Thoughts on preventative battery change?

[goblues38]

3.2 years old, 42,*** miles.

The auto start stop thing has been turning itself off lately due to low voltage condition. truck still starts fine as needed, but I am considering replacing the battery before I get stranded.

thoughts?

 

[wheelman55]

Check the battery voltage with a voltage meter in the morning after the truck has sat overnight. That’ll give you a ballpark idea as to battery health. Check battery cables for tightness while you have the hood up.

 

[Therock88]

Looks like you are in Missouri. The current cold will kill a battery that is weak, and a very cold engine takes more Cranking Amps to turn over @ freezing. I would not risk getting stranded, and would just throw a new one in.

Also, a multimeter will show you base voltage, but you really need to use a load tester to see if it recovers after a quick depletion.

Good luck.
DC

 

[smurfslayer]

Is there something unusual about your use pattern?

Are you blasting the stereo (heavily modified) on battery only?
taking really short trips and never getting a full duration commute in to charge the battery?
got some other aftermarket goodies that might be sapping juice?

I have AS/S suppressed by doohickey, so I’m blissfully unaware of it because it scrams my amps when the truck restarts...

it would be odd for a battery to go out that soon, but not unheard of. I agree with previous advice, get a battery health check.

 

[Frank N]

Need a load tester or stop at a PepBoys, autozone, what have you in your area for a free battery check.

I checked mine early this fall after 4 years and 60k ish and it was not well, I changed it out. $200 is cheap insurance compared to the dead battery inconvenience 30 miles from the nearest parts store in the OBX or in a 10F morning in NJ. FTS.

And don't forget there is a BMS if you replace the battery yourself. I assume you can use Forscan if you have that, I don't, others may know.

From the 2018 OM.

After battery replacement, or in some
cases after charging the battery with an
external charger, the battery management
system requires eight hours of vehicle sleep
time to relearn the battery state of charge.
During this time your vehicle must remain
fully locked with the ignition switched off.
Note: Prior to relearning the battery state
of charge, the battery management system
may temporarily disable some electrical
systems.

 

[nikhsub1]

I'd do it 100% - mine ate **** at just under 2 years. I got a Northstar and couldn't be happier, not one issue battery related since I put it in.

EnerSys

EnerSys is the global leader in batteries, chargers and accessories for motive, reserve, aerospace and defense applications. Industrial batteries. Forklift batteries.

www.northstarbattery.com

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Batteries aren't cheap anymore, make sure your terminals are clean (all of them), plug your truck in, in cold weather, I do, nothing ***** about doing it. Last resort is to change a good battery to a new one. Should last 5-7 years on average, but anything can happen either way.

 

[wheelman55]

The deal with batteries is that they last LONGER in cool/cold environments but they lose capacity. So we upsize the battery size to take the reduced capacity into account.

Conversely in hot environments the capacity goes up but the life is shortened.

With the same usage a battery will die quicker in AZ than in MN.

You might get 5-7 years in a cool/cold environment and you might only get 2-3 years in a hot environment.

Battery mfg use 25C/77F as the norm. They call that STC - standard test conditions.

Here’s a link that explains in more detail.

What are temperature effects on batteries? - Intercel Batteries

Battery capacity (how many amp-hours it can hold) is reduced as temperature goes down, and increased as temperature goes up. This is why your car battery dies on a cold winter morning, even though it worked fine the previous afternoon. If your batteries spend part of the year shivering in the...

www.intercel.eu

 

[Bracamonte]

I got my '18 this last year and it still had the stock battery. It went dead at one point. I replaced it with an Odyssey. Several weeks later, I started having low voltage again, dropping below 12v. Couldn't figure it out - brand new quality battery. I started putting a battery tender on it a couple times a week.

Discontinued the battery tender, and would start losing voltage again over a couple of days. Figured there is something in the truck draining it. Couldn't find the source.

Happened to go out on an overnight trip, and discovered that night what was probably taking a slow trickle from it. Apparently if the sliding tray in the front console (the one with the USB ports) is open, the light inside it stays on even when the truck is turned off and locked.

 

[GordoJay]

I got my '18 this last year and it still had the stock battery. It went dead at one point. I replaced it with an Odyssey. Several weeks later, I started having low voltage again, dropping below 12v. Couldn't figure it out - brand new quality battery. I started putting a battery tender on it a couple times a week.

Discontinued the battery tender, and would start losing voltage again over a couple of days. Figured there is something in the truck draining it. Couldn't find the source.

Happened to go out on an overnight trip, and discovered that night what was probably taking a slow trickle from it. Apparently if the sliding tray in the front console (the one with the USB ports) is open, the light inside it stays on even when the truck is turned off and locked.

Are you sure that it doesn’t go out after 15 minutes or so when the power to the usb goes off? I just ran out to the garage and checked my 2020. Light is off.