ECU module programming guide using FDRS

[RellIk&5]

Early start trying this new charger. I have FDRS loaded and connected. Battery charger is connected and set to 10amp boost. It shows that it’s charging. Yet FDRS shows my voltage continuing to drop. The battery is sitting at 11.6 now but drops a 10th every few minutes.

Dealer installed a brand new battery before I took delivery in Nov. Not sure what to do at this point. If ilI start the update it will fail because the voltage will continue to drop. Can’t drive it to the dealer because my center cluster doesn’t work.

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[RellIk&5]

Interesting find. The metal bolt behind the battery doesn’t work for me. Had to use a screw directly on the frame that has a wire which connects back to the battery. Once I moved the negative from the charger the voltage went back up. Sitting at 11.5v right now but was down to 10.9 when I moved it.

 

[JEB]

Early start trying this new charger. I have FDRS loaded and connected. Battery charger is connected and set to 10amp boost. It shows that it’s charging. Yet FDRS shows my voltage continuing to drop. The battery is sitting at 11.6 now but drops a 10th every few minutes.

Dealer installed a brand new battery before I took delivery in Nov. Not sure what to do at this point. If ilI start the update it will fail because the voltage will continue to drop. Can’t drive it to the dealer because my center cluster doesn’t work.

I’m not sure you are using the right kind of charger/maintainer. A “boost” generally suggests that it provides high-amp energy for a short period of time in order to jump start a car with a dead or depleted battery. You need a battery charger capable of providing a sustained 10 amps—preferably a smart charger which will start at maximum amps and then taper off as the charging needs go down.

 

[cjduello]

@Bob_Mac I may have missed this, but where can I find the doc? Thank you!

 

[JEB]

Interesting find. The metal bolt behind the battery doesn’t work for me. Had to use a screw directly on the frame that has a wire which connects back to the battery. Once I moved the negative from the charger the voltage went back up. Sitting at 11.5v right now but was down to 10.9 when I moved it.

That is a ground bolt. The wire goes directly to the battery control module which is in turn bolted to the negative terminal. If it works, great. But it might still mess with the truck learning the battery’s state of charge. Hopefully not.

 

[TJSparky]

Relllk I used that same ground bolt as well with no issues.

 

[RellIk&5]

Relllk I used that same ground bolt as well with no issues.

Now that I'm not dropping voltage, but holding steady at 11.4/11.5, I'm hoping I can finish this update and get my instrument cluster back. I saw I've got the APIM update in my list as of this morning, so that will be the next thing I tackle after I get my truck working again and all my DTCs cleared.

 

[TJSparky]

Ya that one is a monster update. However, my cluster did come back as well when it’s done. From what I heard the clusters are a bit different on XLT’s compared to Lariat’s and other higher trim trucks.

 

[RellIk&5]

Ya that one is a monster update. However, my cluster did come back as well when it’s done. From what I heard the clusters are a bit different on XLT’s compared to Lariat’s and other higher trim trucks.

Am I correct in assuming that I won't be able to clear all my DTCs until the instrument cluster module is reinstalled? Also, how long does the APIM update take?

 

[TJSparky]

Mine failed half way through because my laptop battery died. Didn’t think it was going to take 5 hours.

 

[TJSparky]

Yes you have to wait until the update finishes to test and clear DTC’s

 

[RellIk&5]

Mine failed half way through because my laptop battery died. Didn’t think it was going to take 5 hours.

I've got an extension cord running to the truck to keep power to my laptop.

 

[Handle]

My truck is but a month old ‘22 Job 1 built on 12/22/21 and the AGM battery consistently reads 11.64 to 11.74 in the mornings. Tried charging it with trust Battery Tender + but that took way to long and I could achieve a resting voltage of 12.54-.69. But that would not last. Clearly wrong tool for this size and type of battery. Had no issues at all with truck despite these low voltage reading.

Bought the Ctek MS 5.0 which is specifically designed to charge larger AH battery and properly charge AGM using their algorithms.

Took 9 hours to get through Stage 3. Then it moved through to Stage 7 fully in another hour.

That was yesterday. Today the morning reading is 12.76. Haven’t driven yet but will be monitoring how the AGM battery is maintained by the F150 systems going forward. I think these AGM batteries were never fully charged correctly once they were switched from Transport to Customer mode and delivered. And that despite PDI saying to charge and condition , read it somewhere, I don’t think it gets done.

I used the same ground as shown above.

 

[Ruffiano99]

Why not connect to the battery terminals negative post?

 

[Snakebitten]

If my battery registered less than a healthy 12.xVolts, I'd leave it on the charger/maintainer until it did, before I'd be updating modules.
Just my opinion.

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