OTA Update not working?

[Atlee]

The battery situation is kind of a quandary.

In a traditional viewpoint, you wouldn't consider the battery faulty or unhealthy since it's primary function is (was) to be able to provide the 12V current sufficient to start the trucks motor.

The problem with this brave new world of OTA, is for these updates to succeed on a truck parked out in a driveway, that 12V battery needs to be at a charged state pretty much equivalent to a brand new battery at all times. (Far higher charge rate than necessary to start a vehicle)

That's a tall order for a battery in a vehicle that has not been driven frequently and for sufficient distances, especially if it's a highly optioned truck with lots of features and potential parasitic draws, as small as they might be.

As you know, we've had some discussions concerning downloading, or in my case non downloading OTA's. Even though my truck is relatively new could this be my problem and could a battery charger be a solution?

 

[JamesT]

I just ran into this problem as well.

After several attempts of the OTA update not working I went to Ford to ask questions and when the service advisor told me my battery had low voltage, not a tech, from the service desk computer I became very curious. Everything seemed to be working just fine except the auto stop/start didn’t seem to work as consistent as it once did, subtle. During day-to-day operations, the battery gave no indication of a problem.

I went to Batteries Plus and O’Reilly’s to check the battery and it checked out well. Good voltage, good CCA, and Batteries Plus said my battery had a 79% state of charge (SOC) and gave it a good bill of health.

Using FORScan I began monitoring the voltage, amps, and state of charge. Battery voltage looked to be charging well and the amperage appeared to be good. But, during the auto stop/start events, the battery voltage would drop to about 9.5 volts during the restarts, which seemed low.

The battery’s SOC was at 74%. I charged the battery, for a day, on a Battery Tender hoping the OTA update worked and it did not, and the SOC only went up to 78%. I then charged the battery again for two days with no joy. The battery would not go above 79% SOC. The truck was bought JAN2021, only 20 months old.

I put a new battery in and within 30 miles the SOC was at 100% and the OTA update was a success.

Here is some interesting info. After the battery replacement, I continued to monitor with FORScan and this is what I learned: The battery voltage and the amperage aligned far better and were smoother on the oscilloscope, the SOC now will rapidly increase after auto stop/start events, and the voltage during restarts will drop to about 10 volts which I guess is normal.

It appears the battery condition is dependent on the SOC

Thanks for the info! Quick question: What type of battery did you go with? I have the autostart issue and a battery tender on order. If that does not work I'll get a new battery. Thanks, Jim

 

[gspete]

Thanks for the info! Quick question: What type of battery did you go with? I have the autostart issue and a battery tender on order. If that does not work I'll get a new battery. Thanks, Jim

I went with a Duracell AGM battery but I did upgrade to the group 94 battery from the group 48.
Group 94 gives a bit more capacity; I have the XLT 302A. My truck does have the larger battery tray so the larger battery fits without issue however, I needed to buy the larger battery insulation/heat shied (P/N KL3Z-10A687-B).

 

[JamesT]

I went with a Duracell AGM battery but I did upgrade to the group 94 battery from the group 48.
Group 94 gives a bit more capacity; I have the XLT 302A. My truck does have the larger battery tray so the larger battery fits without issue however, I needed to buy the larger battery insulation/heat shied (P/N KL3Z-10A687-B).

Thank you (!) for the information. I have the XLT 302a as well. I would not have thought about the insullation.

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