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Battery longevity questions and best practices

Chomperr

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So the oem battery took a dump on me yesterday during a road trip. Since I needed to get back home and the car was dead I didn’t have the leisure of picking and choosing a new battery. Ended up with a Duralast Gold from Autozone. 3 year warranty so no complaints I guess.

My car is a 2018 GT 301A with 11k miles so I guess the original battery lasted about as long as I could have expected with the negative experiences I’ve always had with Ford battery’s.

ANYWAY,the whole ordeal had me thinking of any steps I can take to keep the battery going as long as possible. My main concern is any parasitic draw I can avoid.

To add some context I just bought this car used a few weeks ago and this is my daily driver.

1. Should I unplug all usb cords when I’m done driving? I keep an apple cord plugged in for CarPlay. I also have a cigarette lighter usb charger that I have a dashcam plugged into.

2. Should I turn off the wifi connection in Sync3? I really don’t care about FordPass and any app connectivity to my phone beyond CarPlay. Any other settings in Sync3 or the dash settings?

3. I notice when I turn thecar off the dash shows something about keeping all sensors on or perimeter only? Can that affect the battery?

4. Random but does idling, with engine running, affect the battery?
Several days a week I have to pick up my fiancé from work and I may sit there for 5-10 minutes or some days a little longer, idling before she comes out. Is this bad or okay?

thank you,
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luca1290

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1 and 2 are 100% indifferent to battery because accessory power is shut off (and wifi is negligent draw while running).
3 does not really change anything. Internal sensors does not draw much at all.
4 idling is really bad for your engine, especially if it's cold (both the engine OR the ambient). Switch off the engine while waiting if you can.

The car has 12V Battery Management System, common in cars nowadays. Old school tests does not apply to you as they WILL get wrong results (for example measuring the voltage at engine running). The BMS target the battery at 80% State Of Charge and that's good for your battery longevity. Just double check to have selected the correct battery for your vehicle and you'll be fine.

4 years is not that bad for a battery, I had batteries die after 18 months, others I usually change every 5 years because I know that's the average duration.
 

EFI

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The OEM battery is junk to begin with, and after 4 years it's probably past it's intended lifespan even in a best case care scenario. All those things you mentioned are not really what killed it, nor are they something that will affect the lifespan of any future batteries you install.

Keeping the battery from getting drained completely (whether through driving often or a trickle charger) and keeping it out of very cold temps are the 2 biggest things you can do to increase its expected life. All others are minimal at best.
 
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Chomperr

Chomperr

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Thanks for the quick responses so far.

I don’t think something simple like leaving a usb cord plugged in would kill the battery but I wanted to ask and be sure. Probably just a bit paranoid by the whole event. The car wouldn’t jump initially so my mind went racing thinking of what else could be wrong if it’s not the battery. I was 4 hours from home and needed to be back for work today. Luckily I made it home fine and it was just the battery.

I’m also new to the whole Sync3 thing so I appreciate the info as I get to know the car better.
 

AvalancheSVT

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its the proximity key and all the electronics, i bet. a guy i worked with had a loaded xlt f150, i had the xl. i bypassed the autostopstart thing and didin't have the proximity key.

i just sold the truck i bought new in 2016 with its factory battery. 65K miles. guy i worked with replaced his like 2-3 years in. same with our 2018 explorer, my mom's exploder was the same.

i've been thinking of keeping my key in a faraday bag at night.
 

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luca1290

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i've been thinking of keeping my key in a faraday bag at night.
New Ford keys from 2021 comes with sleep mode, it activates if the key do not detect motion for 40 seconds.
Probably the key can also be deactivated (in my Merc, they can, check out the manual).

But those provisions are just for tefth resistance, if the car is more distant than a couple of meters from the keys the cage is useless, car will not wake up because it will not sense the key.
 

Skye

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Four years on an original OEM battery is actually pretty good.

I realize the car is your DD. Car batteries in general do not like extreme heat or cold. If it is ever possible to reduce the number of starts or high load conditions in those situations, that could help in the long term.

I've always turned everything off as I'm shutting the car down, so when I restart the car, the battery is only starting the engine, not the engine and the A/C, radio, etc.

For batteries, I've noticed two features or options for one of my vehicles, both of which I've always selected, which might be available to others:

1. One option is to choose the battery in the "cold weather group"; this option supports vehicles starting in below freezing conditions. It's not uncommon in this area to start a vehicle in below zero temperatures. Certainly, not everyone needs this option.

2. Another option is a high capacity one, for vehicles which tow. These batteries have a bit more CCA than the "regular" ones. The additional amperage offers a bit more reserve.

IMO, selecting the two options above help in the long term.

FWIW, I've always replaced my auto batteries every five years. It's a timeline I arbitrarily selected, thinking there's not much life left in them. YMMV.
 
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Skye

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3. I notice when I turn thecar off the dash shows something about keeping all sensors on or perimeter only? Can that affect the battery?

4. Random but does idling, with engine running, affect the battery?
Several days a week I have to pick up my fiancé from work and I may sit there for 5-10 minutes or some days a little longer, idling before she comes out. Is this bad or okay?
I get the same message. I have the Security Package and have always associated these events with that. I leave things as-is. As was stated earlier, the car does have a Battery Management System to watch over the car's electronics and battery. It's my understanding that, if the car senses a draw from a feature threatening the car's ability to ultimately start, it begins disabling services to reduce the drain. "Sleep" and "Deep Sleep Mode" are often associated with this.

Idling should not affect the battery per se. Once the car is started, the alternator takes over. However, idling for excessive periods does involve heat soak and not having good airflow though the engine compartment. IMO, for any car in general, it's not a good idea to sit and idle for excessive periods. I always shut everything down. Often I can find a shaded area or point the vehicle in a way where I'm not sitting in direct sunlight. If its really hot, I exit the vehicle and stand in a shaded area.
 
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Chomperr

Chomperr

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New Ford keys from 2021 comes with sleep mode, it activates if the key do not detect motion for 40 seconds.
Probably the key can also be deactivated (in my Merc, they can, check out the manual).

But those provisions are just for tefth resistance, if the car is more distant than a couple of meters from the keys the cage is useless, car will not wake up because it will not sense the key.
interesting, mine is a 2018 and the car sits in the garage. My bedroom where I keep my keys is literally over the garage. Would this cause it to never sleep or as long as the keys are not moving it’s okay?
 

luca1290

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interesting, mine is a 2018 and the car sits in the garage. My bedroom where I keep my keys is literally over the garage. Would this cause it to never sleep or as long as the keys are not moving it’s okay?
As long as you don't sleep in the garage I think it is. A wall is more than enough to absorb the weak RF emitted from the key.

Your key is a 2018 so it should not have the sleep feature, if you want an additional safety against theft via RF relay you can do two things:
  1. If you don't use it regularly, remove the battery from the secondary key.
  2. Put the primary key inside a drawer, far from an outer wall of the house. That is more than enough to absorb any signal emitted from the key so a thief cannot relay it to the car.
You can also buy a newer key fob and pair it to the car (you can do it yourself as long as you have two keys) to have improved theft resistance on the go, and use the older ones as a backup, leaving them in the house with no battery.
Before buying please check with your dealer or technical documentation that American key fobs have this feature, I know this is a standard feature in Europe now: Ford tackles keyless car theft with ‘sleeping’ key fob on Kuga and Puma | What Car?
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