Truck Draining Battery Every Morning

rjg2000 · Dec 5, 2023

Lobo-Tremor said:
FWIW. Mine was down to 79% yesterday.
This was after driving the hell out of it and letting it sit for one day.
48% seems low.

Thanks, yea took mine in to dealer today since its still under warranty. Will see what they can find.

rjg2000 · Dec 11, 2023

Finally received an update after about a week at the dealer. They claim the alternator and battery are testing fine and now are testing for some kind of electrical issues. Said its normal for the battery to drain on these trucks and they have been speaking with Ford engineers. Still dont think its "normal" for a battery to drop from 100%-60% charge overnight so will keep pressing for a better resolution.

King Luis · Dec 11, 2023

Sully said:
You said you have a dash cam plugged in? And that's all that's in besides what comes with the truck? Well I'd remove that and see if it's still doing it

I’d like to know as well. OP may doubt it’s pulling power but this far into it, I’d unplug it and check.

rjg2000 · Dec 11, 2023

King Luis said:
I’d like to know as well. OP may doubt it’s pulling power but this far into it, I’d unplug it and check.

Yes I unplugged that a while back, forgot to answer that, so that is not the issue.

Lobo-Tremor · Dec 12, 2023

Got tired of the battery russian roulette.
I picked up a NOCO 2amp charger and hard wired it to the battery.
I have found that not keeping the keys in truck helps.
Still researching playing with the BMS in Forscan. Maybe resetting it to 90%. The jury is still out on that one.

rjg2000 · Dec 20, 2023

12/20 Update: After more than 2 weeks at the dealership they invited me in to explain their findings. They had thought it was a issue with a bad PCM but apparently that tested ok. Alternator fine, BMS fine. They agreed and were able to replicate the battery drain.

The tech explained they found another issue I had no idea of. Water was getting in the rear window behind the liner on the rear passengers seat. They are now thinking the water intrusion maybe shorted out or corroded some of the electronics that live behind that seat.

This particular truck was assembled during the "demic" and needless to say I don't think there were much QC controls during that time. Will be dumping it after the warranty expires but I am hoping this particular issue can be actually fixed so I don't have to go through the Lemon Law process.

Sully · Dec 20, 2023

rjg2000 said:
12/20 Update: After more than 2 weeks at the dealership they invited me in to explain their findings. They had thought it was a issue with a bad PCM but apparently that tested ok. Alternator fine, BMS fine. They agreed and were able to replicate the battery drain.

The tech explained they found another issue I had no idea of. Water was getting in the rear window behind the liner on the rear passengers seat. They are now thinking the water intrusion maybe shorted out or corroded some of the electronics that live behind that seat.

This particular truck was assembled during the "demic" and needless to say I don't think there were much QC controls during that time. Will be dumping it after the warranty expires but I am hoping this particular issue can be actually fixed so I don't have to go through the Lemon Law process.

Oh shit that sucks and sorry to hear but that's an inconvient truth. Where do you find your build date anyways?

Fozzy · Dec 20, 2023

rjg2000 said:
12/20 Update: After more than 2 weeks at the dealership they invited me in to explain their findings. They had thought it was a issue with a bad PCM but apparently that tested ok. Alternator fine, BMS fine. They agreed and were able to replicate the battery drain.

The tech explained they found another issue I had no idea of. Water was getting in the rear window behind the liner on the rear passengers seat. They are now thinking the water intrusion maybe shorted out or corroded some of the electronics that live behind that seat.

This particular truck was assembled during the "demic" and needless to say I don't think there were much QC controls during that time. Will be dumping it after the warranty expires but I am hoping this particular issue can be actually fixed so I don't have to go through the Lemon Law process.

Not much of an answer if "they are now thinking", Any of your rear electronics not work? window, sub, side windows, tail lights and camera on the roof? You think you would have noticed that or noticed the battery went dead every time it rained or you washed the truck. I hope they figure it out. I currently have a "They are now thinking" problem of my own. Air bag light and reverse braking disables warnings. They can't find the problem and "are now thinking" it is in the steering wheel harness that had a recall. Mine tested good during the recall program but they think it might be bad and they can't get a new harness from Ford right now to check it. The Covid Hangover is real, but it's real for all the manufactures. We had one Duramax straight off the lot did not have bolts in the motor mounts. As soon as the driver gave it the beans the motor twisted in the engine bay and wrecked all kinds of stuff. We also had one that the turbo was not bolted down and blew off. We had Ram with no oil in the transfer case. you would think there is no way this stuff got missed, but it did.

Lobo-Tremor · Dec 21, 2023

Sully said:
Oh shit that sucks and sorry to hear but that's an inconvient truth. Where do you find your build date anyways?

Look in the door jamb. Mine is 11/22.

