Charging voltage high 15 on average. Need cold weather feedback (Minnesota) Battery already replaced.

[idontknow]

So i replaced my battery after a couple errors popped and given the age (close to 4 years) Replaced it with the Oreillys whatever their expensive one is. Anywho temps have been super low and maybe im just being paranoid. I only drive about 3-4 miles to work. I did the bms reset using the flashers/break pedal method.

It still is charging at 15-15.2 most of the time. I dont feel like it charged that high last winter when it was this cold though maybe it didnt get this cold? I might be just overly paranoid after having it charge this high and having had the issues with the previous battery that now Im just noticing it.

Looking for confirmation that that is normal for the temps its been and my driving habits before calling the dealer to make an appointment.

Thanks!

Edit for new people reading
Put battery on a tender last night. Voltage this morning was 13.9 whole way to work. Will see what it is tonight when I leave. Gonna put it on a tender again tonight.

edit 2-28

Been a while now. Still doing mostly short drives to work. I threw it on a battery tender every couple day for about week.

Temps have been around 20F on average with some fairly chilly nights below 10 when I’m leaving work.

Now i didn’t take notes every day but id say roughly this is what i was observing
60% of the time around 14v
25% of the time around 13v (around 13.2-13.3)
15% of the time around 15v

it seems to fluctuate more than I remember like I’ll cruise around while it’s sitting at 13.3 and then it will blip to 15 for a few seconds and will notice it do that a couple times but only on the super cold nights now I’ve ll noticed where it’s sat at 15 and generally fell to 14.8.

it’s been at least 2.5 weeks now since I put it on a tender.

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[PWillette]

So i replaced my battery after a couple errors popped and given the age (close to 4 years) Replaced it with the Oreillys whatever their expensive one is. Anywho temps have been super low and maybe im just being paranoid. I only drive about 3-4 miles to work. I did the bms reset using the flashers/break pedal method.

It still is charging at 15-15.2 most of the time. I dont feel like it charged that high last winter when it was this cold though maybe it didnt get this cold? I might be just overly paranoid after having it charge this high and having had the issues with the previous battery that now Im just noticing it.

Looking for confirmation that that is normal for the temps its been and my driving habits before calling the dealer to make an appointment.

Thanks!

Pretty normal in my experience. 3-4 miles of driving isn't going to be enough time for the alternator to fully charge. Typically I won't see my volts drop unless I drive at least 20-30 miles.

 

[Brian_B]

Can you put it on a tender/battery minder overnight? That would top it off without having to put miles on it.

Note - if you are coasting to where the engine is braking, like downhill - it's totally normal to see 15V+ the entire time until you need to press the accelerator again. Part of the BMS strategy to kinda sorta do regenerative braking

 

[idontknow]

Can you put it on a tender/battery minder overnight? That would top it off without having to put miles on it.

Note - if you are coasting to where the engine is braking, like downhill - it's totally normal to see 15V+ the entire time until you need to press the accelerator again. Part of the BMS strategy to kinda sorta do regenerative braking

My drive is baaasically 30mph straight shot 3.5 miles each way.

I was looking for my battery tender last night… its somewhere with my battery for my kayak fish finder… hopefully dig that out tonight to try.

Ive tried different things..downshifting to engine brake to stop lights to get it to try to charge better.. regular braking. Doesnt seem to budge off that 15 Voltage. When I hit accessory button on the battery reads around 12.2 - 12.4 after sitting for a while.

 

[Brian_B]

My drive is baaasically 30mph straight shot 3.5 miles each way.

I was looking for my battery tender last night… its somewhere with my battery for my kayak fish finder… hopefully dig that out tonight to try.

Yeah thats a fairly short trip. Hope the tender sorts it out for you

 

[GoHawks63]

Not to mention, who knows how long that battery was sitting on a shelf. As was mentioned, battery tender or take a nice long drive.

 

[LSW]

I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe the voltage is “inferred” like the oil temperature . I’m about 1000 miles north of you and the batteries get to 15 volts sometimes. Maybe take it for a longer drive on the way home once or twice per week or take a long drive on the weekend a few times a month.

 

[BroncoChallenger]

As others have said, you're not really driving it enough to put much of a recharge back into that battery. You're going to need to get driving it more for longer distances, or put it on a tender...which might be your better bet given your situation.

I drive about 30 miles to work, don't take the Bronco every day but usually it's at 15 or so when driving, until I'm close to work when it drops to about 14.5. My truck, which gets driven pretty much every day, will spike to 15 for a little while but usually drops back to 14-14.5 even before the motor is fully warmed up, and it's charging TWO batteries (though I'll admit I also have two alternators, so we're not apples to apples).

 

[Rydfree]

I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe the voltage is “inferred” like the oil temperature . I’m about 1000 miles north of you and the batteries get to 15 volts sometimes. Maybe take it for a longer drive on the way home once or twice per week or take a long drive on the weekend a few times a month.

