Is it possible to have bigger 12v in the lightning?

[ytwytw]

As title said, is it possible to fit bigger 12v battery in the lightning?

I need to run dashcam parking mode for at least 12h

I got an older car with h8 battery and it can do it

I have blackvue dashcam set with 12v cut off, but the lightning battery can only kept up only for about 3h that's about it

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[RickLightning]

No. The BMS is set to charge the existing battery.

 

[WhiteBolt]

Install a dashcam backup battery.
https://www.amazon.com/BlackVue-Battery-3000mAh-Discharge-Prevention/dp/B01HFRH34Q

 

[Andrewbens]

I wouldn’t even worry about it. Run the cameras it doesn’t use enough power for it to kill that battery.

 

[Runaway Tractor]

I don't see why not if you can find a way to safely secure it in place and it is the same nominal voltage and chemistry. The BMS I would think is reading and managing voltage and current as needed for a 12v lead acid battery. The actual total capacity of the battery should not matter. I don't think they'd have made the BMS arbitrarily cut off after some fixed amount of kwh added like the BMS built into some lithium batteries.

 

[Nuts&volts]

I know the lightning has the capability of multiple batteries, as it can read up to 3 12v battery monitors. That being said a dashcam shouldn’t be draining the battery too much.

the lightning only monitors the float voltage of the 12v battery, so you should be able to upgrade. The only thing is if it takes too long for the 12v to recharge (bigger capacity) it could throw some sort of error

 

[TaxmanHog]

The tray is limited in the x/y dimensions of which batteries would fit without modification.

 

[ZSC100]

Yes, any lead acid battery you can physically secure will work. The truck's DCDC converter will charge it just like the OEM battery.

 

[RickLightning]

From the Mach-E site:

Can I replace the stock AGM battery with bigger size?

Yes, however this is not recommended because of the additional issues it can cause. The stock battery is an H3 size, the battery tray has another set of holes to hold a larger H4 size battery, which will fit. However, a battery with a larger capacity will not play well with the BMS system. It expects a 35 Ah capacity AGM. The H4 battery is 33% larger, so the BMS will not be able accurately measure or utilize the extra capacity beyond 35 Ah. As a result, the larger battery may be chronically undercharged, causing early failure. In other words, it might make things worse, not better.

Can I replace the AGM battery with a lithium or LFP battery?

No, bad idea. 12V lithium batteries operate at a different voltage setpoint than 12V AGM batteries. The charging and BMS system of the Mach-E is calibrated for AGM chemistry only. If you put in a lithium battery, the BMS will not measure the state of charge % correctly, and the lithium battery may not be charged fully due to the lower voltage setpoint of AGM. For example, while driving the voltage is normally held around 12.9V, this will perfectly maintain an AGM at 100%, but a lithium battery will only be held at 20% SoC. This means a lithium battery will gradually discharge while driving to 20%. Load shed will activate, causing your radio, HVAC, and accessories to shut down while driving.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/12v-battery-faq.32744/

 

[Newton]

It should work, charging is based on voltage. The only issue as mentioned above is that the BMS might eventually think that you have a defective battery if it doesn't reach full charge after a certain time. Kia stops attempting to charge the 12V after 10 "failures" and it leads to issues. I don't think you will find a battery that is enough larger than the stock battery for it to make a difference. People have been putting larger 12Vs on the Kia with no problems, different car obviously.

You could install a small under-hood charger like the Ni.co or similar and charge the 12V if this became an issue.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Ford explicitly recommends against adding a secondary 12V battery or even adding 12V upfits to trims above XLT on the Lightning. Adding a larger 12V battery is likely to do no good for many reasons, not the least of which is the Battery Management System (BMS) programming that allows the vehicle to monitor the LVB state of charge and manage other aspects of the low voltage system. If Ford had provided instructions to upfitters who may traditionally add more 12V energy storage, I'd be implementing several upfits, but it looks like I'll wait until I'm out of warranty at the earliest.

 

[mr.Magoo]

It should work, charging is based on voltage.

If it was that simple there wouldn't be a need for the BMS shunt (current sensor) in the first place.

 

[RickLightning]

Mr. Magoo quoting facts, I love it.

 

[Nuts&volts]

Replacing the stock battery may be a non starter. The bms is pretty complex. What I did was add a 50ah lithium and a dc-dc charger. Charger top up the lithium when the vehicle is in “run state”, bms sees the charge current as just normal draw and tops up the agm battery normally. The lithium is mounted to the frame rail under the bed.

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