AMET · Dec 21, 2023

One thing my wife noticed this afternoon, after I moved my truck this morning, short 2 min in / out of the driveway, the screen was still on and wouldn't turn off. Could be a drain issue for others. (Picture taken roughly 8 hrs after I last parked the truck)

Fozzy · Dec 22, 2023

@rjg2000, I just watched one of those short videos, tick tock or something, It wouldn't let me embed the link or video. but the guy was getting water intrusion in the rear of his truck though the pressure vents in the back of the cab. His complaint was the musty smell. He ran a hose on the back of the cab with the rear seats out and water just poured through the pressure vents. They were stuck open, claimed it was a common problem when not installed right. Something to look into if they think it's water problems. Vents are huge on these trucks.

Lobo-Tremor · Dec 22, 2023

Fozzy said:
@rjg2000, I just watched one of those short videos, tick tock or something, It wouldn't let me embed the link or video. but the guy was getting water intrusion in the rear of his truck though the pressure vents in the back of the cab. His complaint was the musty smell. He ran a hose on the back of the cab with the rear seats out and water just poured through the pressure vents. They were stuck open, claimed it was a common problem when not installed right. Something to look into if they think it's water problems. Vents are huge on these trucks.

View attachment 25267

You guys are describing what they usually call "flood vehicles".

CAMDENN · Dec 22, 2023

AMET said:
One thing my wife noticed this afternoon, after I moved my truck this morning, short 2 min in / out of the driveway, the screen was still on and wouldn't turn off. Could be a drain issue for others. (Picture taken roughly 8 hrs after I last parked the truck) View attachment 25257

That’s normal and part of the RAP system……Retain Accessory Power and it should turn off a few minutes after the last door is closed and locked.

Sully · Dec 22, 2023

Lobo-Tremor said:
Look in the door jamb. Mine is 11/22.

OK 07/23

AMET · Dec 23, 2023

AMET said:
One thing my wife noticed this afternoon, after I moved my truck this morning, short 2 min in / out of the driveway, the screen was still on and wouldn't turn off. Could be a drain issue for others. View attachment 25257

CAMDENN said:
That’s normal and part of the RAP system……Retain Accessory Power and it should turn off a few minutes after the last door is closed and locked.

Right, should turn off after a short time, not after 8 hours. I had to cycle the power to get it to turn off.

CAMDENN · Dec 23, 2023

AMET said:
Right, should turn off after a short time, not after 8 hours. I had to cycle the power to get it to turn off.

My apologies.

I misunderstood your initial posting and yes, being on for 8 hours is very weird.

putz173 · Dec 25, 2023

Same issue on my 2022, I do alot of short driving for work however even after long drives, or a night on the 30 amp charger battery is still 12.2v or so soon as truck or charger goes off, im assuming its a bad cell in battery. Going in this week to get them to test it, im sure theyll blame the JL Stealth box, but issue was happening before that and confirmed amp etc shuts off when the truck does.

putz173 · Dec 28, 2023

they put a new battery in mine for this today

Tremor5.0 · Jan 1, 2024

New member here, but I’m having major battery issues. Custom ordered my 23 5.0. It arrived and i purchased September 16th. Within the first week it started throwing the battery light & Charge System Fault on ford pass app. Made an appointment at dealership for October 12th & it sat for 6 days. Picked it up & took it back in on October 30th & the truck has been there ever since. “Supposedly” they originally diagnosed the issue to a defective alternator which was on nationwide backorder. Waited almost a month for the alternator to arrive & it did not fix the problem. Then the diagnosed to a brake module. Again, no fix. I’ve filed a complaint with ford customer service & it hasn’t been much help. I was told last Friday that the dealership technicians are basically unable to diagnose the issue or a fix & Ford is sending out a Field Service Engineer but there is not an ETA on when this will happen. Probably going to initiate the Ford Buyback program this week, but i fully expect Ford to decline that. Pretty much done with this truck & Ford altogether.

Also just to add, it only started doing the low power mode disabling the remote start & Ford Pass App features after hey replaced the alternator.

CAMDENN · Jan 2, 2024

Tremor5.0 said:
New member here, but I’m having major battery issues. Custom ordered my 23 5.0. It arrived and i purchased September 16th. Within the first week it started throwing the battery light & Charge System Fault on ford pass app. Made an appointment at dealership for October 12th & it sat for 6 days. Picked it up & took it back in on October 30th & the truck has been there ever since. “Supposedly” they originally diagnosed the issue to a defective alternator which was on nationwide backorder. Waited almost a month for the alternator to arrive & it did not fix the problem. Then the diagnosed to a brake module. Again, no fix. I’ve filed a complaint with ford customer service & it hasn’t been much help. I was told last Friday that the dealership technicians are basically unable to diagnose the issue or a fix & Ford is sending out a Field Service Engineer but there is not an ETA on when this will happen. Probably going to initiate the Ford Buyback program this week, but i fully expect Ford to decline that. Pretty much done with this truck & Ford altogether.

Also just to add, it only started doing the low power mode disabling the remote start & Ford Pass App features after hey replaced the alternator.

Does your State have a Lemon Law?