Battery Issue?

[retired_chemist]

Here is my issue. If I drive for an hour, the battery reads 12.34 volts when I stop. Shorter driving around town gives lower voltage readings. If I put my Battery Tender on the battery and charge it until it says maintaining charge, it reads 12.84 volts after disconnecting the Battery Tender for 24 hours. If I put my Shumacher charger on the battery, it shuts off after one hour at 6 amps as fully charged. If I immediately follow with the Battery Tender it says charging and takes 24+ hours to reach the maintaining charge. I think the battery is bad and can't take a high amp charge, but will accept a low 1.25 amp charge to be fully charged. What are your thoughts?

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Here is my issue. If I drive for an hour, the battery reads 12.34 volts when I stop. Shorter driving around town gives lower voltage readings. If I put my Battery Tender on the battery and charge it until it says maintaining charge, it reads 12.84 volts after disconnecting the Battery Tender for 24 hours. If I put my Shumacher charger on the battery, it shuts off after one hour at 6 amps as fully charged. If I immediately follow with the Battery Tender it says charging and takes 24+ hours to reach the maintaining charge. I think the battery is bad and can't take a high amp charge, but will accept a low 1.25 amp charge to be fully charged. What are your thoughts?

Condition of battery terminal posts and cable connectors?

Age of battery?

Why do you charge the battery with a charger? Is the vehicle stored and not driven regularly.

Sounds like the time for a new battery.

 

[zak99b5]

Sounds like my battery--when I had to replace it.

12.34v is really low, especially after driving for an hour.

Do you have a load tester?

 

[Calidad]

Whats the voltage after sitting all night no charger? Likely old battery ready to be retired

 

[retired_chemist]

The battery is approaching four years old. The terminals are corrosion free. Sitting all night with no charger, the voltage drop does not exceed 0.05V, whether it starts at 12.84 V or 12.34V. I do not have a load tester.

 

[Yupster Dog]

The battery is approaching four years old. The terminals are corrosion free. Sitting all night with no charger, the voltage drop does not exceed 0.05V, whether it starts at 12.84 V or 12.34V. I do not have a load tester.

Auto parts store (Auto Zone) can check the battery and charging system for free. If all ok, do a Voltage Drop Test on battery cables.
Untill you establish you have good steady volts you are running in circles.

 

[caplanm]

My AGM battery failed on my 2018 Platinum at 3 years!. The indicators were that the FordPass app showed it going into 'sleep mode' a day after it was driven for over an hour. Locks on the door handles didn't always work. I had my Ford dealer replace the battery, and all was well.

I think that there's a ton of electric drain on these vehicles, both when they're running, and when they are at rest.

The Start/Stop, which I have learned to turn off via the button, after understanding what wear and tear it might cause on the battery, transmission, and starter...not to mention the electric pumps for maintaining cabin temperature and transmission fluid pressure under 'stop', could certainly lead to these AGM batteries failing early.

 

[keny01998]

I bought my replacement battery on rockauto after my IA on other doors stopped working. Battery was low even on tender.

 

[TheDoug]

My battery made it 4 years... I replaced just on the sound it made at start up and the length it took to start. (Was about to go on road trip and didn't want to be stuck) Sure enough new battery in and it started like it did when new.

I think 4 years is about all you will reliably get out of these.

 

[kjf1]

Is your Alternater charging, put volt meter on terminals and start vehicle.
It should read 14.2 volts.

 

[Johnb21]

Just had mine replaced after 30months. It had been registering 12.3v, but of course I charged it a week ago and it read 12.6v when I brought it to the Ford dealership to have it diagnosed. My truck is an '18 and the original battery was replaced 30m ago. I have been told that batteries today are crapping out earlier than yesteryear. My guess is all the electronics running all the time, especially at rest. I know when I loose start-stop, and unlocking door sensors that I have lost life in the battery.
New battery is in just today and it read 12.9v and everything works. If you got 4yrs, then it sounds like your are doing quite well.

 

[Old Guy]

Batteries. When you are reving above 1600 rpm as in normal driving, the alternatore should be hitting the battery with about 14.4 volts, +/- temperature which automatically adjusts the voltage.
An "autmatic charger," of which the battery maintainer and charger should be if its the one made by Deltran, or equivalent. Heres what It does: It starts out ar 15 volts to push as much current as itscabible of, to help with sulfation. Then it switches to about 14.2 until the battery is charged 90%. This is called the "bulk charge" mode. Then it switches to about 13.3 volta which is the maintenance mode. You can leave the charger on at this voltage forever without damaging the battery. If this is a vehicle which gets infrequent usage, leave it on all the time you are nit using it.
Heres a (welcome) glitch in at least my Expy. Normal is when you start it, about a secnd later the gauges come up to the readings. If the battery is sick, the gauges will start at left side,and flop over to the right then read. This happens because the batterys voltage goes below a certain amount during cranking, and then insterment microprocessor i sresetting itself. Its very soon when it has a problem. ANother thing, If you say, leave the headlights on and the battery goes dead, Charge it right now. If you wait the battery is damaged , called sulfation, and it WILL fail soon.
How do I know all this? I was in the design engineering area of a battery charger company before retirement.

