Bill, if this is true for my '14, I'm disappointed in Ford. They are making it so hard for the DIY guy to work on his own car these days.

 

Finally checked with the dealer, says no reflash needed with new battery, nothing nessasary other than make sure it is charging the battery.
I will say changing the battery on a 16 degree f day is a royal pain!

 

I'd have a hard time believing manufacturers would inconvenience users like that for a so-called battery management system... maybe if it was an electric car, but nowhere else.

 

It's been added not to say that you can't install a battery on your own, probably defeats the battery management system. Alternators output decreases under low demand as well.

 

Battery Monitoring System – BMS

Battery Replacement –FORD Service Manual

If the vehicle battery is replaced, it is very important to perform the battery monitoring system reset using the scan tool. If the battery monitoring system reset is not carried out, it holds the old battery parameters and time in service counter in memory. Additionally it tells the system the battery is in an aged state and may limit the Electrical Energy Management system functions.

The BMS data is held in non-volatile memory (it is retained even when the battery is disconnected) and cannot be reset by any means other than use of an appropriate tool plugged into the diagnostics port on the car to send the correct 'BMS reset' command-code to the Body Control Module (BCM).

Following copied from post on another forum-

The Workshop Manual has a long description of the charging system operation/sensors/components/general logic. Unfortunately copyright and the amount of text prevents me posting that in full, but some interesting very limited excerpts...

The smallest possible set value for the generator voltage is 12.2 volts, while the maximum charging voltage can be anywhere between 14.5 and 14.9 volts. However, when the battery is in a refresh phase, the voltage may occasionally reach up to 15.2 volts. These refresh phases are required when the battery charge status is 80% over long periods of time, which increases the risk of sulfating in the battery cells.

During the drive cycle the Electrical Energy Management software will adjust the initial battery state of charge by monitoring the charge and discharge current and adjusting the state of charge up during charging, and down during discharge. During rest periods (key off with no electrical loads) when the vehicle enters sleep mode, the battery voltage is sampled to calibrate the State of Charge. The sensor automatically executes this calibration anytime the vehicle enters sleep mode and when the total vehicle current draw is below 300mA. It takes 4 to 6 hours in the sleep mode to calibrate the battery state of charge to high accuracy. If the system draw does not allow the battery state of charge calibration over the previous 7 to 10 days the State of Charge quality factor will change to flag this and some Electrical Energy Management Functions which rely on the accuracy of the battery state of charge may be temporarily turned off until a calibration takes place.

NOTE: Any devices left attached to the power socket that draw in excess of 200mA (or less depending on other battery loads) will prevent a battery monitoring sensor to calibrate the battery state of charge.

Be careful to not confuse "state of charge" with "rate of charging" ... the former being a calculated parameter affecting how the vehicle determines the latter. Notice 300mA vs 200mA references/context above, suggesting the vehicle systems themselves, absent any device plugged into the power ports, impose an ongoing 1 amp+ load on the battery even when in key-off sleep mode.

 

I know that our battery is going to go in the next X months. This advice is great especially since I bought an OBD reader last week!

 

I forgot to mention that there are two ways of accessing the BAT.

One is removing the air box and sliding the BAT out.

The second involves removing the plastic cowling and this method allows full BAT access so that if charging and/or testing, there is no need to disconnect the terminals and interrupt the BMS.

I appreciate your reminding me the need for BAT service. It is something quite easily forgotten in this new car age...

 

I'm leaving the damned thing along until it goes **** up. Checked the specific gravity in January and topped it off with distilled water. It was near the minimum acceptable level for specific gravity and was not too low on water. Going on 3 years and 5 months... fingers crossed. I've got the code reader now so that I can do the BAT dance once this thing quits all of a sudden. If it is anything like any other modern car battery I've encountered, it will not give a warning... just nothing when trying to start. Seems that older cars gave you that couple-of-day warning before going kaput. Will update the crew when the big day comes.

 

Going on five years here but it's been on a Battery Minder device daily in all that time.