Battery Replacement / Upgrade - Battery Re-Learn

[J_C]

^ I'm not looking at service manuals at all, rather owner manuals. If the owner manual describes battery replacement and doesn't state it's needed then it shouldn't be.

It is not surprising that a workshop manual would suggest that a reset "needs" to be done when technically it doesn't, because until the 8 hours relearn process is complete, it could cause owner confusion that there is still a low battery warning and load shedding. It's a human-is-the-weakest-link scenario, that it's in the shop's best interests if everything looks right the moment it leaves the shop to avoid customer callbacks, complaints and return visits. If you were a customer unaware of this battery monitoring system, paid to have a new battery put in and were still seeing a battery message when it left the shop, what would you think? Screwed up repair, right?

There's the thing, people who pay a premium to have a dealer merely put a new battery in, tend to not know much about automobiles or else they'd realize they can get the exact same battery (except for the brand sticker on it) at least 50% cheaper elsewhere.

 

[thefranchise713]

We can agree to disagree, then. There's a lot of great content in the WSM--much of which I wish were in the owner's manual.

The good news is that if an owner wants to do this the "factory right way," they can with FORScan at the cost of an OBD-II and reset all the parameters that are supposed to be reset with a battery swap. And even a shop with a non-Ford OEM tool, like a Snap-On Verus, can do it as well.

But I'll be the first one to tell you that most dealers don't even remember it themselves.

 

[BerndM]

I may of fowled up this post when I first posted it and it ended up in another thread and now is in a thread of it's own. But now I am in the correct thread and will repost it.

Has anyone ever tried a car memory keeper that uses a 9 volt battery and plugs into a power port that is active when the car is off to keep the vehicles memory alive when you change out a battery yourself?

Here are a bunch that I pulled up on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7y8s07w1mj_e

I have a bunch of 14.8v / 5 Ah LIPO batteries I use for my RC hobbies. I made a cable to go from the LIPO battery connector to 2 alligator clips which I clip to the car's battery cables before pulling them off the posts. I have used this method for years to keep everything alive while I swap batteries or clean the battery posts. This has always worked perfectly. I have yet to have a need to try this on my '17 Ex Sport.

 

[Fc porto]

Did the BCM get reset?

Don’t need to.

 

[Fc porto]

Explorers do have it. It's in the manual.

Battery management system
The battery management system (BMS) monitors battery conditions and
takes actions to extend battery life. If excessive battery drain is
detected, the system may temporarily disable certain electrical features
to protect the battery. Those electrical accessories affected include rear
defrost, heated/cooled seats, climate control fan, heated steering wheel,
audio and navigation system. A message may be displayed on the
instrument cluster or center stack display to alert the driver that battery
protection actions are active. See the Information displays in the
Instrument Cluster and Entertainment Systems chapters for more
information. These messages are only for notification that an action is
taking place, and do not necessarily indicate that an electrical problem
exists or that the battery requires replacement.

BTW I think Forscan can reset the BMS.

Do not have to reset Bms.

 

[peterk9]

Don’t need to.

Based on what info are you making those statements?
Don't forget the reply was for a member with a 2013 Explorer. Not the same as a 2016. The 2013 Manual states the following;
After battery replacement, or in some cases after charging the battery with an external charger, the BMS requires eight hours of vehicle sleep time (key off with doors closed) to relearn the new battery state of charge. Prior to relearning state of charge, the BMS may disable electrical features (to protect the battery) earlier than normal.
You won't find that message in the 2016 Manual.

Peter

 

[J_C]

I may of fowled up this post when I first posted it and it ended up in another thread and now is in a thread of it's own. But now I am in the correct thread and will repost it.

Has anyone ever tried a car memory keeper that uses a 9 volt battery and plugs into a power port that is active when the car is off to keep the vehicles memory alive when you change out a battery yourself?

Here are a bunch that I pulled up on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7y8s07w1mj_e

Years ago when all a vehicle had was the ECM and a couple dozen mA to keep memory alive, a 9V battery might have been sufficient but today vehicles use too much current for a 9V to sustain high enough voltage.

Better to use a device, whether professionally made or DIY, that uses larger cells and higher voltage. Depends on what you have already, for example if you own some 18650 Li-Ion powered flashlights (so have batteries for them) and a charger, a self-built pack with 3 x 18650 in a holder like this attached to a lighter plug (for vehicles with always-live lighter plugs, alligator clips to battery cables instead if not live lighter outlet) would work:

Amazon.com

An alternate power source could be a 12V cordless tool battery, jumper cables to another (lawn mower/etc) 12V batt, or a sufficient capacity AC mains powered battery trickle charger (not the unregulated type from decades ago), or a battery jump start pack, or of course there are purpose made packs with batteries included that cost a lot more.