 

[Bmac1955]

Good POST Old Guy. Interesting point regarding headlites. I am 6'4 and for the life of me I don't understand why the engineers, design a rotary switch at knee height on the dash. Generally I always manage to rub my knee on the control to activate the lights. GM does the same for placement of Lights and 4 wheel rotary controls on my sons 2022 Colorado. Not a good placement. The point to the matter is that it is difficult to judge with the delay after exiting if the lights are on.

 

[2020-MAX-Limited]

I have been told that batteries today are crapping out earlier than yesteryear. My guess is all the electronics running all the time, especially at rest. I know when I lose start-stop, and unlocking door sensors that I have lost life in the battery.

In the two months I've owned my 2020 with 75K miles and original battery, I've never had Auto Start/Stop available (screen says battery is charging), and the FordPass App alerts me the vehicle is in "deep sleep" every time I shutdown due to low 12V battery. I haven't had any issues with door locks and vehicle cranks and starts strongly, so I'm just monitoring it.

 

[m3olsen]

In the two months I've owned my 2020 with 75K miles and original battery, I've never had Auto Start/Stop available (screen says battery is charging), and the FordPass App alerts me the vehicle is in "deep sleep" every time I shutdown due to low 12V battery. I haven't had any issues with door locks and vehicle cranks and starts strongly, so I'm just monitoring it.

You are definitely due for a new battery then. I'd consider keeping jumper cables with me or knowing what my roadside service number is. This is exactly what mine had been doing. Ford diagnosed a bad battery and replaced it yesterday under warranty.

 

[m3olsen]

Batteries. When you are revving above 1600 rpm as in normal driving, the alternator should be hitting the battery with about 14.4 volts, +/- temperature which automatically adjusts the voltage...

This is something I've been wondering about - RPM necessary to be sufficiently charging the battery on these Gen 4's. This 22 SPP is my first 10 speed vehicle. Even though I have 3.73s, I'm often only turning 1300-1500 rpm - even approaching 55 mph. I'm pretty sure mine spends the vast majority of it's driving time below 1600rpm.

 

[Yupster Dog]

This is something I've been wondering about - RPM necessary to be sufficiently charging the battery on these Gen 4's. This 22 SPP is my first 10 speed vehicle. Even though I have 3.73s, I'm often only turning 1300-1500 rpm - even approaching 55 mph. I'm pretty sure mine spends the vast majority of it's driving time below 1600rpm.

It is not How much RPM's, (voltage regulator) it is how long the vehilce is running. Longer trips means a longer charge. Short trips use a lot of voltage with all electronics and doesn't have time to charge back up before you cut enginge off. Do this enough and low voltage problems come into play.
If all you do is short trips (or long time between vehicle usages) you should look into buying a battery tender to keep the problems from low voltage occurring. As many on this forum have done.

 

[m3olsen]

It is not How much RPM's, (voltage regulator) it is how long the vehicle is running. Longer trips means a longer charge. Short trips use a lot of voltage with all electronics and doesn't have time to charge back up before you cut engine off...

@Yupster Dog , while I do agree that the length of time a vehicle is running plays an important factor, engine speed does also. Your battery will charge much faster while driving at highway speeds than it will sitting at idle. The alternator's amperage output grows with rotational speed, up to it's maximum output. Plenty of articles describe this. Here is one quote from a (non-technical) writeup: "In general, the higher your engine RPM, the quicker your alternator will charge your battery. You should be able to charge your vehicle battery in 30 minutes if you’re travelling on the highway. It may take an hour or more to drive through the city." Source: https://www.standardbatteryinc.com/how-does-an-alternator-charge-a-battery/

 

[duneslider]

If you don't often do longer drives I would highly recommend putting a trickle charger on your battery at least every month. It really isn't good for lead acid batteries to not get fully charged immediately. Like mentioned, sulfation occurs when batteries aren't fully charged. Over the years I have gotten noticeably better life out of batteries that I put on the trickle charger on a regular basis. I think I have 3 different brands and they all do the same thing.

 

[JasonH]

Most auto parts stores can test the alternator and battery. These vehicles are hard on batteries because of all the electronics. We idle a lot because of softball, so my batteries don't go more than three years. The vehicle is always shutting down because of low voltage.