Battery life?

[mrjking2000]

got 2 out of my OEM one, but I will say I was pretty hard on it doing extending long pulls with a winch while volunteering with an offroad recovery team. that said, the "smart alternator" on these things sucks. I see how to disable it entirely with HP tuners, but I have yet to do it.

I put in a lithium battery (antigravity) and it's great. But, the "smart but stupid" alternator won't charge it to 100% no matter what I do unless i unplug the shunt on the negative post. which in turn gives you a slew of service charging system messages.

not sure if the AG was worth it but i sure like it.

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[Joemama]

I got 2 batteries for free from Ford because the charge was low when tested during oil changes so they replaced it during warranty period

 

[MilesTeg]

I had a Ford OE battery last me 10 years when essentially every time I got in the vehicle I drove at least 20 minutes and it was driven almost every day. Then it died out of the blue, but luckily in the Walmart parking lot, hah. I had a Ford OE battery die after 2 years when the vehicle sat for weeks at a time and only had short trips (see: COVID times).

How your battery gets used is the primary factor in how long it will last.

Also, know that there are basically 2 or 3 companies that actually make batteries -- companies like walmart, autozone, all car makers, and everyone else just slaps their branding on the battery (or rather, orders it from the maker that way). So, buy on spec and don't worry about "brand".

 

[MNBigfoot]

My sons OEM battery went tits up yesterday ,2015 Nissan Altima. Run a brand new battery down to nothing a couple times, when its -20, they don't last long.

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

Mine lasted 2.5 years. Is this normal?

As with many new vehicles, the computer is always running in the background. And I don't drive mine every day.
So I address this with a 4.0 amp Battery Tender charger/maintainer. If you purchase at Walmart instead of Amazon or other, you get an extra year's warranty from the manufacturer.
The 1.25 amp is fine for a simple system older vehicle, but an always-on new vehicle needs the 4.0 amp version.

 

[Brian_B]

There is a spec for maximum battery draw while off - something like 300mA after 30 minutes, and a stock vehicle with no accessory draw will pull like 120mA - which is still significant over time.

I wish I could find the post that talks about it - may have been in the aftermarket accessory document that’s around here

 

[broncobase1]

How do you know its bad, won't start? Mine is going on four years and hope to get another four years. I consider anything less than 5 premature failure and that is with Walmart batteries. Maybe auto stop/start is hard on batteries? I have that disabled.

 

[MNBigfoot]

How do you know its bad, won't start? Mine is going on four years and hope to get another four years. I consider anything less than 5 premature failure and that is with Walmart batteries. Maybe auto stop/start is hard on batteries? I have that disabled.

A.S.S is the reason the Bronco has an AGM battery.

 

[MilesTeg]

There is a spec for maximum battery draw while off - something like 300mA after 30 minutes, and a stock vehicle with no accessory draw will pull like 120mA - which is still significant over time.

I wish I could find the post that talks about it - may have been in the aftermarket accessory document that’s around here

Maximum draw is more like 20-50 mA hours to be able to leave the vehicle for a few weeks before it would fail to start. Older cars without all the always on gizmos could get as low a 2-3 mA, but today it's much higher due to always on computers and what not.

Assuming you have an 60-80 amp*hour battery, at 50mA you draw 50mA*24h = 1.2 amps a day or about a month of sitting before it likely won't start (you won't be able to start the car long before the battery is completely drained).

If you are drawing 120 you have a couple weeks, and at 320 you have a couple days.

 

[Draughon]

I'm getting this every single day the last couple of weeks, and every time I stop and turn off the Bronco (typical drive lately is ~20-30min). Not sure if it's battery going out, or maybe alternator isn't putting out enough to charge it... I've got a lot of accessories (upgraded sound, subwoofers, lights, radio, etc...) but only use them when the engine is running (and mainly just stereo).

Mine's a '23, had it about 2.5 years.

Whats a good upgraded battery? I've read Optimas are decent, but not what they used to be...

 

[Brian_B]

I'm getting this every single day the last couple of weeks, and every time I stop and turn off the Bronco (typical drive lately is ~20-30min). Not sure if it's battery going out, or maybe alternator isn't putting out enough to charge it... I've got a lot of accessories (upgraded sound, subwoofers, lights, radio, etc...) but only use them when the engine is running (and mainly just stereo).

Yup. That's the final sign before it just leaves you stranded somewhere. You have days, probably not weeks, once you start hitting deep sleep every day before it just quits.

Deka/East Penn-manufacturered batteries are often highly regarded -- they are the white label for a lot of brands. A lot of folks are just going back to Motorcraft brand from the dealer.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/east-penn-deka-cheat-sheet.331470/

 

[Dusty]

I'm getting this every single day the last couple of weeks, and every time I stop and turn off the Bronco (typical drive lately is ~20-30min). Not sure if it's battery going out, or maybe alternator isn't putting out enough to charge it... I've got a lot of accessories (upgraded sound, subwoofers, lights, radio, etc...) but only use them when the engine is running (and mainly just stereo).

Mine's a '23, had it about 2.5 years.

Whats a good upgraded battery? I've read Optimas are decent, but not what they used to be...

Mine was doing that, just died a couple days ago like I said in another post in this thread. I would steer you away from Optima. Like I mentioned, I pulled my factory battery out a year and a half ago to put the Optima in. It died in a year and a half. Last night I swapped the factory battery back in which still held a charge after sitting for a year and a half.

 

[BroncoChallenger]

How do you know its bad, won't start? Mine is going on four years and hope to get another four years. I consider anything less than 5 premature failure and that is with Walmart batteries. Maybe auto stop/start is hard on batteries? I have that disabled.

You start getting odd electrical gremlins, then it starts going into 'power save' mode more often. That's when you know it's getting weak.

If you have gotten 4 years you've done well, I would bet another 4 years is not going to happen.

If you consider less than 5 years premature failure, then you'd better get ready for a lot of disappointment - most vehicles are getting 3 years today, maybe stretching to 4, before needing a new battery if it isn't faulty from the start.

A.S.S. is only hard on the battery if you're making a lot of short trips or sitting in traffic a lot. If you are making a lot of long runs, and it's only kicking on sitting at a light in a rural area, it's not appreciably affecting the life of the battery.

What IS hard on the battery, as I explained previously, is all the modules with KAM and the arguably needs-improvement BMS.

 

[Roger123]

2 years 10 months for mine. I would have ran it a bit longer but I was going on a trip and didn't want the wife to have to deal with it. I kept getting "deep sleep mode" messages on the app.

Contrast that to my 2015 Grand Cherokee where I replaced the original battery (this year) just cause I was getting worried it would leave me stranded. But there is no app to tell me "scary" things with that car. I would have continued on with ignorant bliss if the Ford app didn't tell my wife every morning that something was "wrong" with her car.

 

[Will2497]

Mine only lasted 2.5 years as well. Kept getting the system power shutting off after exiting the vehicle. Made sure to check that the connections at the battery were tight and everything.

I replaced it with an Interstate from Costco and haven't had any issues since

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