 

[J_C]

Based on what info are you making those statements?
Don't forget the reply was for a member with a 2013 Explorer. Not the same as a 2016. The 2013 Manual states the following;
After battery replacement, or in some cases after charging the battery with an external charger, the BMS requires eight hours of vehicle sleep time (key off with doors closed) to relearn the new battery state of charge. Prior to relearning state of charge, the BMS may disable electrical features (to protect the battery) earlier than normal.
You won't find that message in the 2016 Manual.

Peter

Yes, that's proof you don't need to reset it, just to do as the manual states which is let the vehicle sleep for 8 hours and not worry about the loss of features until then. The vehicle resets itself and all one needs to do is read their manual to realize it.

A shop would reset it so unaware customers don't freak out because they have a new battery and don't understand why the BMS limiting issue isn't resolved yet, so the shop does a "complete", more billable job justifying the premium paid to merely change out a battery.

 

[peterk9]

That just enables relearning but does nothing to clear the existing memory if I understand it correctly.

Check post #4 and the last paragraph in post #5. One confirms the 8 hour 'relearn' while the latter talks about deleting the old memory. Battery Replacement / Upgrade - Battery Re-Learn

Peter

 

[J_C]

^ Existing memory of what? It causes the computer to recognize a new battery and no longer a BMS intervention state, to use the regular charging profile again. What more would you want if the only thing wrong was dying battery?

 

[peterk9]

^ Existing memory of what? It causes the computer to recognize a new battery and no longer a BMS intervention state, to use the regular charging profile again. What more would you want if the only thing wrong was dying battery?

Check post 5 of the link I added in my edited post above.

Peter

 

[J_C]

^ Okay I read #4/5 on the link. It only does that until the 8 hour reset interval.

Notice I have a 2014 like the original poster. Did something change between 2013 and 2014? I have replaced the battery myself (over 3 yrs ago), and did not do the BMS reset, because it did it itself. No problems since.

If someone has a problem and thinks a BMS reset is a magical way to solve it, that won't, besides the BMS message and depowering some unessential circuits. The solution to a problem is still is conventional diagnostics using a scan tool for trouble codes and out of bounds operating conditions.

The only "needs" type situation is about customer expectation and experience (meaning shop-experience, the marketing/customer relations of "leave it all to us"). They don't want comebacks or for the customer to have to know or do anything at all except pay them. That includes reading the owner's manual.

 

[DoogieTop]

I am very interested in this topic too. Is there a Ford person in the forum who can shed light to this BMS reset?

 

[peterk9]

I am very interested in this topic too. Is there a Ford person in the forum who can shed light to this BMS reset?

I don't know what is any specific info you're seeking but the Owner's Manual covers what to do when a new battery is installed.

Peter

 

[J_C]

I am very interested in this topic too. Is there a Ford person in the forum who can shed light to this BMS reset?

If you can't accept the info already provided, I'm sure there's two camps on youtube videos, one being the Ford techs that get paid to do a service for you (shop loyalty), and the other camp being those that don't want to bother taking their vehicle in and paying someone to do it.

Most of us with a 5th gen vehicle over ~3-4 years old have already had to replace the factory battery. BMS reset happens automatically after it sits, is not necessary to have a shop do it except to put at ease an unaware customer and justify the higher expense.

 

[DoogieTop]

Thanks both. I'm interested because I am about to replace mine but probably because I also wanted to replace my flooded batteries with AGM batteries. Slightly off subject but I hear changing battery type requires reset/relearn. Some I read says I can't use different type, some on the contrary. I was actually trying to understand if the BMS is smart enough to 1. Recognize the new battery 2. Recognise it's a different type and adjust its charging according to requirement of the AGM battery if any.

Apolgies if the subject has morphed a bit

 

[VA Sport]

I could be wrong but I believe you can reset the BMS by turning on the accessory power, then flash the high beams 5 times then fully press brake pedal 3 times. The battery light on the dash will then blink 3 times. I do not have forscan so I can not confirm this but it was listed on the F150 forums.

 

[stillmarried]

I could be wrong but I believe you can reset the BMS by turning on the accessory power, then flash the high beams 5 times then fully press brake pedal 3 times. The battery light on the dash will then blink 3 times. I do not have forscan so I can not confirm this but it was listed on the F150 forums.

I tried it on my Explorer three different times and no luck with the battery icon blinking 3 times. The battery icon is red in color, and located o the right of the odometer.