My daughter has a 2018 Screw XLT with the 3.5L, 4x4 and 302A package in Magnetic grey. It's a beautiful truck that she bought new right after her first 9 month deployment.

Since owning the truck, she's deployed three more times for nine months each and each time the truck has been properly set up for long term storage. The truck has been to Ft Bliss, Texas, Ft Stewart, GA and is now with her at Rock Island Arsenal in the Quad cities of Illinois. Because of the deployments, the truck only has 50K on the clock.

She drove it home to spend Christmas with us in Virginia and on her way back two weeks later, the battery light was burning intermittently. She stopped in Ohio for the night and while there, she pulled into an Auto Zone where they did a store front battery and alternator test. Both tested fine as I suspected that they would. I explained to her that AZ doesn't have the diagnostic equipment that the dealer or reputable shop will have.

She made it home without incident and drove the truck for a couple weeks, then it came off brutally cold. It didn't want to start one morning but it did. After getting to work, (6 mile drive), it wouldn't restart. After the work day, she went out to jump and it cranked over and she took it home.

I told her based on my readings here on FTE that it's likely the alternator as the battery was changed in 2023.

Today she takes the truck to the dealer in Moline, Illinois, pays $180 for the diagnostic to be told that all systems were tested and tested fine but the alternator is failing. The truck had stored about 10 codes since her incident on the freeway after the holidays. The bill will total $1600 once complete.

Sadly she's only been there for about six months and doesn't know a reputable independent shop in Illinois or Iowa.

I'm posting this because I've read several other issues with 2018/19 trucks showing similar symptoms with similar outcomes. Seems to be common enough in these two years of trucks. Hopefully the $900 alternator will last and hopefully this little article will help someone.

A couple of things on the truck have stopped working likely because of this issue such as auto start / stop and remote start feature. When these two items stopped working, I explained to her that the truck is trying to ell her early that something isn't right and she'd be smart to get out in front of it. Instead, my hard headed daughter danged near got stranded on the freeway somewhere between home and the Mississippi River. That would have only sucked a little.

 

Wow, sounds like a typical shop taking advantage of a female. Your daughter, hard headed, I've got 2. Price seems high, even per the internet. The least I would do is write a non-glowing review of the facility, hoping to warn others. Hopefully she has many more trouble free miles.

 

Hey Tim, does the base have a "Hobby Shop" like some of the Navy bases did? Might save some bucks going there, and ask if anyone could help her change out the alternator? I did a complete valve job, and added a few extras on a 302 Comet I had way back in 1973. Can't remember the Chiefs name, but he was an E7 engineman, great guy, and an encyclopedia on small block Fords.
I don't think things have changed much, but one service guy helping another, I even helped a Marine LOL, is still in vogue I'd think.

 

Was the battery replaced at the same time as the alternator? Modern AGM batteries don't do well without regular use. Even a relatively new battery can suffer internal damage when it sits for months. The truck has a constant parasitic draw due the various electronic systems. And if it does start after a deployment or TDY, and all she does is make short trips, the battery suffers more, as it never gets fully recharged.

Often times a battery, particularly an AGM can be internally damaged, but still show sufficient voltage. The battery would have to be load tested to determine whether it is able to be fully charged or not. The solution is to plug it into a battery maintainer when it's going to be parked for more than a couple weeks at a time, particularly in a cold environment. The next thing to do is to take it for a long highway drive after not being used for several weeks or longer. This would be to make sure that the alternator fully charges the battery and to make sure that the oil gets warm enough to burn any condensation out of it.

 

Unfortunately no, the base is among the smallest I've ever seen even to Coast Guard standards. But it's a great idea.

The dealer load tested the battery and it's fine. I've convinced to get up on the freeway at least once a week and put 20 miles or so on her so she can get a deep charge and get up to full operating temp. She's at least hearing me on that one.

The dealer isn't replacing the battery as they don't feel it's warranted. I had also expressed to Sarah that she replace both components at the same time.

Hopefully this will solve her problem and settle her angst on the truck because she's about to get promoted to Major and she's Jonesing hard for a 2025 Tremor. All she needs is one bad excuse.

 

The OEM battery on our 2015 lasted 8 years. We replaced it 2 years ago with a premium battery (group 94, so a little larger). We had it in for service the other day and it failed a load test. I attribute it to the fact that the truck sat for 4 months while my SO was going through chemotherapy and cancer surgery.

