Is my ‘14 going to fully charge an AGM battery?

[jmden]

Is my ‘14 going to fully charge an AGM battery? Or, is the charging profile only for a wet cell lead acid battery?

 

[jmden]

Anyone?

 

[skinny8021]

I run an AGM (Diehard Platinum) in my 2017 with no issues over the last year or so since I switched over. I kept having the wet cell batteries burping out some acid from the top and causing a bit of corrosion around the battery which made me want to try AGM and so far I have been happy with it.

 

[jmden]

Thanks. What I’m getting at is does the voltage regulator allow a ‘charging profile’ to a high enough voltage to fully charge and AGM battery as AGM batteries require a bit more voltage than wet cell batteries to fully charge? Or, is there some different voltage regulator I need to put in the system to fully charge an AGM battery?

 

[Hamfisted]

Are you not the original owner of the Expy ? Ford started putting AGM batteries in all trucks in 2011. So your Expy is most likely already expecting an AGM battery to be there. Or you can use ForScan to look at the BCM module and see what it has selected for battery type. It'll say either AGM or Flooded type.






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[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Are you not the original owner of the Expy ? Ford started putting AGM batteries in all trucks in 2011. So your Expy is most likely already expecting an AGM battery to be there. Or you can use ForScan to look at the BCM module and see what it has selected for battery type. It'll say either AGM or Flooded type.






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I purchased a new 2015 Ford Expedition Limited 4x4 and it came equipped with a flooded-acid battery (not an AGM one).

 

[DieselMonk]

You can tell if you have BMS or not by looking at the negative terminal on the battery.

 

[jmden]

I bought the Exped with 14k on it so had original battery. It was a wet cell battery. It lasted 7 years. Replaced with a Motorcraft battery that lasted 3 years. Now on an Odyssey ODX-AGM65M that should last a very long time.

I believe I have a 'dumb' alternator on this Exped and I don't believe there is a any kind of Battery Management System (on neg batt terminal or anywhere else that I'm aware of) on this thing. Does that sound right?

I should download FORSCAN and check more...

 

[DieselMonk]

If you got a contraption like this on your negative battery post, you got BMS.
disregard the arrow etc... I just borrowed the pic!

 

[jmden]

View attachment 84417
If you got a contraption like this on your negative battery post, you got BMS.
disregard the arrow etc... I just borrowed the pic!

Nope. That's pretty obvious. So given the fact that I have a 'dumb' alternator and no BMS...I wonder if my new expensive AGM is getting fully charged.

I have the OBDLink EX FORScan OBD adapter coming and have downloaded FORScan. Might ask for a little help navigating that process when the adapter comes. If there's a way to adjust the voltage, but I'm guessing that's only if you have a BMS.

​

 

[DieselMonk]

Not sure if GM still does this, but at one point it sold a plastic box that contained nothing else but a diode that went in series with the sense wire on the alternator. It made the sense 0.6V low (was the voltage drop from the diode) thus raising the output voltage from 13.8V to 14.4V. I have no idea if this works on the Ford.

I guess you have to figure out what alternator you got and see how it works first.

 

[skinny8021]

Your 2014 may have the 1st gen BMS which uses a Hall effect sensor inline with the negative wire to the battery. This is what my 2017 has on it so there is some logic with battery charging on these. There are more details in this video from FordTechMakuloco at the 5m13s mark. The location of this sensor also makes it important to connect a battery charger negative to a chassis ground and not directly to the battery so the sensor can pick it up.

Ford BMS Battery Monitoring System: How it Works and How to Properly Charge Your Battery!

Forscan is a free Ford Specific Diagnostic Software:Download Here- https://forscan.org/home.htmlELM 327 Adapter I Recommend-https://amzn.to/2GC6dBjAs an Amaz...

youtu.be

 

[jmden]

I don’t see anything on this ‘14 that looks like a BMS. Battery at 14.21V with engine on and all electronics off that I could get off. Thoughts on if this has a BMS or not…? Still waiting for OBD adapter.

 

[jmden]

Have the OBDLink EX FORScan OBD adapter in hand and FORSCAN downloaded on window 11 laptop. What do I do to check/adjust voltage output from alternator, or, is that even possible with this, what I believe, is a ‘dumb’ alternator?

 

[DieselMonk]

Have the OBDLink EX FORScan OBD adapter in hand and FORSCAN downloaded on window 11 laptop. What do I do to check/adjust voltage output from alternator, or, is that even possible with this, what I believe, is a ‘dumb’ alternator?

Nope.

The newer ones with BMS adjust their voltage automatically between 12.8V and 15.0V, depending on driving status and charge of battery.

 

[jmden]

Nope.

The newer ones with BMS adjust their voltage automatically between 12.8V and 15.0V, depending on driving status and charge of battery.

That’s what I was thinking. Maybe I should return the OBD adapter.

 

[jmden]

Have you guys heard of putting diode(s) in line with the alternator charge wire to accomplish a slightly higher charge voltage. Makes the alternator think it needs to put out a higher voltage. Seems like folks are doing it, but…

 

[DieselMonk]

Have you guys heard of putting diode(s) in line with the alternator charge wire to accomplish a slightly higher charge voltage. Makes the alternator think it needs to put out a higher voltage. Seems like folks are doing it, but…

What I said before. Put the diode to the sense wire. The voltage drop of 0.6V in the sense wire will add 0.6V on the alternator output. So instead of 13.8V, it will have 14.4V

 

[jmden]

What I said before. Put the diode to the sense wire. The voltage drop of 0.6V in the sense wire will add 0.6V on the alternator output. So instead of 13.8V, it will have 14.4V

Yep. That may be the easiest way to do it. Have watched a few YT vids re this.

No other issues arise from doing this?

One diode or two? Recommend a particular diode? Link?

 

[DieselMonk]

Depends on how you wanna do that install. I mean you can do a clean install inside the fuse box, or just add the diode in the wire (splice). Just be careful which way the diode points at, other than that the diode blocks the voltage. A shottky diode has lower voltage drop (0.2 - 0.4V) than a normal one (0.5 - 0.7V).

You can buy diodes in a mini fuse package. Probably the way to go.
Like Motorcraft 4f2z-14a604-aa

There are many threads about this. Google something like “GM alternator diode mod”.