2023 Powerboost -- how to keep batteries charged if I don't drive much daily

[krony506]

I bought a new Lariat on May 4th and I am having a lot of battery trouble because I only drive 1 mile to work. I have to put it on charge every weekend. Mad I have only put a little over 200 miles on the truck. I explained to the dealer I don’t drive many miles and I feel he should have never sold me this truck. I did not educate myself enough on this powerboost. So how do I keep the batteries charged or solve this problem. Thank you for the help in advanced.

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[Snakebitten]

In my opinion, you will have to address 12V battery maintenance if you are going to be making 1 mile trips. Trickle charger is the simplest approach.
It's the price for all the "never really asleep" technology in the truck.

Just tell yourself you purchased a high strung exotic Italian car for the occasional weekend driving?

And enjoy the truck.
It's a beauty

 

[turbopilot]

In my opinion, you will have to address 12V battery maintenance if you are going to be making 1 mile trips. Trickle charger is the simplest approach.

I question whether any vehicle, much less a hybrid, could maintain an adequate battery SOC with daily 1 mile trips. Hardly able to recharge the amp draw from a start up sequence in that distance. Charging the battery is not the only issue to consider. An ICE that never gets up to operating temperatures is yet another.

Sounds like a nice 1 mile walk to work would be the best solution for this situation.

 

[krony506]

In my opinion, you will have to address 12V battery maintenance if you are going to be making 1 mile trips. Trickle charger is the simplest approach.
It's the price for all the "never really asleep" technology in the truck.

Just tell yourself you purchased a high strung exotic Italian car for the occasional weekend driving?

And enjoy the truck.
It's a beauty

I love the truck I just need to understand the best way to put an onboard trickle/maintain battery charger on the truck. This way I can just unplug and go.

 

[turbopilot]

I love the truck I just need to understand the best way to put an onboard trickle/maintain battery charger on the truck. This way I can just unplug and go.

The 12 volt battery is really not the primary concern. That battery is fed by the high voltage battery. With one mile trips the HV battery will not maintain a reasonable state of charge, unless you leave the engine running for a period of time. That battery will only charge with the engine running or by the truck braking/coasting.

Given your situation you really need an OBD device to monitor your low voltage and high voltage state of charge to make sure they are at acceptable levels when you park the truck.

 

[RickBullotta]

I question whether any vehicle, much less a hybrid, could maintain an adequate battery SOC with daily 1 mile trips. Hardly able to recharge the amp draw from a start up sequence in that distance. Charging the battery is not the only issue to consider. An ICE that never gets up to operating temperatures is yet another.

Sounds like a nice 1 mile walk to work would be the best solution for this situation.

My cars (2018 and a 2021) have both gone an entire winter without needing a trickle charger and started first pop in the spring.

 

[Samson16]

I am having a lot of battery trouble

First off, beautiful truck sir!

I suggest replacing the main 12V under hood battery with a comparable non Motorcraft AGM battery, and then every couple weeks run it in generator mode for 4 hours unless you go for a good long drive.

 

[Nasto]

I bought a new Lariat on May 4th and I am having a lot of battery trouble because I only drive 1 mile to work. I have to put it on charge every weekend. Mad I have only put a little over 200 miles on the truck. I explained to the dealer I don’t drive many miles and I feel he should have never sold me this truck. I did not educate myself enough on this powerboost. So how do I keep the batteries charged or solve this problem. Thank you for the help in advanced.

This 4 amp works wonders for me.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-Selectable-Lithium-Charge/dp/B07XMJDJX7/ref=sr_1_31?crid=3RFY9YSPD781Y&keywords=battery+conditioner+4+amps&qid=1693430245&sprefix=battery+conditioner+4+amps,aps,174&sr=8-31

 

[Snakebitten]

First off, beautiful truck sir!

I suggest replacing the main 12V under hood battery with a comparable non Motorcraft AGM battery, and then every couple weeks run it in generator mode for 4 hours unless you go for a good long drive.

Honestly, putting the truck in generator mode however often the 12V battery needs it to stay at 12.4 or better, isn't a bad strategy.

The whole time that truck is sitting with the ICE off, not sipping an ounce of fuel, it's charging the 12V battery.

So imagine driving 30 miles at 30mph average. That'd be a decent run to keep the battery alive.
Well in generator mode out in the driveway, that's one hour, with only about 5 minutes of actual ICE.

Having said that though, that 3.5 Ecoboost really needs to reach operating temps often enough to burn off any fuel dilution. Generator mode for just 1 hour isn't an ideal substitute.

 

[HammaMan]

HVAC blower 5

 

[krony506]

I question whether any vehicle, much less a hybrid, could maintain an adequate battery SOC with daily 1 mile trips. Hardly able to recharge the amp draw from a start up sequence in that distance. Charging the battery is not the only issue to consider. An ICE that never gets up to operating temperatures is yet another.

Sounds like a nice 1 mile walk to work would be the best solution for this situation.

The road I live on would get me killed Lolol!!

HVAC blower 5

is that legit?

 

[Snakebitten]

HVAC blower 5

Even on 10 it wouldn't be enough for 1 mile.

 

[turbopilot]

HVAC blower 5

Clearly that will help but assuming he covers that 1 mile to work at 25 miles per hour, that is only 2 1/2 minutes of engine run time.

 

[Davexxxx]

For a one mile commute, other than enabling eco idle and not shutting the truck until the ICE turns off, is all I've got.

 

[Samson16]

HVAC blower 5

Absolutely!

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