2015 Lariat, starting to get the battery charging system service notification on every start. Check for voltage, consistently 13,6 volts at the battery. Getting advice to check/replace the battery current sensor. Supposedly on the negative battery cable. Nothing on it. Any ideas?

 

Any codes?

 

Haven't got that far. Just found the sensor a bit ago.

 

Be aware that you likely have the Type-1 sensor in your truck. In 2015-16, only the 2.7L EcoBoost came with the more advanced Type-2 sensor. The sensor monitors current flow into and out of the battery. The PCM actually controls the charging level of the alternator. I doubt your problem is the sensor. You should really perform a DTC scan to find out what the problem is.

 

Not sure why your first thought is the sensor. That type of sensor is very robust and not prone to failure. I'd be looking at codes.

 

I asked a question elsewhere and the sensor was mentioned in a response. Was a logical explanation to me.

 

Had Advance run a code test today. No codes detected. He then put a battery tester on it, all normal. Start truck, within a couple minutes I get the audible alert with the large display in the cluster and the battery indicator below. Hit the ok button, the large display goes out but the battery indicator stays lit. Shut off truck, restart and repeat. No history.

I'm done with this truck. It has 170K and has served it's purpose. Need to find and fix this issue to get me through a trade in......

 

Honestly, the battery current sensor was a guess by someone and my guess is that's wrong. We can suggest some possible, known, issues but anything besides knowing the trouble code is a guess.

The Charging System warning message can appear for several, different, reasons. The PCM controls and monitors the alternator via two direct lines. The PCM sends commands to the alternator and then receives error and load status from the alternator. If the PCM detects an issue with the comm line or a fault from the alternator, it can cause a charging system warning message. In that event, it will default to a 13.5 set charge after the first 2K RPM if the alternator can still output a charge. The 2K RPM is required to self-excite the alternator to begin charging during the error condition.

If you didn't get a trouble code, I suspect Advanced may not have been able to read the Ford OBD 2 data and only generic OBD 2 or they didn't know how? If the message is appearing, there should be a trouble code set.

 

There are lots of special Ford DTCs that don't come up on a basic scanner. I've seen non-standard codes for stuff like heated seat module, burned out turn signal, other random stuff that my 2 basic code readers don't see, but Forscan does. A Ford dealer will be able to read those codes for sure. Otherwise an independent shop with a good scan tool. I'd say buy a Forscan cable and scan it yourself, but if you want the truck gone it's probably not worth your time.

Anyway... If I were to speculate, I'd say your truck needs an alternator.

I really doubt a bad sensor would keep the system from charging. In fact, unplugging the sensor entirely is one of the tricks to disable auto-stop/start on the newer trucks.

 

Great info today, thank you very much. Going to the repair shop tomorrow to see if he has the correct diagnostic machine. In some of my searches I found an instance where the alternator wires were rubbing on the transmission coolant lines and one actually separated. Just so happens I had my coolant lines replaced recently. Maybe.....