60k miles, third battery in 2015 SE 2.5

[bangster]

When we bought it used in 2017 the battery was toast (it left our daughter stranded once). The dealer we bought it from replaced the battery with a new Interstate 96R (or a 90R).

 

Yesterday she goes to start it and gets clicking, then it slowly starts.

 

I get 11.5v at the battery, but 14.2 with it charging, and 13.5 after turning it off, but only a few seconds with the headlights on it goes back to 11.5-11.3v.

 

Since she is moving to the cold from the extreme heat, and away from where I can do work on it, I replaced it with an H6/Group 48 AGM from Wal-Mart. 760 CCA versus 590, all the advantages of AGM, and only about $25 more than their best regular flooded cell battery. Was a little tougher to get into place, but only required removal of the air box lid, not the entire airbox (I was ready to do that, but I also has 10 minutes to get it in place before I had to get to class). Since the IA and vehicles with auto start/stop use the larger battery, the hold down had a spot to secure it.

 

Hopefully she will keep the receipt (but the sticker has 4/19 production on it) as it has a 5 year full replacement warranty, the dealer didn't give us the paperwork on the Interstate battery to try to warranty it, it probably had at least a 2 year replacement warranty.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by bangster
added images

[eGuru]

Seems that the replacement battery provided by the dealer was nfg.

The AGM battery you installed is a good choice.

 

If there are parasitic current draws, that will significantly reduce the life of the batteries. You should probably check it if you have a DC clamp-on ammeter or by monitoring the battery voltage over a period of a couple of hours.

 

When replacing a battery in late model vehicles, CCA is not a good metric for deciding on which is the "better" battery. 

It is more important to look at reserve capacity - typically it is 90 minutes regardless of the stated CCA rating.

The "better" batteries will have 120 minutes or greater reserve capacity.

[bangster]

When it really gets cold, CCA can be important, but yes, it has 120 minute reserve capacity. I don't think she sits in the car with it not running but accessories on, but I also know that reserve capacity is important for other things like charging system failures. Also AGM isn't known for being strong on demand cranking (but this is way more than the OEM battery), more for deep cycle and for longer lasting. My 2017 Escape has AGM battery due to start/stop (more for times it isn't running that actually restarting it).

 

I don't think there is a drain on it, it gets driven every day, but it has sat for a week recently and no issues. It also only seemed to hold at 11.3-11.5 volts once any type of load was imposed after charging for 1 minute or 2 hours.

 

The battery that was in it had an 18 month warranty so it was out of warranty anyways, there doesn't seem to be a pro rata warranty past the 18 months.

 

I sit for 30-60 minutes 2 or 4 nights a week listening to the radio with the car off, and my 2012 poor battery is on its last legs. But I have a jump pack, and am more willing to deal with possibly be left with a dead battery someplace than my daughter. I will suck every last bit of use out of the battery before I replace it. I figured with premium sound and bumping music that long I would have ran into issues, but so far it cranks (if a little slow) right up.

[firewire]

Interesting that you should be able to replace a battery with a better one, however the manual says replace with the same battery. But does not explain the reason. This may be because of the battery monitoring system which adjusts the charge depending on the age of the battery. It reads how old the battery is and charges it accordingly, and must be reset when the battery is replaced.  If you replace it with a better battery thr BMS may not be able to charge it properly, resulting in shorter battery life.

[akirby]

That’s just what they’ve tested it with and that’s what they’ll warranty.  Don’t want people using a substandard battery.  As long as it physically fits, is the same type and has at least as many cold cranking amps as OEM it’s fine.

[mozz]

Battery monitoring system will reset itself if the car is left untouched after 8 hours. Or 10, or 12, something like that. A search should find the answer.

[NCEcoBoost]

I just replaced the battery in my '17 1.5L EcoBoost with only 3500 miles on the odo.  It was 4 years old next month.  2 things - Fords don't like to sit, apparently, and time is more of a determining factor than miles.

[firewire]

I’m not sure what you mean by reset the battery monitoring system but this can only be done by the dealer, or by the clever reset using the headlight switch and brake method posted in this thread. As far as I know the system needs to be rest manually and does not reset itself.

[drolds1]

Quote

When a battery replacement is required or a battery is charged with an auxiliary charger, the BMS should be reset. Many vehicles are equipped with a similar system designed to automatically adjust the charge rate of the alternator based on the age and sulfation of the battery. When a new battery is installed, it must be registered with the system to prevent the new battery from being overcharged. This reset/registration procedure can be performed with some scan tools or a battery reset tool available from tool suppliers, such as OTC or Midtronics. Other tool companies may offer the same. On the mentioned Ford system, if this service is not performed, the BMS requires eight hours of sleep time with the key in the off position, and the doors must remain closed. This allows the BMS time to relearn the battery state of charge. Until that time, the BMS may keep the mentioned electrical systems disabled.