12v LVB swapping ...

[Deleted member 3569]

I am interested to know from those who have swapped the OEM 12v LVB (BHAGM-H3 380CCA/35 Ah) with AC Delco's LN1AGM (520 CCA/50Ah), specifically if it improved or mitigated the 12 Volt Battery Fault - Service Soon pop ups on the iCP... and whether the negative post cable (Battery Management System part LJ97Z10C679A $76.28) needed to be changed as well ??? ... is it really necessary to replace this part every time you swap the 12v battery?

I have also noticed that the connector lead to the BMS is short and won't reach the negative post of the AC Delco's LN1AGM... most likely I will need to splice a short length of wiring.

The reason why I am contemplating to change the original battery is that I have put a smart charger on the battery that came with car for about 72 hrs and saw the charger go thru different charging cycles ... after this charging my 12v pop ups that used to flash had effectively vanished.

I had take the car to the dealer for the 12v Battery Fault and they did: EEC test, battery test, cleared codes, re-set BSC, etc... after this the pop up only flashed sporadically... but it was still there. After charging the 12v battery for 72 hrs the were no more pop us.

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[louibluey]

I doubt you will gain much by going to the larger Delco, possibly a bit more time between warnings at best. I ran on the Delco for many months, no problems, still got an occasional 12V warning (which was bogus, the LIN monitor showed the warning popped up when under some circumstances MME started the DC/DC converter to charge the LVB). It is possible that the Delco might take you past what would have been a no start on the OEM battery, but those cases are hard to call. Usually if something is wrong, and MME is going to cause a flat LVB, it would just take some more hours, but the outcome will still be a discharged LVB, just taking longer to get there.

The MME software has gotten so much better that 12V problems (other than hvjb issues) are less of an issue now.

To answer your questions - I would unwrap some of the cloth tape at that junction in the wire harness to give some more slack for the LVB BMS wires, rather than splicing in wires. I had to make splices mostly because the CSS LVB BMS LIN monitor I was using had to be hardwired to the LVB BMS wires.

The replacement requires removal of the frunk tub, and you have to move two of the snap on nuts in the battery tray for the second position on the battery end clamp.

I had the BMS cable in and out and disconnected several times, and it was still going strong. For a new battery install, according to the Ford documents, you do have to (or should anyway) do the BMS reset with FDRS, not sure if you can do it in ForScan, or have a dealer do it. The instructions are in that last update paperwork. It might relearn by itself too, not sure on that one, but other posts say it can relearn on its own.

I had a new BMS cable hoping to study any changes that might happen after replacing it. I did install it, but unfortunately sold LouieBluey for personal financial reasons (he was almost paid off, and I needed to cash out short term, and no better time than now), and so LouieBluey goes to his new home with a brand new BMS and the original OEM battery!

LouieBluey never let me down, never a serious problem, never a no start (beyond those very early 12V problems), best car I've ever had the pleasure to own, will miss MME a lot. Might circle back someday to try out a GTPE after dealer ADMs go away. In the meantime, with all nearby Ford dealers charging ADM for August GTPE orders with no X plan available, so I ordered a 2023 Ioniq 5 Limited in lucid blue (probably fall/winter delivery, no Hyundai markups at my local dealer). Picked up an Accord hybrid (no plug in) for the interim. Nice car, won't miss it too much later.

 

[Deleted member 3569]

I doubt you will gain much by going to the larger Delco, possibly a bit more time between warnings at best. I ran on the Delco for many months, no problems, still got an occasional 12V warning (which was bogus, the LIN monitor showed the warning popped up when under some circumstances MME started the DC/DC converter to charge the LVB). It is possible that the Delco might take you past what would have been a no start on the OEM battery, but those cases are hard to call. Usually if something is wrong, and MME is going to cause a flat LVB, it would just take some more hours, but the outcome will still be a discharged LVB, just taking longer to get there.

The MME software has gotten so much better that 12V problems (other than hvjb issues) are less of an issue now.

To answer your questions - I would unwrap some of the cloth tape at that junction in the wire harness to give some more slack for the LVB BMS wires, rather than splicing in wires. I had to make splices mostly because the CSS LVB BMS LIN monitor I was using had to be hardwired to the LVB BMS wires.

The replacement requires removal of the frunk tub, and you have to move two of the snap on nuts in the battery tray for the second position on the battery end clamp.

I had the BMS cable in and out and disconnected several times, and it was still going strong. For a new battery install, according to the Ford documents, you do have to (or should anyway) do the BMS reset with FDRS, not sure if you can do it in ForScan, or have a dealer do it. The instructions are in that last update paperwork. It might relearn by itself too, not sure on that one, but other posts say it can relearn on its own.

I had a new BMS cable hoping to study any changes that might happen after replacing it. I did install it, but unfortunately sold LouieBluey for personal financial reasons (he was almost paid off, and I needed to cash out short term, and no better time than now), and so LouieBluey goes to his new home with a brand new BMS and the original OEM battery!

LouieBluey never let me down, never a serious problem, never a no start (beyond those very early 12V problems), best car I've ever had the pleasure to own, will miss MME a lot. Might circle back someday to try out a GTPE after dealer ADMs go away. In the meantime, with all nearby Ford dealers charging ADM for August GTPE orders with no X plan available, so I ordered a 2023 Ioniq 5 Limited in lucid blue (probably fall/winter delivery, no Hyundai markups at my local dealer). Picked up an Accord hybrid (no plug in) for the interim. Nice car, won't miss it too much later.

Thank you very much for the reply, I really appreciated you sharing what you went through .... I think I am now more inclined to replace the LVB with an OEM ... may after I hit the 20K miles. Following the reconditioning charge procedures that is posted elsewhere the pop ups have not re-occurred so far after doing this ... let's keep our finger crossed !!! If this is the case, it appears that the dealership tech is not putting a charger across the LVB during the duration when the car is at the shop for computer re-flashing of modules.

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