Battery Status of Charge

[Cobrakit]

Does anyone know if you can you use Forscan to display Battery Status of Charge on dash?

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[AZ_Ryan]

That would be nice, considering these things seem to get under 80% pretty easily.

 

[Cobrakit]

Yes, and now my car won't do a software update, and after calling Ford Pass, they were able to tell me that the battery was only at 40% and would not update (need to be 70%), even thought I had driven car 3 out of last 5 days.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Yes, and now my car won't do a software update, and after calling Ford Pass, they were able to tell me that the battery was only at 40% and would not update (need to be 70%), even thought I had driven car 3 out of last 5 days.

It needs to be 80%

I used a battery tender on mine and it only took a couple hours.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Over the last month I had trouble with pending software update to fix false check engine light. Even after driving so battery was high enough to operate greeting light show and wifi connection, update would fail. Got the car into the Ford shop Monday and they determined the charge was below 80%. They recharged and installed updates, but the car still reported the check engine update not complete. They also suggested using a maintainer, so I got a NOCO Genius 2 based on good comments here.

This morning I tried the update again. The software updates page cycled through "no updates available" to "update not completed" (a message I've gotten repeatedly) to "update scheduled for 1:00 a.m." (also had this repeatedly). I backed out to "install now" (which I previously tried repeatedly)...
and this time it worked!

 

[Cobrakit]

Same. Car on charger now. Will try update again tonight. Was wondering if my several days of high speed driving effected battery charging, ie protection from overchsrging.

 

[smurfslayer]

Over the last month I had trouble with pending software update to fix false check engine light. Even after driving so battery was high enough to operate greeting light show and wifi connection, update would fail. Got the ar into the Ford shop Monday and they determined the charge was below 80%. They recharged and installed updates, but the car still reported the check engine update not complete. They also suggested using a maintainer, so I got a NOCO Genius 2 based on good comments here.

This morning I tried the update again. The software updates page cycled through "no updates available" to "update not completed" (a message I've gotten repeatedly) to "update scheduled for 1:00 a.m." (also had this repeatedly). I backed out to "install now" (which I previously tried repeatedly)...
and this time it worked!

So, if the car is requiring a charger at less than 1.5 years old, there’s a problem and the problem is not needing a maintenance charger. There’s a parasitic drain somewhere and it needs to be found or you’re going to end up stranded somewhere needing a jump.

My MDH gets driven a few times a week but for the last 2 weeks, out of town. Even though I got the deep sleep notice, she fired right up using the remote yesterday. My ’17 Rap gets driven once - 3 times a month give or take and she’s still on the original battery, she’s going for my all time record held by my ’01 Lightning which went 8.5 years before I got the ominous sounding slow start that prompted me to immediately replace the battery. Next month, she will have my all time record for vehicle battery life.

I’ve seen some weird stuff on other people’s Raptors over on FRF. For me, the one that takes the cake was a ’17-’20 MY truck with a parasitic drain. It turned out to be a bad sync module. After shutting down, at some random interval the sync system would fire back up. The dealership put a video cam in the cab to monitor it overnight and that’s how the found the culprit, though I think they suspected it before adding the camera.

You need to get the battery, charging system and the car itself analyzed to see where the drain is coming from. I’m not saying that a maintainer won’t work but it is a band aid / workaround, NOT a fix.

 

[Katzenjammer]

I have it in the back of my mind that it could still be the battery. However, It's driven less than 5000 miles a year, sometimes only once a week. Never a problem starting, just battery saving, shedding loads, so I think I'll try it longer than three days with the maintainer to see if it's OK now.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

So, if the car is requiring a charger at less than 1.5 years old, there’s a problem and the problem is not needing a maintenance charger. There’s a parasitic drain somewhere and it needs to be found or you’re going to end up stranded somewhere needing a jump.

You are completely misunderstanding the issue. These car batteries aren't in danger of leaving anyone stranded. The car will continue to function just fine at lower charges. The question should be why they are such buggers to get to a fuller charge when driving.

 

[smurfslayer]

You are completely misunderstanding the issue. These car batteries aren't in danger of leaving anyone stranded. The car will continue to function just fine at lower charges. The question should be why they are such buggers to get to a fuller charge when driving.

I understood the issue, my point is that if you are, say for example blissfully ignorant of the current charge state because you’ve never had a problem, and you rock several short trips over the course of weeks then you were to say go on a longer trip, but not long enough to fully charge and repeat, sooner or later you’re going to have a problem.

I know the BMS programming is on the conservative side, but some of the vehicles seem to have an issue and that’s my point. Needing a trickle charger to maintain enough charge to get OTA updates is a symptom of a problem that not all of us here have. In fact, it’s relatively few of us. If you’re fine with the workaround ( you’re as in the general you, not specifically you @AZ_Ryan ) then go forth and enjoy the car.

But suggesting that there’s “no problem found” and to get a trickle charger is just technician laziness.

 

[Katzenjammer]

I checked my records, and I only drove 3800 miles in the last 12 months.
Service report: Battery tested good. (Not sure if in checking diagnostic codes any thorough check was made for excessive draw.) Report states u3003 in multiple modules, which would relate to the low battery charge status.
By the way, also inspected and cleared for water intrusion in the body control module (recommended fix expected in October).

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I checked my records, and I only drove 3800 miles in the last 12 months.
By the way, also inspected and cleared for water intrusion in the body control module (recommended fix expected in October).

Can you speak more on this? Last I heard it was Q1 of 2026.

 

[Ken H.]

Just “driving” your Mustang 3-5 times a week isn’t all that matters. How long does one drive it? Many of us pamper our hot rods & try to minimize miles & wear & tear. So, we only drive them on occasion. A run to the grocery store, out to a nearby restaurant, or over to your buddy’s house may not be enough to charge the battery. I read in an article years ago that you need to drive a car at least 20 minutes after cranking it to replace the charge. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that statement. I drive mine to work 3-4 times per week for 70 min each way. My updates have always gone through without a hitch.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Can you speak more on this? Last I heard it was Q1 of 2026.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Just “driving” your Mustang 3-5 times a week isn’t all that matters. How long does one drive it? ...

Absolutely agree. That's why I checked 12 month miles (3800).

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