battery. I use a battery isolator to keep my starting battery from going dead

 

[gasman5045]

As a footnote I'm running a 4000 watt inverter off road lights and other 12 volt high demand items

 

[Mr Big]

I have had SUVs for decades (98 Durango, 2010 Expy, now 2023 Exp SPP)

I have a use pattern that is causing problems only with the 2023.

I camp at music festvials. Car camping. So I am in and out of the truck frequently. It's where I keep the coolers and food out of the sun and safe from critters as well as store less used items that don't need to take up tent space.

This has always been fine before, but with the 2023 it seems like 2 days or so is the limit before the battery gets low and it goes i to dark mode. (and if I ignore it, it goes dead).

Is there anything I can do to extend this? Really what I would like is to turn off EVERYTHING except for the door locks. But every time I open the door all the computers and screens wake up. I assume this is the difference with the new truck.

Thanks in advance for tips and ideas.

(One note. Last year I added a small solar panel and battery tender. This works, but it's a pain to set up AND only works if it is sunny.)

You may be able to change settings in ForScan to dark car, if your vehicle is supported. The batteries drain faster on these vehicles, due to so many items running most of the time. Even when the vehicle is off, there is something draining the battery.
I used a battery kill switch on one of my vehicles. But I don't think it's a good idea on these, as it would reset a few things as well as possibly cause all memory items to lose their settings.

 

[Andy B]

You may be able to change settings in ForScan to dark car, if your vehicle is supported. The batteries drain faster on these vehicles, due to so many items running most of the time. Even when the vehicle is off, there is something draining the battery.
I used a battery kill switch on one of my vehicles. But I don't think it's a good idea on these, as it would reset a few things as well as possibly cause all memory items to lose their settings.

Yeah, I thought about adding a battery switch, but there are specific warnings in the manual about waiting before disconnecting power. It seems like asking for trouble.

I guess I'll have to live with my solar cell system.

 

[LokiWolf]

DO NOT add a battery isolator. Things will not be happy. I would add a larger deep cycle battery in the place of the factory battery. Check out the F150 Forums. What Brands/Sizes are well documented. Combined with your Solar charger(Witch provides some help even on overcast days), it should give you a little extra insurance. Start your vehicle if it gets too low.

 

[Rednecked]

When you purchase a new battery 2 sizes will show. Get the bigger one. That’s what I did.

 

[Ugh_J]

I might be a bit late to the conversation, but if you really want to know what's going on and why, I highly recommend a few things.

First, a battery voltage monitor. I have one of these on mine that I installed after noticing oddball things happening like running boards intermittently failing to extend, chimes/backup proximity warning beeper/etc. not playing through the radio anymore, and a few others I can't remember. It'll show you a graph over time to see precisely what the voltage does when sitting and will also remember how far it sags on the last two or three cranks, the latter can tell you when the battery is getting weak enough to likely need replacement. Related to this, I discovered that if you drive the vehicle for more than 15-20 minutes at 45mph+ every day or two, it should always be able to maintain a full charge. Unfortunately, on these, the target battery state of charge is set to 80% by default and my experience is that if driving it enough fails to maintain >12.65V when you check it in the morning, the battery is likely also going to show low crank voltage sagging and the battery probably needs to be replaced.

I also have one of these that stays in the truck. I recommend setting up a dashboard with:
* battery estimated temp
* ambient air temp
* battery charge mode
* battery days in service
* battery state of charge (set this as a graph, not just a number, with 600 as the number of samples)
* vehicle battery - current (amps) (set as graph)
* battery voltage (set as graph)
This will show you what your battery is doing when driving it. I learned a fair bit about how it does target state of charge maintenance by watching that with the vehicle in various configurations, like headlights on/off, idle vs speed, AC on/off, etc. It's astonishing how many amps these things pull at times. I've seen mine pull as many as 50+ amps briefly when opening the door with the vehicle off, and ~20-25A just sitting there checking things with ForScan.

I don't have enough data on this item long-term to firmly recommend it but setting my Battery Target State of Charge via ForScan to 95% instead of 80% has helped a lot in keeping mine in good shape (usually sits between 78-85% SoC or 12.67ish to 12.85ish IIRC) as I typically drive less than 10-15 minutes at <35mph back and forth to restaurants or grocery stores. There are arguments against keeping the battery too highly charged 24/7 but this works for my use case. I'm also somewhat skeptical of the low target SoC on these newer vehicles as I ran an AGM battery in my old Charger and it didn't have any load-shed nonsense and lasted well over 5 years. YMMV. I'd also throw in that when my factory battery was on its way out, it would not keep more than 61-65% SoC regardless of me putting it on a battery tender a few days a week. Charge amps were good while driving but it just could not keep it charged. New battery doesn't have that problem. After driving for a few hours to visit family and it getting up to 90-100% SoC (will hit 100% if I drive at night as headlights/etc. seem to override the conservative charge modes) it will take about 2 weeks to drop back down to 76-78% SoC with my daily local jaunts.

Yeah, my strategery might be a bit overkill but I figure I'd rather know WTF these vehicles are doing to the battery ahead of time rather than finding out 30 miles down a 50 mile road at 11pm on a Sunday.

Hopefully, that gives you some things to think about outside of the multi-battery setups mentioned elsewhere. Happy to provide more data on the above if ya need. Good luck!

 

[ROBERT BONNER]

I might be a bit late to the conversation, but if you really want to know what's going on and why, I highly recommend a few things.

