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You would pay upwards of $400 for a programmer and a custom tune to disable the charging system?
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If I had the money laying around, I'd be ordering right now. I wouldn't mind having a tune anyhow...and these "nannies" on the truck are borderline ridiculous. My family can't even listen to the radio while I run in and pick up McDonald's because the system doesn't charge the battery enough to let it run more than 3-5 minutes.
Problematic electric steering, an air dam that hangs down 6", "smart" charging that won't charge the battery 100%, vacuum hub system that fails....and it's still a 15 MPG truck anyhow. What exactly was Ford thinking? It really is irritating.
Did some Internet searching on Smart Charge. The funny thing is it was supposed to extend battery life when in fact it does just the opposite. It might work fine for those who drive their vehicle everyday. But many of us don't. I won't let mine sit for more then 2 days in the winter and three or four in the summer. Many unnecessary trips just to keep the battery charged.
Did some Internet searching on Smart Charge. The funny thing is it was supposed to extend battery life when in fact it does just the opposite. It might work fine for those who drive their vehicle everyday. But many of us don't. I won't let mine sit for more then 2 days in the winter and three or four in the summer. Many unnecessary trips just to keep the battery charged.
I just got one of these, plug it in when I park my truck, unplug it when you are ready to use it again. Works like a charm (when you remember to unplug it)
I don't know why people are having trouble with this. My truck sits for weeks at a time in summer and winter both, more so in the winter. The only time I've had any problem was my own fault, my truck sat for better than a month in single digit temps and less, yep, the batt was dead and I had to jump it. That happened twice, I'm a slow learner.
I plan on just leaving things alone. Like most electronic/computer things I'm not friendly with, or they with me.
I do have a trickle charger mounted next to the batt, but I don't remember if I've ever used it. And I do have to reroute the ground connection off the batt and to a body ground. Haven't gotten around to that either.
Last edited by johnday in BFE; 06-22-2017 at 09:13 AM.
Did some Internet searching on Smart Charge. The funny thing is it was supposed to extend battery life when in fact it does just the opposite. It might work fine for those who drive their vehicle everyday. But many of us don't. I won't let mine sit for more then 2 days in the winter and three or four in the summer. Many unnecessary trips just to keep the battery charged.
... because you won't add a ~$40 trickle charger to keep the battery topped up. You'd rather spend more in gas and wear and tear?
I don't know why people are having trouble with this. My truck sits for weeks at a time in summer and winter both, more so in the winter. The only time I've had any problem was my own fault, my truck sat for better than a month in single digit temps and less, yep, the batt was dead and I had to jump it. That happened twice, I'm a slow learner.
I plan on just leaving things alone. Like most electronic/computer things I'm not friendly with, or they with me.
I do have a trickle charger mounted next to the batt, but I don't remember if I've ever used it. And I do have to reroute the ground connection off the batt and to a body ground. Haven't gotten around to that either.
I only connect mine when the truck is going to be sitting for a week or two, I usually have no issues if it sits for a couple of days. I think my biggest drains are the kicker sub and speaker amp standby.
The dealership was nice enough to move my trickle charger connection to a ground point when they replaced the battery a couple of weeks ago, due to a bad cell.
I have let mine sit for a week and no problems starting it. Also have listened to the radio for 20 minutes with the truck off and not had any problems. Battery is the original and have had the truck over 3 yrs.
06-22-2017, 05:19 AM
