Known1

As an FYI, you can download a PDF copy of your owners manual from here: https://owner.ford.com/tools/account...r-manuals.html

I scoured through the manual for my 2016 and didn't find anything on where to connect a charger/tender. There are specific instructions on how to jump start the vehicle, but nothing on how to charge the battery. This is the only place the word "charger" shows up in my 2016 manual:
Battery Management System (If
Equipped)
The battery management system monitors
battery conditions and takes actions to
extend battery life. If excessive battery
drain is detected, the system temporarily
disables some electrical systems to
protect the battery.
Systems included are:
• Heated rear window.
• Heated seats.
• Climate control.
• Heated steering wheel.
• Audio unit.
• Navigation system.
A message may appear in the information
displays to alert you that battery
protection actions are active. These
messages are only for notification that an
action is taking place, and not intended to
indicate an electrical problem or that the
battery requires replacement.
After battery replacement, or in some
cases after charging the battery with an
external charger, the battery management
system requires eight hours of vehicle sleep
time to relearn the battery state of charge.
During this time your vehicle must remain
fully locked with the ignition switched off.
Note: Prior to relearning the battery state
of charge, the battery management system
may temporarily disable some electrical
systems.

seventyeight

I've used Battery Tenders for many years on my vehicles, tractors, generators, etc. My truck basically gets used once a week. When I upgraded to my '15 I decided to not use the tender on it for the reason shown above here. I just don't know how the tender will interact with the battery management system in this truck so will do without on this one.

stormsearch

2015 F150 5.0L specifically uses an SLI battery with Hall Effect Sensor. It is a doughnut looking module wrapped around the negative B- cable near the battery. Look in your jump start procedure of the manual and should recommend a negative connection point, can't remember if we submitted a location for the 15MY. You can connect directly to B+ but suggest to connect to engine ground so the Hall Sensor can measure charging voltage to accurately monitor true Battery SOC. But, overall it really does not have an effect on vehicle functionality. It could limit fuel economy charge modes, limit timers for power point operation or radio extended play. I do recommend charging our batteries periodically.

todd92

I have multiple 'smart' battery chargers. Some with an AGM setting. None of them charged the AGM battery in the Ford correctly. I just bought a BatteryMINDer AGM specific charger and the battery is now fully charged. No need to reset the BMS or the like. *** works again, no more 'vehicle charging' message.

2015rubyFX4

I have many classic musclecars that sit for months at a time and Ive used battery tenders, Noco Genus and Ctek maintainers on them. Ive had a battery tender malfunction and cook a battery and so has a few friends. No more tenders for me. Now only Noco's and cteks and are very happy with them. I use a Noco on my F150 as it sits for days at a time. Original battery is still fine too with the maintainer on it. I just hook em to the two terminals

rsylvstr

StonedFX4

I've had BT's cook a couple batteries on me, so I use Battery Minders on my ZTR, boat with 4 batteries, and cars. I check the water levels on a regular basis and no issues with the BM's at all. I hooked up a "smart" Schumacher 6amp charger to my truck when I first got it to charge up the battery good. Connected straight to the battery terminals, and did not get any "warnings or issues" from that action. Did not even know the truck had this BMS on it.

rsylvstr

hollidayt

2016 XLT, 302a, 2.7, 24 months in service, 16000miles.
I've received the "system off-save battery" messages at least twice a week now. Using the scope function of forscan, I find different charging modes at work (conventional, refresh battery, regen). What exactly are these modes doing? Put vehicle to bed Sunday night with 40% state of charge. Monday morn forscan said 15% and start was normal, and batt charged up during the days activities. After start, volts stay 14.9-14.5, and charging current drops to 2 amps within 10 minutes. Truck gets 12-16 hours of undisturbed sleep every night. I have to think that the system has lost its calibration of SOC. Can this be recalibrated without a hard reset? Somewhere I read that disconnecting the batt for several minutes would accomplish a "soft reset". If any of our electrical gurus wish to weigh in on this, I'll be glad to post the forscan traces.
Thanks,
Tom

tvsjr

The BMS is smart, but it overthinks sometimes. The SOC shouldn't be dropping 25% overnight (that's about 15A consumed, or, assuming 10 hours, about 1.5Ah continuous - well beyond what the truck's parasitic load should be). I'd measure the battery voltage and bedtime and first thing in the morning... there's a decent chance you have a battery that's self-discharging, probably due to one cell that's failed/reversed, necessitating replacement.