Charging circuit performance

[Lwlandy]

What is the expected charging circuit performance? Should it be able to top up/fully charge the battery in a daily driven truck that has 30-40 min journey each way?

So in other words battery is called upon for 2 starts a day + lights, fans Dashcam etc. and has approx 1-1 1/2 hours of driving/charging time.

Reason I ask is that it seems to take much more time to charge my battery. I can tell as unlike most, i don't actually mind the auto stop/start but it hardly ever works on my truck as the battery is constantly in state of charging. If I drive for say 1 1/2 hours straight it will start working, but then couple of days later same again always charging on the shorter journeys.

Its not a big problem, truck has never let me down and battery always seems to have enough charge to start the truck. I am just wondering if the charging circuit is maybe not working correctly.

 

[smurfslayer]

That seems unusual to me. The only time I get a break from auto-stop start is if I’m listening to the stereo with the truck off for a long period of time - like washing the truck; about 2 hours or so.

If I go somewhere after I won’t get into stop / start for 30-45 minutes. Else, I’m in it as soon as climate allows.

If you’re not doing anything abnormal or goofy, it might be worth having the dealer check.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

maybe check the alternator output or the voltage regulator to make sure the vehicle is charging correctly

 

[goblues38]

My auto start works as soon as the car temp warms up. AC or heat......stereo of not, auto start kicks on every time until i turn it off.

 

[Badgertits]

Sounds odd- I am split in my driving habits it either sees 100-150 miles in a week for 3-4 weeks straight then I’ll put 500-1200 on it a week for work.

Never had anything odd like that w/ auto start feature- but I’ve turned it off permanently anyhow as i think it’s annoying, @ times a little
Unsafe, can’t be good for longevity of starter motor or ignition, & I simply feel that when a vehicles is being used the motor should be running at all times- if you’ve ever had an issue w/ a starter, ignition, alternator, battery, coil pack, etc. while on the road somewhere remot or not close to a dealer you’d most likely agree you wouldn’t want the vehicle deciding to shut itself off mid drive, b/c it may never turn back on again lol

 

[isis]

Mine hardly ever works but I’m usually doing 5-10 minute drives honestly. Anything longer I’m not really stopping much. Plus it’s been cold overnight. I figured my battery might be going. I got a voltage warning when I flashed my accessport a few weeks ago.

I fill the gas tank every 4-5 weeks and drive every day but not far fwiw. I figured that’s not the best charging pattern so haven’t looked any further since it never struggles to start.

 

[Lwlandy]

Thanks for the feedback all, yes I think I may check the Alternator/voltage regulator as I suspect that the output may be on the low side.

 

[blwn]

The voltage is all controlled by the BCM and it doesn't seem to top off the battery more than needed for what I assume is some small fuel savings. You can disable the BMS (battery management system) by unplugging it or turning it off with forscan which also disables auto start/stop. I'd recommend just hooking up a battery tender for a few hours to top off your battery

 

[isis]

Mine hardly ever works but I’m usually doing 5-10 minute drives honestly. Anything longer I’m not really stopping much. Plus it’s been cold overnight. I figured my battery might be going. I got a voltage warning when I flashed my accessport a few weeks ago.

I fill the gas tank every 4-5 weeks and drive every day but not far fwiw. I figured that’s not the best charging pattern so haven’t looked any further since it never struggles to start.

funny enough a few minutes after I posted this I went to the store and it shut off on the 3rd stop sign. I’m not going to give it another thought until it has trouble starting one day.

 

[pbtjrlmrt]

You have gauges/information on your dash where you can monitor the charging. I've seen it charging at 14.5v all the way to work after sitting overnight and I've seen it at a more reasonable 12.5-13 and everywhere in between. When it shows charging at 12.5 I assume this means it is topped off. Whatever you do...DO NOT listen to idiots that tell you to disble the battery management system...it's there for a reason. The truck does a good job managing the battery and may not do what you would do when it comes to topping it off but if it's charging and you see it dropping off to 12.5-13 I'd say everything is fine. The highest I've seen it charge is 14.5 after sitting for the weekend...it's all over the board really and ultimately it comes down to 12.5-13 so I believe it's topped off. Remember****It is not good for a battery to always be topped off. Even quality battery tenders will deep cycle the battery now and again to keep em healthy. This is why the foolishness of disabling the BMS(Battery Management System) should be ignored.