Concerning Issues With 2013 Explorer Limited 4WD

[FordService]

Thanks all, yep as I mentioned I wanted to be sure so have the tow and appointment set for tomorrow and will report back on what is found. From what I read on other threads, the battery IS covered by warranty ? This vehicle only has about 25k on it and have had it from new. Thanks again

How did things go at the dealership today, Wildcat_1? Let me know if you need any additional help.

Crystal

 

[MarkM]

Something to think about is all the electronics in these vehicles. EVERYTHING is electronic now, and as such puts a huge load on the battery, and in turn the alternator. I'd look into a high CCA(cold cranking amps) and look into a larger alternator.

FWIW, a lot of emergency vehicles that we do installs on, and ALL the vehicles my work has, have a secondary battery installed and a larger than stock alternator. With all the added load, it can't hurt to upgrade.

 

[Halwg]

When I replace my battery, I'm buying the biggest honking battery I can find. I think the stock battery is pretty wimpy for this type of vehicle. I'm surprised it would last 3 years.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I know living in AZ, we are lucky to get 2 years from OEM batteries, Aftermarket seem to be stronger but that pushes you out to 3+/- years.

 

[Wildcat_1]

All

Thanks for the replies and help as always. I wanted to post a quick update. After the Ex was towed yesterday to the dealer, they jumped on it straight away which was fantastic to hear. I shared all the info I had seen along with what i had attempted (trickle charge overnight that didn't do anything, driving for 30+ mins without any juice being added, having to jump to get it to start etc) and explained that based on that would like them to check all charging/starting related systems of course up to and including the battery. After about 2 hours I received a call back and sure enough they confirmed that the everything else looked good but the battery was dead.

Was impressed that they swapped it out for one of the better Rotorcraft batteries, BXT-65-650 with 650 CCAs. I had them re-check the entire system before picking up and all again was cleared. Nice service and great to get one of the higher CCA Rotorcraft batteries.

BTW for reference I did ask the dealer about paying to upgrade (the difference between what they would put in vs what I may want) and they agreed to do it if I wanted. Once I learned about which battery they were putting in however I thought I might as well leave it as is.

Thanks again all

 

[Bobs2018ExplorerSport]

My 2018's stock 650CCA Motorcraft battery started to not hold a full charge very long, at about 2 years of age. I not only replaced it with a new Motorcraft one, but I also upgraded it to the 750CCA version that comes in the PIU's, since the physical size and post replacements are identical to the smaller version. I did this because I wanted to have a little more cranking reserve, due to having a couple of high-power 2-way radios in my vehicle.

Of course, after swapping-out the battery, I then went in to the ECM via FORScan and changed the expected-battery parameter codes to the larger battery, and also "attempted" to do a BMS "reset" via the FORScan software, but for some reason, the BMS Reset process didn't appear to be successful, even after multiple tries.

SO, I then tried resetting the BMS using the "manual reset" procedure (involving the key, headlight switch, brake pedal, and a lot of chanting, etc.) and got feedback from the dash lights that it was eventually successful...