Opened my door this morning and was greeted to the following message on the sync 3 screen.



Not sure what it is supposed to mean. I hadn't even put the key in the ignition yet. All lights were off. Maybe battery is going bad???

Any ideas?

Thanks,
John

 

Means that the APIM shut itself down to conserve battery power, after the BMS noticed a drop in battery levels, to ensure that the vehicle starts. If it continues, you may need to have the battery tested and possibly have the BMS manually reset.

 

Ok, thanks. Is the blue/grey line indicative of anything?

John

 

My guess battery going bad, or just not getting changed enough. Many posts of quirky things in the electronics. I would have it tested, but If I had a charger, I'd probably start with ensuring it was fully charged if able to.

 

It's a timer until the truck will shut off.

If you see this message quickly after turning off the truck (for example only a few minutes), you may need a new battery. The BMS, or Battery Management System, will shut off systems to save power to save the truck from being unable to start.

Also, if you've replaced the battery, there's a procedure to "relearn" a new battery with the BMS.

 

Ok thanks. Any insight as to what that procedure is in case those who do the battery replacement don’t know how? Don’t have access to my manual right now to see if it’s in there.

John

 

Do you do a lot of short trips? If so, take it for a good hour tour of your favorite spot. BMS won't tell the alternator to charge until it has reached a certain voltage. If you do short trips, the battery never gets a chance to fully charge. There are a lot of people that complain about this because it usually happens while the significant other goes into the store while they wait in the truck and want to listen to the radio. Can't because of this.

Some people, including myself, have disconnected the BMS sensor which then makes the system charge like they did before the BMS existed. The added benefit I found on my truck that it also disables the auto start-stop feature as well.

 

The best way to do it is with Forscan. You should also allow the truck to sit 8 hours untouched after replacing the battery to let it relearn the battery state.

 

OP signature says "Auto Start/Stop disabled (FORScan)". Sorry, I don't know the ins and outs but have read here that if that's the case that BMS is disabled. To what degree, I haven't found. Seems like the system still functions somewhat, or maybe there are conservation functions outside the BMS which makes sense because it shouldn't need any complicated system for monitoring voltage. Like for mine with the sensor unplugged I'll get a message on FordPass that the modem is turning off if the truck hasn't started in a while to conserve battery.

Anyway, if A.S.S. and thus BMS is turned off with FORSCAN, is it still required to do anything when installing a new battery as long as it's the same kind/AH/CCA? I'm talking about the dealer type system reset for a new battery, not the doors locked SOC relearn that's only used after charging a battery or disconnecting it or whatever.