MFT Battery Saver message on shutdown

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum paulirwin.:wavey:
The message you received, "check charging system" is not the same as what the thread topic is about. It is about getting the 'Battery Saver Off' message.
Because I don't drive that much or for long distances, I get the 'Battery Saver Off' message quite often. Got on my Explorer and am getting it on my MKT. I just charge it back up and I'm go to go again for a while. This is just a low battery indication and has never prevented the vehicle from starting.
The 'check charging system' to me would indicate that there is a problem unrelated to a low battery condition. I'm glad you got it fixed so that you can enjoy the ride.

Peter

 

[paulirwin]

Welcome to the Forum paulirwin.:wavey:
The message you received, "check charging system" is not the same as what the thread topic is about. It is about getting the 'Battery Saver Off' message.
Because I don't drive that much or for long distances, I get the 'Battery Saver Off' message quite often. Got on my Explorer and am getting it on my MKT. I just charge it back up and I'm go to go again for a while. This is just a low battery indication and has never prevented the vehicle from starting.
The 'check charging system' to me would indicate that there is a problem unrelated to a low battery condition. I'm glad you got it fixed so that you can enjoy the ride.

Peter

Thanks Peter. Sorry if I wasn't clear... I was getting the "system off to save battery" message which is what this thread is about and was my main concern. I also got a "Check charging system" message once on the screen beside the spedometer. I think they might have been related, but since replacing the battery and charging sensor SFSG. Thanks!

 

[Milespace]

Battery saver screen

Just started popping up battery test. Great

 

[trump]

Battery

My 13 XLT was getting the battery saver screen in June. I tested the battery and the alternator. They both tested fine. Originally Ford put in a small battery - 504 cca
I bought a bigger Diehard AGM battery and its been fine since then. If you put in a bigger battery, you will need to get a new insulator cover for the bigger battery

 

[182RG]

Just started popping up battery test. Great

2011 XLT? It's time. 55K and 3.5 years for me.

 

[OzzieMike]

I replaced the battery in my 2013 XLT about 3 months ago. I think right around 3 years is what a lot of us are getting with the stock battery.

 

[Milespace]

I've had a iPhone charger plugged in in the rear power port that I fore got about I remove it the battery is only 1 yr old have had no screen pop up for 2 day now could it be that simple as to remove the power drain

 

[BlacKnight]

I had the same message pop up when I had my rear view camera replaced and the system reset by the technician. It went away after a few days. I have a Bluetooth OBDII tester that I use with my tablet that I can check the charging system myself with, and I was getting normal charging readings.

 

[myfoot]

Wife's just got this message. Came here and looked. Her GPS was turned on in the console and she didn't drive for a day and a half. (It's a separate GPS not the built in one.)

Anyway was reading this thread and someone asked about phone chargers and I thought right away to that GPS. It gets bounced around in the console and gets turned on once in a while.

Hopefully that will fix it. Thanks again for this forum!

 

[steve04KU]

I had to get a brand new battery installed today. Only 2.5 years old....

 

[vfral1]

I had a dead battery a day ago, never got the low battery message.

Brand new Die Hard Gold battery installed, NOW I am getting the low battery/shutting off system message.

Owners manual says that the BMS sometimes takes 8 hrs to reset, but it sat for longer than that overnight and I still got the message today.

I checked the battery connections, they are all clean and have good contact...is there a reset for this that maybe the battery tech didnt do, or is this now going to be an electrical gremlin?

 

[amberanger]

Do you have any USB chargers or plugs that you leave in their ports all the time?
The chargers/plugs pull power all the time.

I didn't know that, you sure. someboby???

 

[LukerDooker]

I didn't know that, you sure. someboby???

Well im not sure but a few times I left in a stubby USB with status light, and it stayed on after car was off and phone kept charging.
Came back 30 min later and phone was still charging.
I stopped charging in the car except if I really need it.

