According to what Ive read most F150s 2011 and newer you have to reset the battery when its replaced. I bought my truck in Oct ‘19 and it had a “wet” Continental battery with a date of 9/19 on it. It has never given me a lick of trouble in 4-1/2 years but Im taking a 16 hour round trip to Georgia next month so I might as well go ahead and replace it. My questions are, should I replace it with an AGM battery? Everywhere I look up the battery for my truck it calls for an AGM, although this “wet” Continental has worked just fine. Also, theres many different methods to resetting once the battery is installed, should I just have someone with the proper scan tool do it?
Battery reset
- Thread starter mobilnissan1991
- Start date
I just replaced the battery in my '17 F150.
It was still starting fine, but the start/stop had quit working...not that I cared.
If you haven't, check pricing at your nearest Ford Quick Lane.
They are fairly competitive and will do the reset for you.
Check for Ford coupons online.
It was still starting fine, but the start/stop had quit working...not that I cared.
If you haven't, check pricing at your nearest Ford Quick Lane.
They are fairly competitive and will do the reset for you.
Check for Ford coupons online.
At some point ford did start including battery aging and charging strategies, I don’t know when and I don’t know how critical it is. I think it takes better care of the battery as it ages. My 2018 has references for about 20 battery sizes/types, and the ability to reset it.
What model year is your F150? Same generation, doesn't necessarily mean there weren't some changes to the BMS.
However, the general rule is that when a new battery is installed, the shop uses a scan tool to reset it as a customer convenience, because otherwise, for a while longer it may still display a message that it's powering down some things due to the battery.
Unless they changed the design at some point, this is not really needed. You just need to leave it parked/off overnight (several hours in a row, I forget the exact # but overnight will do the trick) and this will cause it to recalibrate itself.
AFAIK, you only need the AGM battery if you have auto-stop.
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- Mar 8, 2022
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My 2016 F150 still has the original battery in it. I have an old fashioned battery tester that I will check it with. We had a very mild winter this year so I wasn’t really concerned about starting my truck. I can tell the battery probably is a bit down in voltage because auto start doesn’t activate very often. AGM batteries do seem to last much longer than flooded as a whole. Even though your vehicle may not need an AGM, I recommend it.
Ford dealer will sell me a 750 cca battery for $169 and an 850 cca battery for $179. Friend of mine will reset it for free. thanks kjsmith for the dealer recommendation.
Mobilnissan91
You're Wise to stay on top of your (battery) maintenance.
I know this battery subject pretty well
I drive a 2011 Ford Expedition EL 4x4 King Ranch in my signature with 385k miles. (I ordered it new in 2011)
Hot Summers and Cold Winters are very hard on batteries. I take my Expedition into my local Ford Dealership for lots of service as I routinely take many Cross Country Trips of 2,000+ miles 1 way. I buy the Ford Motorcraft batteries at the Ford Dealership and every time I take my vehicle in for service I have them Load Test the Battery. The Motorcraft Batteries come with a Warranty. The Batteries typically last approx 2 yrs and Ford normally pays for Every Other Battery, which is about $200. I've had batteries last as long as 3 yrs, and as short as 3 months
I also travel with old school Jumper Cables and a Jump Pack.
I hope this helps
Good Luck!
Technically what can be done and what I have done in the past - with another car by, connect battery connectors from the car you need to replace battery on to another car's battery with booster cables. As you disconnect and remove and replace/connect new battery the car still has power from second car's battery like nothing happens.
Throw the new battery on a charger before installing.
Would recommend AGM for all city driven cars (short trip).
Less internal resistance = accepts charge better.
Resetting BMS is normally not strictly necessary, although good practice to do.
Why not check the health status of your 4-5year old battery instead?
Last edited:
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2024
Best investment I made over a decade ago was to buy a cheap electronic battery load tester from Schumacher. I simply test every one of my cars at oil change time, which is every 4 to 12 months depending on the car's oil change interval. Over the years, it has caught three batteries in advance, before leaving me stranded, that they were declining in health.
Now there are even more sophisticated battery testers with more features and 1/3 the cost of what the Schumacher tester cost back in the day. Plenty of threads here on recommended battery testers...everyone should spend the $30 to $50 and get one. It will save you time and money to have one available.
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