First, a battery voltage monitor. I have one of these on mine that I installed after noticing oddball things happening like running boards intermittently failing to extend, chimes/backup proximity warning beeper/etc. not playing through the radio anymore, and a few others I can't remember. It'll show you a graph over time to see precisely what the voltage does when sitting and will also remember how far it sags on the last two or three cranks, the latter can tell you when the battery is getting weak enough to likely need replacement. Related to this, I discovered that if you drive the vehicle for more than 15-20 minutes at 45mph+ every day or two, it should always be able to maintain a full charge. Unfortunately, on these, the target battery state of charge is set to 80% by default and my experience is that if driving it enough fails to maintain >12.65V when you check it in the morning, the battery is likely also going to show low crank voltage sagging and the battery probably needs to be replaced.

I also have one of these that stays in the truck. I recommend setting up a dashboard with:
* battery estimated temp
* ambient air temp
* battery charge mode
* battery days in service
* battery state of charge (set this as a graph, not just a number, with 600 as the number of samples)
* vehicle battery - current (amps) (set as graph)
* battery voltage (set as graph)
This will show you what your battery is doing when driving it. I learned a fair bit about how it does target state of charge maintenance by watching that with the vehicle in various configurations, like headlights on/off, idle vs speed, AC on/off, etc. It's astonishing how many amps these things pull at times. I've seen mine pull as many as 50+ amps briefly when opening the door with the vehicle off, and ~20-25A just sitting there checking things with ForScan.

I don't have enough data on this item long-term to firmly recommend it but setting my Battery Target State of Charge via ForScan to 95% instead of 80% has helped a lot in keeping mine in good shape (usually sits between 78-85% SoC or 12.67ish to 12.85ish IIRC) as I typically drive less than 10-15 minutes at <35mph back and forth to restaurants or grocery stores. There are arguments against keeping the battery too highly charged 24/7 but this works for my use case. I'm also somewhat skeptical of the low target SoC on these newer vehicles as I ran an AGM battery in my old Charger and it didn't have any load-shed nonsense and lasted well over 5 years. YMMV. I'd also throw in that when my factory battery was on its way out, it would not keep more than 61-65% SoC regardless of me putting it on a battery tender a few days a week. Charge amps were good while driving but it just could not keep it charged. New battery doesn't have that problem. After driving for a few hours to visit family and it getting up to 90-100% SoC (will hit 100% if I drive at night as headlights/etc. seem to override the conservative charge modes) it will take about 2 weeks to drop back down to 76-78% SoC with my daily local jaunts.

Yeah, my strategery might be a bit overkill but I figure I'd rather know WTF these vehicles are doing to the battery ahead of time rather than finding out 30 miles down a 50 mile road at 11pm on a Sunday.

Hopefully, that gives you some things to think about outside of the multi-battery setups mentioned elsewhere. Happy to provide more data on the above if ya need. Good luck!

Lots of really good information, thanks for sharing! Reminds me of all of my suspicions.

Also reminds me that while I'm constantly aware of and thinking about current usage/charging strategies while driving my Expedition.....I never worry about my F150 hybrid, that has (2) 12V batteries with active isolation and an EV Battery that can cross over and charge the 12V's. Everything always works, all of the time.

 

[GlennSullivan]

We do long trips 2 times per year and in prep for each trip we take a few days to load the Expy so it is not a last minute rush. Early on we found that opening and closing the rear tailgate a lot over this 2-3 day period would kill the battery. Our solution, which is no help to you, is to leave the truck on the battery tender until we are ready to leave.

It sounds a little excessive, but if you are using a generator during your camping trips, bring along a battery tender and keep the truck connected whenever the generator is running.

 

[Andy B]

We do long trips 2 times per year and in prep for each trip we take a few days to load the Expy so it is not a last minute rush. Early on we found that opening and closing the rear tailgate a lot over this 2-3 day period would kill the battery. Our solution, which is no help to you, is to leave the truck on the battery tender until we are ready to leave.

It sounds a little excessive, but if you are using a generator during your camping trips, bring along a battery tender and keep the truck connected whenever the generator is running.

That's where I ended up. Sort of. I bought a solar panel and a Battery Tender brand solar battery charging module. I was hoping for a more convenient solution but this seems to work.

 

[GlennSullivan]

That's where I ended up. Sort of. I bought a solar panel and a Battery Tender brand solar battery charging module. I was hoping for a more convenient solution but this seems to work.

I guess that is kind of where you need to be, either the solar generator or another source of power like a small generator. If you went the small gen route, it would have a lot of other uses at a campsite and the Honda EU units are super quiet.

 

[Danm355]

I have had SUVs for decades (98 Durango, 2010 Expy, now 2023 Exp SPP)

I have a use pattern that is causing problems only with the 2023.

I camp at music festvials. Car camping. So I am in and out of the truck frequently. It's where I keep the coolers and food out of the sun and safe from critters as well as store less used items that don't need to take up tent space.

This has always been fine before, but with the 2023 it seems like 2 days or so is the limit before the battery gets low and it goes i to dark mode. (and if I ignore it, it goes dead).

Is there anything I can do to extend this? Really what I would like is to turn off EVERYTHING except for the door locks. But every time I open the door all the computers and screens wake up. I assume this is the difference with the new truck.

Thanks in advance for tips and ideas.

(One note. Last year I added a small solar panel and battery tender. This works, but it's a pain to set up AND only works if it is sunny.)

The batteries now day are not very good. They are made in china and they don't last long. Search out good batteries and replace it. I went with a DieHard battery because it had a good rating.