How to install a permanent trickle charger on new F150 Lariat 2023. Also how can I have the Battery/Alternator level on the screen steering wheel?

[AndreB]

Hello everyone
I am new to the Ford community. I traded in last week my old GMC 2500 HD 6.0L V8 2012 for a new Ford F-150 Lariat 5.0L 2023 (built in November 2023).

I always had battery drainage issues with my GMC. So I installed a permanently hooked up trickle charger (Noco Genius Gen5x1) on it and plugged it in once in a while. I am planing to do the same with my new F-150.

My old GMC did had have all of this new fancy technology that F-150 has. For instance, the Battery Management System (BMS) and battery information State of Charge (SOC). The hook up of the trickle charger was straight forward.

I would like to take advantage of the wisdom of you long term Ford owners for the correct installation of the trickle charger leads (directly on the battery terminals positif and negative, the positive directly on the positive battery terminal and the negative on the top of the BMS or the positive on top of the positive battery terminal main power cable and the negative under the BMS) or any other way to hookup the charger's lead correctly?

Added question… how can I have the Battery voltage/Alternator voltage in the screen behind the steering wheel?

Thank you in advance for any help.
Andre

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[RancidRacer]

Based on the wisdom gleaned from this forum, I have my battery monitor mounted between the positive battery terminal and the top of the BMS. When I trickle charge, I do so between the positive battery terminal and a convenient chassis ground connection.

 

[gagliano7]

I just put it on the positive and negative terminal. I have a Shumacher maintainer and i have charged it 4 times so far with no problems.

 

[AndreB]

I have been checking on my trickle charger and see that when the truck has been stopped for a while and I then pop the hood to check on the charging level, it is down at 25%. It’s like if when the truck has been stopped for a while, the BMS seems to open the circuit and prevent the charger to charge at 100%. Am I dreaming or the BMS is actually cutting open the charging circuit?? I installed the negative leed of the charger on top of the BMS on the negative side of the battery. Should I install that charger leed under the BMS?? Thanks ahead for any inputs.

 

[powerboatr]

no to the BATTERY or charge thing on the instrument panel

 

[currybob]

Not much help you but your choice of the NOCO was the right move. Have used several of their products and they are top notch.

 

[Blue22]

Check the link to see how I installed an onboard NOCO charger similar to yours.
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/battery-maintainer.21728/#post-417668

I swapped out the onboard charger with one that I wall-mounted but the way they get hooked up is still the same. Here is a picture showing the two locations where you can connect the negative cable.

 

[AndreB]

Thank you Blue22, this is exactly where I hooked up my Noco Trickle charger. I guess that my intuition was spot on.

I am a little bit disappointed that I can not have a reading of the battery/alternator voltage on the driver gauge cluster. My old 2012 GMC pickup had it.

 

[Old Hat]

I recently plugged this meter into my cigarette lighter to monitor voltage. I've been seeing 12-12.1 prior to start after it's been sitting for a day or more, and 14.8-15.1 once it's been started. I've seen it drop to 13 something at times when driving. If it starts to vary from this I'll notice that something may be wrong.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JA627KU?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

I believe you can also monitor the battery on the dash by entering engineering mode, but I never bothered to try. The plug in unit is easier since it can just be left in. It'll shut down after several minutes when truck is off.

I only hook up my NOCO Genius 1 if the truck sat for a week. Charge overnight and remove. I'm not going to be a slave to charging and I believe leaving it on a maintainer all the time is detrimental to the system... BMS sees full charge so it cuts run time charging. If my battery can't last a week without supplemental charging I'll get a new one. So far so good.

 

[KTM753]

Another option to monitor the battery is the BM2 that a lot of us here use. It's hardware that sits on top of the battery and connects via Bluetooth to your Apple or Android phone. Very small current draw when F150 is off. Monitor battery voltage at anytime within 10 ft of truck. I can do it inside my house.

QUICKLYNKS Auto Battery Monitor BM2 Bluetooth 4.0 12V Device Car Battery Tester https://a.co/d/gDIXh01

From the app, my current battery voltage with truck off.

 

[gagliano7]

Thank you Blue22, this is exactly where I hooked up my Noco Trickle charger. I guess that my intuition was spot on.

I am a little bit disappointed that I can not have a reading of the battery/alternator voltage on the driver gauge cluster. My old 2012 GMC pickup had it.

Buy one of those cheap plug ins for the laptop port from Amazon. Iliked them so much i put them in all my vehicles.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N4WKJMT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[Diligenthunter]

120 plug in wheel well.

Mounted to fuse block with Velcro tabs.

 

[AndreB]

Buy one of those cheap plug ins for the laptop port from Amazon. Iliked them so much i put them in all my vehicles.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N4WKJMT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Hello, just my grain of salt. You might look into the Noco Gen5 series.

https://no.co/gen5x1

This version is smaller then the regular 5 amps Noco charger. Has temperature compensation, is IP68 waterproof, lead acid/AGM/Lithium/repair mode.

https://no.co/gcp1

Also, I installed 2 Noco external plugs on the plastic part of the front bumper (between the shell and the bottom steel bumper). I drilled a 2 inches hole, just below the head lights. With this, I have a permanent solution for plugging and extension for either the charger or the block heater.

 

[Diligenthunter]

Hello, just my grain of salt. You might look into the Noco Gen5 series.

https://no.co/gen5x1

This version is smaller then the regular 5 amps Noco charger. Has temperature compensation, is IP68 waterproof, lead acid/AGM/Lithium/repair mode.

https://no.co/gcp1

Also, I installed 2 Noco external plugs on the plastic part of the front bumper (between the shell and the bottom steel bumper). I drilled a 2 inches hole, just below the head lights. With this, I have a permanent solution for plugging and extension for either the charger or the block heater.

The 5 amp is perfect for most people, however if you ever plan on doing your own truck software updates I would recommend the 10 amp.

https://no.co/genpro10x1

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