My Bronco app has given me the shutting down features message quite often ever since day one. I finally installed a small round voltage meter in my console right beside the window switches in my 2dr. I just tapped the hot wire at the switches to power it. It lets me see the voltage through the window for a few minutes if I put my hands on the door handle and then it goes back to sleep. It reads the same as the factory gauge cluster most of the time. It's within 0.1v the rest of the time and that matches checking the battery with the Fluke multimeter. My '23 Badlands has to stay on a battery tender if it is going to sit more than a couple days or if I don't drive it for at least a 30 minute trip each week. My work commute is very similar to the OP's. From garage to parking at work is exactly 3 miles. With cranking the engine, the heater going, usually cranking the stereo up during that time and during this time of year I have my Aux lights on to watch for deer whenever it is safe to do so. It starts to show 15v charging very quickly. If when I shut it off and that little voltage gauge goes down below 12.4 I go ahead and stick the battery tender on it. most of the time it goes down to 12.4-12.6v. At this point I'm just waiting to see how long I can make the OEM battery last

 

[BroncoDave24]

Remember that the colder it is, the higher the voltage needs to be to achieve a full charge on the battery. All modern auto voltage regulators take this into account. If it was 80°, that 15 volts would overcharge the battery. At 0°, the battery may need more than 15v. to fully charge.

 

[tvagell]

This is an intereting thread. Here is my experience - I have a 2024 Wildtrak that only gets driven on weekends. For the first year or so, it always read about 14.3 to 14.8 volts. It also always went to sleep within 2 days or less. I put it on a battery tender a few months ago keeping it on all week, and it still reads about 14.3 volts when I start it up, and after driving for about 20 miles it will drop to about 13.6 to 13.9. It has never gone below that, even after a 10 hour high speed highway drive.

 

[BroncoDave24]

This is an intereting thread. Here is my experience - I have a 2024 Wildtrak that only gets driven on weekends. For the first year or so, it always read about 14.3 to 14.8 volts. It also always went to sleep within 2 days or less. I put it on a battery tender a few months ago keeping it on all week, and it still reads about 14.3 volts when I start it up, and after driving for about 20 miles it will drop to about 13.6 to 13.9. It has never gone below that, even after a 10 hour high speed highway drive.

Also remember that the state of the battery charge will also be a factor in the voltage output of the regulator. State of charge and ambient temperature are both important to maintain top charge and not overcharge. 13.6 to 13.9 is the PERFECT float voltage for a battery system that is near fully charged and running at a 65° to 75° ambient temp range. We are talking about the actual temperature of the physical battery. Outside temp could be much different then the ambient temp around the battery. They are usually in the engine bay and can be heated by the engine. That "heating" has to be taken into account by the regulator as well.

 

[tvagell]

Good point, I should have also added that my Bronco sits in a heated/cooled garage most of the time at 60 to 65* because its also my woodworking shop. Thanks for the info, it sounds like mid to high 13's is the normal voltaage.

 

[dougcjohn]

Seems like this is a common problem with newer "full electronic" featured vehicles. To add to issue, the Ford AGM Batteries seem to be poor.

New on the Bronco6G, more Super Duty and Diesel. My 2024 F450 6.7 Diesel Dual Battery is not a daily driver, won't even get fired up if not driving it to full engine temps due to diesel. The AGM Batteries were also dropping to 11.x zone, and I'd trickle charge them back. If not, it'd display a few electrical issues / msg.

Placed them on a Noco trickle charger, batteries would show 12.8-13.8 on avg.. and it would still show 15V charging for 20-40 minutes of driving, then settle down to 13.8 to 14.4v.

I replaced the 1 Year Ford AGM batteries with XS Power AGM (D6500), and the drainage drop and time to recharge seemed to greatly improve. I think any quality battery other than Ford's OEM may provide better service and charge cycles. (just a share out of context: On the F450 Dually, installed 1x D6500 and 1x SuperCapacity SB500-65. Starts & spins so much quicker (1-2 seconds) and recharges SuperCap in a few seconds, keeping Battery full capacity and off the hard amp pulls).

If the Braptor shows the same drainage & charge issues, I'll probably not mess with it and just replace the Ford AGM.

 

[Brian_B]

Just from my observations - the Bronco BMS has four states that it cycles through:

15V+ “High Charge” - you see this if the battery SOC is really low (I don’t know the exact figure, maybe 50%?), or during “regenerative braking” events, or sometimes immediately after starting the engine

~14.5V “Charge” - this is when the BMS is just topping off the battery trying to hit that 80% SOC with a slow and steady charge rate

~13.5V “Float” - alternator is carrying all the vehicle load but not actually charging the battery. Means you are right around that 80% SOC mark

~12.5V “Battery Only” - you will see this mostly when ASS kicks in (obviously since alternator isnt spinning) but it can also pop up while driving, Bronco shuts off the alternator and lets the battery draw down some because it has exceeded 80% SOC

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