What is this? Connector on Negative Battery cable..

[protraxduner]

I am doing some engine bay tidying up and want to relocate this connector/sensor. Is this just a fancy way of mounting a sensor/wire harness or does it actually need the negative battery cable to run through it? Anyone?

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[K4fxd]

That is the amp sensor, it is used by the car's computer to evaluate the battery's health.

 

[protraxduner]

How does it work? And how would it work if i relocate the battery to the trunk?

 

[K4fxd]

If you have forscan you can turn it off. It is just a battery monitor

 

[protraxduner]

If you have forscan you can turn it off. It is just a battery monitor

That was going to be my next question. I will leave it in place but if it acts up i can turn off.

 

[Warpath]

How does it work? And how would it work if i relocate the battery to the trunk?

Looks like it would work like an AMP meter. It measures electrical current by measuring the current through a set of coils with a very low resistance and inductive reactance.

 

[protraxduner]

Looks like it would work like an AMP meter. It measures electrical current by measuring the current through a set of coils with a very low resistance and inductive reactance.

So in theory it should still work will just see current, with hopefully small current drop after 10ft of + cable.

 

[K4fxd]

If you want to run a long ground cable, it will work just fine. Or turn it off in the software, or just forget about it.

What it does is use the alternator like a smart battery charger.

 

[Warpath]

So in theory it should still work will just see current, with hopefully small current drop after 10ft of + cable.

I would think so, they probably put it there for convenience reasons or it was the only way to accurately measure total vehicle amp draw.

 

[Snoopy49]

Battery Current Sensor
The battery current sensor is attached to the battery negative cable. It is supplied a 5-volt reference voltage and a ground from the BCM. The battery current sensor is a Hall-effect sensor that supplies an analog feedback signal to the BCM. The BCM reads the battery current sensor feedback voltage to determine how much current is flowing through the battery ground cable. The BCM uses this information for battery state of charge.

This vehicle is equipped with load shed strategy. With the engine off, the BCM monitors the battery
state of charge using the battery current sensor attached to the negative battery cable. With the engine running, the PCM monitors system voltage on the VPWR and PSCM.

 

[gfcobra04]

What is part of the smart charging system. This allows the charging system to let the battery run down before the alternator turns back on to charge the battery. However it never fully charges the battery.

In other words they are saving fuel mileage by not running the alternator continuously. If you drive your car only a few miles at a time the battery will never get fully charged and will need replacement early and/or need to be recharged because it’s dead.

I drove my car for an hour once got back connected my battery tender and the battery needed charging. Over on the F150 and super duty sites they talk about how to disconnect the smart charging system. Batteries in the trucks are having to be replaced prematurely. I went through four ford batteries in my F350, so when purchasing number 5&6 I purchased a couple of yellow tops. Four+ years later still going strong.

I guess if you can save a 0.1 of a mpg that adds up for the EPA fuel economy requirements.

 

[protraxduner]

So does the alternator have a clutch? Or does it just stop the magnetic drag electronically. And is there a way to turn off the 'smart' stuff? Wonder how much HP not running the alternator give you.

 

[K4fxd]

It turns the alternator off by cutting power to it.

Best to turn this off in forscan. It is supposed to prolong battery life, but as has been stated does not really work.

 

[Snoopy49]

Ain't technology great?

Charging System - 5.2L 32V Ti-VCT-2.pdf

 

[protraxduner]

So the physical drag of the armature is always there, being spun by the serpentine, so only the electric/magnetic drag is what they are cutting. Still be curious what that equates to in HP....

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