2023 timberline 4th gen .Does anyone know why I am getting this message. I did check the output of alternator and it’s at 14.4 volts. Then tested my battery with a fox battery tester and the battery tester reads the battery is good. The tester readings of battery is 559cca. The battery is an agm 760 cca and battery tester says it’s good. Then ran tester for starting and charging tests. All came back good. Battery is 2 1/2 year old as we got this new in may 2023. Does the diagnosis to trigger light on screen when the battery gets below a certain cca. Car starts fine and runs good. There is no gauge reading voltage so I can’t monitor it when I’m driving to see if it’s having an intermittent voltage loss. Already made an appointment with dealer but they can’t look at it for another week .
Charging system service soon.
- Thread starter foxg
- Start date
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Surely you realize that there is more the "charging system" than just the battery, right ?
You could merely have a slipping drive belt, a failing voltage regulator, any number of failing relays, or some other issue.
And since your CCA's have dropped by ~200, this could indicate a failing alternator too, because that would result in your battery not getting fully recharged every time you drive it, which will eventually KILL it if not corrected soon...
But with the amount of electronics in these recent models, there are sooooo many things that can go wrong, things that will just befuddle alot of folks who don't have much experience with the vehicle & its systems....
Back when I bought my '011, it took 7 trips to 3 different stealerships & $3500 of diagnostics to figure out why I was getting the dreaded "Padlock" light & no-crank, no start condition, which in a lot of cases means there is a problem with the PATS system (Passive anti-theft).
Turned out it was not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 of the relays in the fusebox were failing, one after the other, which were all in the same circuit path as the PATS system, hence the padlock light...
You could merely have a slipping drive belt, a failing voltage regulator, any number of failing relays, or some other issue.
And since your CCA's have dropped by ~200, this could indicate a failing alternator too, because that would result in your battery not getting fully recharged every time you drive it, which will eventually KILL it if not corrected soon...
But with the amount of electronics in these recent models, there are sooooo many things that can go wrong, things that will just befuddle alot of folks who don't have much experience with the vehicle & its systems....
Back when I bought my '011, it took 7 trips to 3 different stealerships & $3500 of diagnostics to figure out why I was getting the dreaded "Padlock" light & no-crank, no start condition, which in a lot of cases means there is a problem with the PATS system (Passive anti-theft).
Turned out it was not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 of the relays in the fusebox were failing, one after the other, which were all in the same circuit path as the PATS system, hence the padlock light...
Yes as I described in the thread I tested the charging system and the cranking system. As battery’s age they lose cca. As the message reads service charging system soon. I’ve seen on f150 trucks people are getting a service system now message. Maybe before it fails it says service soon means it know battery is getting older and this triggers this message. But I do not know why they do not have a volt meter so you can view what is happening when you are driving. I will update post after service if they find anything different.
Is the lead to the stop/start sensor on your battery connected? I disconnected the lead going to the stop/start sensor on my battery. It has effectively disabled the auto stop/start system. I no longer have to press the "stop/start" button on the dashboard to turn off the system. It works great and it was free. Unfortunately, I do receive the "check charging system soon" message on every start. But I just press the OK button and drive on.
Attachments
I didn’t disconnect any wires. My car was effected with shortage of modules and ford removed the module for start /stop. They also removed the module for auto power rear windows and sensor for opening rear hatch and two others that I forget what they were. So 2023 got shorted a couple options that 2022 got.
DieselMonk
Full Access Members
Clean the battery terminals AND the wire terminals with a wire brush, charge the battery and see if that error message comes back or not.
Left Coast Geek
Full Access Members
get a suitable ODB dongle, and ForScan Lite software on your phone, and you can read codes from all 40-odd control modules. I've got this dongle, works great. https://www.ebay.com/itm/195695228777
(watch out for cheap clone ODB dongles, many don't work well, or won't read the Ford databuses)
(watch out for cheap clone ODB dongles, many don't work well, or won't read the Ford databuses)
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