Same with some other power features (some that are a safety issue) they can be activated at any time by pressing their buttons;

- power fold of 3rd row from cargo area, will work at any time, and will not stop if items are in the seats or in cargo area and get caught in seats.

-garage door opener - will work at any time and some have posted - no FOB required.

 

[peterk9]

I didn't know that, you sure. someboby???

Not sure how they work in your 98 XLT Supercab. You'll have to check your Owner's Manual. In the Explorer the 12V power points are always live.

Peter

 

[vfral1]

I had a dead battery a day ago, never got the low battery message.

Brand new Die Hard Gold battery installed, NOW I am getting the low battery/shutting off system message.

Owners manual says that the BMS sometimes takes 8 hrs to reset, but it sat for longer than that overnight and I still got the message today.

I checked the battery connections, they are all clean and have good contact...is there a reset for this that maybe the battery tech didnt do, or is this now going to be an electrical gremlin?

Hats off to those that posted to remove USB cables, that fixed the problem for me!

The weird thing is that neither of the two cables I had plugged in draw any power, they are just standard iPod cables. And without the iPod attached, there should be no power draw.:scratch:

 

[RGS1957]

I think this whole thing is bull****. I've had this showing up off and on since day one. I just drove 200 miles last weekend at highway speed, I got the message as soon as I shut it off. I charged it last night, drove it this morning 30 minutes, I again got the message as soon as I shut it off. I park it for a couple of hours, drove it about 5 minutes, no message. I thought it maybe temp affecting the battery, it does it when it's 0 and when it's 80. I've also never noticed any difference in starting capability. When the battery dies, if it ever does, I'll get a bigger one, until then I'm just going to ignore this message. I just very annoying.

 

[peterk9]

I think this whole thing is bull****. I've had this showing up off and on since day one. I just drove 200 miles last weekend at highway speed, I got the message as soon as I shut it off. I charged it last night, drove it this morning 30 minutes, I again got the message as soon as I shut it off. I park it for a couple of hours, drove it about 5 minutes, no message. I thought it maybe temp affecting the battery, it does it when it's 0 and when it's 80. I've also never noticed any difference in starting capability. When the battery dies, if it ever does, I'll get a bigger one, until then I'm just going to ignore this message. I just very annoying.

I get it quite often and after putting the charger on it everything is okay for a week or more. Sometimes the message will go away if I make a couple of longer (1 hr) trips. Had the same in my 2011 Explorer. Mine occurs because of not driving it enough or many short trips (errands).

Peter

 

[Greg Allen]

2016 Explorer Sport, we picked it up in Dec and we started having this problem in May. We have seen the "System shutting down to save battery" message numerous times, but we also see other symptoms. Does everybody else get random warning chimes without a message? I think the fault comes and goes too fast to register a message. Also we get a parking sensor failure just before the shut down and of course the radio freezes on or shuts off. We don't leave anything plugged in and I did the factory reset and hard reset-battery disconnect without any help.

I can't believe this many batteries should fail this fast and that ours is bad in 6 months! I agree they're rather under sized. We drive it often and on long hauls, it consistently acts up. I haven't brought it in yet. I want to know what the fix is before I drop it off. I can't stomach the thought of picking it up after they "test it good" and it comes back!

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Greg Allen.
A low or failing battery will cause various symptoms to display themselves. It sounds like a possible bad battery to me.

Peter

 

[Flatplane]

The vehicles have a Battery Monitor Function algorithem written into the software of the PCM or powertrain control module. This software monitors battery usage and stability during periods of use and non-use. The system has an inductive voltage flowmeter built into the electrical system that will intervene and protect from vehicle stalling due to battery state of charge. Some USB cables plugged in to the multimedia port will cause other modules to stay awake and deplete a battery to the point the software will intervene. Be sure to ask the attending technician to reset the BMS feature using the Ford scan tool "IDS". simply doing a hard reset of disconnecting the battery cable does little to reset the BMS feature. Of course there is also other plausible concerns that may be very difficult to recreate as intermittant failures are the most difficult to diagnose. I will continue to monitor this thread.