 

Hope she came through it okay.

Yeah, an AGM sitting for extended periods of time is bad. And I don't necessarily blame it on the AGM design. Even a lead acid battery would die with all of the parasitic draws on newer trucks. It's one of the reasons that people experience issues with a new truck that has been in inventory for months, or even over a year. The dealer will jump start it, but won't replace the battery, then deliver it with a weak battery. Once AGMs get to the point they need a jump start, they are pretty much done, no natter how new or old they are. Many people will refuse to accept that a 2 year old battery need to be replaced. They will jump it, several times before the reality sets in, all the while damaging the alternator. Any battery sitting for extended periods should be on a battery maintainer.

 

[QUOTE=JKBrad;21479718]Hope she came through it okay.

Yeah, an AGM sitting for extended periods of time is bad. And I don't necessarily blame it on the AGM design. Even a lead acid battery would die with all of the parasitic draws on newer trucks. It's one of the reasons that people experience issues with a new truck that has been in inventory for months, or even over a year. The dealer will jump start it, but won't replace the battery, then deliver it with a weak battery. Once AGMs get to the point they need a jump start, they are pretty much done, no natter how new or old they are. Many people will refuse to accept that a 2 year old battery need to be replaced. They will jump it, several times before the reality sets in, all the while damaging the alternator. Any battery sitting for extended periods should be on a battery maintainer.[/QUOTE]

And we've had this discussion as well. A 31 y/o Captain in the Army earning $90K a year doesn't need dad buying a $15 battery maintainer. The OE batter lasted from 2018 to 2023 and two deployments. When she returned from her 4th deployment the start stop failed and she went to AZ and bought a battery then took it home and let the truck relearn it.

 

Not all batteries are created equal. AZ uses Johnson Controls batteries. A search engine will tell you what the internet thinks.

 

You are correct sir but, I've used three AZ batteries in the past that all exceeded their eight year warranty periods back when batteries truly weren't created equal and many MC batteries that never made it to the end of that warranty period. Now it seems that no battery carries more than a three year warranty period no matter who made it.

Not realizing all this when she replaced her battery, it was me who advised her to shy away from the Ford battery and I'd tell her that again and again and again based on personal experience. Hell, the battery in my 2020 Explorer was replaced before the 36/36 was used up on the car and the dealer fought me tooth and nail about covering even a portion of it. They came to their good senses and paid for it all but they've lost me over a battery and other service gafs. I'd never recommend a MC battery to anyone unless that's all there was available.

 

Thanks for the thoughts. She actually did great, but we more-or-less lost a year of our lives going through the trauma. She had surgery in October, and the pathology came back such that her surgeon declared her "cured"; no joke. She will be getting scans every 6 months to be sure, but all the signs are pointing upward.

 

You can't look at it as a lost year. The treatment sucks, but she gained many years she may not have otherwise had.

 

Another Navy guy with a similar charging system problem: 2020 F150 Lariat SuperCrew. 28,700 miles. Original H6 battery replaced by dealer. After i year, that battery was replaced under warranty. I started monitoring and found that the CCA's were slowly dropping. Yes, we do a lot of short, stop-and-go driving so I replaced it with a huge NAPA H8 with 850 CCA's. After a few weeks, even that started testing low CCA's. I had the local dealership do a charging system test and it came back "normal". I installed an LED Voltmeter .so I can watch the change as I drive and it varies from 12.5V to a high of 14.7V so I know the alternator is working. After an overnight, the VM reads only about 12.2. or 12.3 V before starting. I've read that as the CCA's start dropping, the BMS starts to shut down unnecessary functions and this has occurred when I had the H6 in. I've also read that Ford has warned owners of the 2021 and above that they should periodically drive for an extended period with ALL non-essential systems off in order to recharge the battery. This tells me that the alternator does not have sufficient capacity for the system.
Any similar issues or suggestions?

 

You don’t have enough alternator output for the H8. An H7 would do. Also, I doubt the dealer ever charged the China made Motorcraft batteries to 100% prior to installing. Any new battery should be charged prior to installing. All alternators do anymore os maintain, not charge. And driving 20 or more miles every week or two is a good idea.

 

My NAPA H8 was fully charged and over the rated 850 CCA. It's down to 740 CCA after a couple of weeks (and that included about 240 miles of highway driving). What about installing a 300 amp alternator? I think the current one HL3Z-10346-A only puts out 200amps