Battery charging

[Frank.Herbst]

@Frank.Herbst would the style of charger matter? I have a smart charger from Odesy and a Battery Tender Jr that I swap between based on where it’s parked in the garage (still on stock/original battery).

Like a couple others have mentioned, I’ve been hooked up straight to the negative terminal for years now with no lights or issues; but self admittedly don’t spend any time watching the volt gauge when driving. I’d still rather learn and do it right. Plus swapping the location would give me something to tinker with today;) !

You make a good point, not sure what impact this has or if it just shortens battery life a little.
The charger type only helps in that the better chargers have built in protection against over charging, that current should still go through the harness so the on board computer knows what went into the battery.
Hope this helps.

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[m3incorp]

Galaxy, I'm glad you brought up the point of having the GT350 is what matters. I haven't even looked to see if my car has this harness on the negative leads. I assume that a couple of us that have posted don't have the GT350.

 

[JAJ]

If you have a Ford with a modern BCM/ECU then you have the advanced charge management system. It tracks two things about your battery - first, the current level of charge. It uses the sensor on the ground wire and a voltage monitor to do this. Second, it monitors the life of the battery.

So, when charging with an external charger, connect to the positive lead any way you want (I use one of the three big lugs on the fuse box in the GT350 and the battery terminal itself on the Explorer, but that's because it's easier and I'm a big fan of easy). Connect the negative lead to the ground wire on the strut or an exposed nut/bolt on the chassis.

If you replace the battery, the BCM/ECU need to know you have a new battery (this means a reset with a scan tool) or they'll continue to charge it like an old battery, which could reduce the battery life.

 

[Frank.Herbst]

If you have a Ford with a modern BCM/ECU then you have the advanced charge management system. It tracks two things about your battery - first, the current level of charge. It uses the sensor on the ground wire and a voltage monitor to do this. Second, it monitors the life of the battery.

So, when charging with an external charger, connect to the positive lead any way you want (I use one of the three big lugs on the fuse box in the GT350 and the battery terminal itself on the Explorer, but that's because it's easier and I'm a big fan of easy). Connect the negative lead to the ground wire on the strut or an exposed nut/bolt on the chassis.

If you replace the battery, the BCM/ECU need to know you have a new battery (this means a reset with a scan tool) or they'll continue to charge it like an old battery, which could reduce the battery life.

Thanks for the details.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Nicely done, carmakers. This 'smart' charging system doesn't sound too smart if it can't get a real-time charge reading on the battery, and as a result, overcharges it. In fact, that sounds much dumber than the old systems.

 

[galaxy]

If you replace the battery, the BCM/ECU need to know you have a new battery (this means a reset with a scan tool) or they'll continue to charge it like an old battery, which could reduce the battery life.

Does disconnecting the battery (neg terminal) for 20 min or so accomplish a reset on these new fancy charging systems?

 

[Frank.Herbst]

Nicely done, carmakers. This 'smart' charging system doesn't sound too smart if it can't get a real-time charge reading on the battery, and as a result, overcharges it. In fact, that sounds much dumber than the old systems.

It sounds that way but its more precise. The old way was on voltage level, the new way is on electrical draw on the battery. I'm not an electrical engineer so not sure why they did this. Maybe just another example of having a computerized solution to everything.
Remember the monitoring part of the system is in the harness. I guess in the future the battery could tell the system how much power was used at what rate.

 

[Frank.Herbst]

Does disconnecting the battery (neg terminal) for 20 min or so accomplish a reset on these new fancy charging systems?

Sounds like we would need to have the scan tool JAJ mentioned.

 

[JAJ]

Does disconnecting the battery (neg terminal) for 20 min or so accomplish a reset on these new fancy charging systems?

The battery charge level monitor will reset on its own. Here's how it's described in the Service Manual "when the battery is charged by connecting the charger to the negative battery terminal, it takes approximately 8 hours for the BCM to learn the new battery state of charge. During this 8 hour period, the vehicle must be undisturbed, with no doors opened or keyless entry button presses"

As for resetting the system when the battery is replaced, it says "If the vehicle battery is replaced, it is very important to perform the BMS Reset using a diagnostic scan tool. If the BMS Reset is not carried out, it holds the old battery parameters and time in service counter in memory. Additionally it tells the system the battery is in an aged state and may limit the Electrical Energy Management system functions."

So, disconnecting the battery probably doesn't do anything relative to resetting the battery life information in the BCM. Otherwise, every time the battery went flat or was disconnected for some reason, the BCM would think it had been replaced, which would make the whole monitoring plan pointless.

BTW, when I described the charging system earlier and used the term BCM/ECU, it's because the BCM is responsible for understanding the battery's condition and the ECU is responsible for managing the alternator output so the battery gets charged properly. They work together to ensure you have an optimally charged battery regardless of age or temperature.

 

[cmxPPL219]

To add, when it comes to Ford's BMS reset, in addition to having the reset done via the scan tool, there is two other alternate ways:

1. @JAJ mentioned the 8 hr option, here is some text (last paragraph)

2. Perform Manual procedure without Scan Tool

Procedure must be carried out within 10 seconds:

• Switch ignition on (engine off)
• Pull and release high beam 5 times.
• Press and release brake pedal 3 times.
• If successful the battery light will flash 3 times within the next 15 seconds
• BMS reset completed.

It was successfully completed and confirmed by some folks below:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/bms-reset-no-tools-required.151602/

 

[19gtaz]

Does disconnecting the battery (neg terminal) for 20 min or so accomplish a reset on these new fancy charging systems?

In this thread:

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/bms-reset-no-tools-required.151602/

The first post explains the procedure to reset BMS yourself with no tools.
I have not tried it myself, but some say it works.

 

[galaxy]

Swapped my ground location today. Expecting not to notice anything, LOL.

 

[Alain]

I hate that they (car manufacturers) are slowly making it so that we can do anything at home.

I mean, having to pay a dealer to reset the BCM after something as simple as changing the battery !!!!!
at this rate, In 10 years we will probably have to stop by the dealership everytime we fill up with gas !!!

thats even if there is such a thing as gas powered cars !!!
ridiculous !!

 

[galaxy]

I hate that they (car manufacturers) are slowly making it so that we can't do anything at home.

It's actually not quite that bad. Just takes a little prowess. Just like the procedure mentioned above, there's typically a work around for most stuff. At the end of the day, it's still just another engine.

 

[m3incorp]

I drove mine today after having it on the charger for about a month. I did disconnect everything last night and let it sit for about 12 hours, so I guess I met the requirements of allowing the BMS to relearn.

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