Battery Saver Message, Solved, My Experience

[rvlasek]

Purchased my 2013 FFH, February 2013, within 4 months starting get Battery Saver Message about 100% of the time, brought in to Ford Service, they charged battery, however I requested battery change out after reading forum posts concerning bad batch of 12v batteries in vehicles produced in December 2012 which was my FFH build month. Within 3 months started getting message again, brought back in for service, they performed TSB 13 - 7 - 11 Reprogrammed module and charged battery. Again after about 90 days started getting message again, then I contacted Ashley who monitors this forum, Ford Customer Service Rep contacted and I made arrangements to bring vehicle back in to Ford Service with Battery issue and they noted the case number the Ford Customer Service Rep gave me, Ford Customer service stated that if the battery checked low, Ford Service will replace 12V battery, it checked low I got a new battery. That was in early February 2014. THE ONLY TIME I HAVE GOTTEN THE BATTERY SAVER MESSAGE WAS AFTER THE VEHICLE SET for 8 days while on vacation, Seems to work fine now with new battery. Been almost 5 months.... Most of my driving are short commutes 4-10 miles,

Edited June 23, 2014 by rvlasek

[hybridbear]

So, you got a second new battery? And now you have no more BS msg issues?

[rvlasek]

TSB update on battery charging module and one new battery change out...seems to have solved problem for me.....

[hermans]

My 2013 FFH is on it's third battery. Build date 11/17/2012. The TSB was applied when the third battery was installed and this also fixed my BS message. The batteries that were bad were build it 9/2012.

Edited June 23, 2014 by hermans

[jtbogus]

Are there any other options for a better LVB besides Ford? Will a slightly larger size battery fit? I can only listen to the radio for about 5 mins with the key off before It automatically shuts down to protect the LVB. I keep a small solar charger on the rear shelf connected all the time, and that seems to take care of the batt state when I leave it for a long time. Never had to do that with any other car I have owned. I would love to see Optima Batteries come up with our size. But then again I would love to see someone make a decent trunk liner for our 200,000 FFH's. Am I asking too much?

[mwr]

I keep a small solar charger on the rear shelf connected all the time

Where do you connect it?

[Easy Rider]

Am I asking too much?

Yes probably.

 

If you keep the car in the "ready" mode....I.E. ON.....while listening to the radio, the inverter should keep the 12V up and the engine should not run unless you sit there for a LONG time......or if the HV battery is also low.

[jtbogus]

Yes probably.

 

If you keep the car in the "ready" mode....I.E. ON.....while listening to the radio, the inverter should keep the 12V up and the engine should not run unless you sit there for a LONG time......or if the HV battery is also low.

Thanks, and yes, I understand that. My point was that the little LVB doesn't last very long on its own. Still would love to have an Optima battery.

[jtbogus]

Where do you connect it?

I ran the wires under the back shelf by the left rear seatbelt directly into the battery compartment and connected it to the battery using ring connectors. I got the solar unit at Harbor Freight for about $12.00 I think. Not a big one, but it is charging all day long. It shows a little blinking blue LED when it is actually producing power.

[corncobs]

I ran the wires under the back shelf by the left rear seatbelt directly into the battery compartment and connected it to the battery using ring connectors. I got the solar unit at Harbor Freight for about $12.00 I think. Not a big one, but it is charging all day long. It shows a little blinking blue LED when it is actually producing power.

I have the same one but haven't used it since I got my windows tinted. I need to check if it still works.

[Easy Rider]

Thanks, and yes, I understand that. My point was that the little LVB doesn't last very long on its own. Still would love to have an Optima battery.

 

ANY AGM battery with a higher capacity should help some.......but I hear that there isn't really room for a BIG battery.

 

The folks that make Optima have done a good marketing job.....and they LOOK cool.....but I don't think they are any better

than most other major brands, in an equally rated battery with the same chemistry.

[GrySql]

 

ANY AGM battery with a higher capacity should help some.......but I hear that there isn't really room for a BIG battery.

Murphy has installed an AGM battery in his FFE. While it may not be easy it can be done and it works, as he has mentioned several times about the BS issue.

[Easy Rider]

This has been discussed here so MUCH that I am doing a little study or test.

 

Initial indications are that the system may not keep the little battery fully charged.......OR that the drain from all the electronics and lights before everything really turns off may sap off a significant bit of charge.

 

This is very preliminary.

After sitting in the garage for about 6 days, the battery read 12.56 and it took about 12 hours for the tender to top it off.

After that, it was at 12.85 and recovered back to 12.82 after opening the door once.

Now to see how fast it bleeds down.

[jtbogus]

 

ANY AGM battery with a higher capacity should help some.......but I hear that there isn't really room for a BIG battery.

 

The folks that make Optima have done a good marketing job.....and they LOOK cool.....but I don't think they are any better

than most other major brands, in an equally rated battery with the same chemistry.

Good point, now if we could only find an AGM battery that fits our battery tray without cutting it!

The old "solar charger in the rear window connected directly to the battery" trick works pretty well so far, but I will NOT replace my LVB with another toy battery from Ford, free or not!