How important is it to trickle charge the 12v?

[Jarratt]

Don't have my truck yet. Is there a direct readout anywhere in Settings of the 12 v battery voltage? I should imagine the Lightning doesn't have a "cigarette" lighter outlet in the cab. In my 2007 Honda Hybrid, I have a dual USB car charger with a voltmeter, like this (the OEM model I got is no longer sold): https://www.amazon.com/Charge-Charger-Socket-Outlet-Voltmeter/dp/B0BM3S5463/. The voltmeter on my device reads about 0.3 volts too low. Still, it provides a good indication of how my 12 v battery is doing without reading the voltage across the terminals directly. Although my Battery Tender trickle charger is not supposed to boil or bubble off liquid, I notice a little acid spray around the refill/check cell port plugs on the top of the battery, so I wonder how much long-term good I'm doing with my battery tender. It goes through its normal LED display cycle when I use it with no warning lights. Are there good ways of checking what the tender is doing? I guess, for starters, I could just read the voltage across the terminals in different stages of the battery tender cycle or sit in the car and read the same off the USB charger plugged into the auxiliary power 12 v outlet.

Thanks for the reply. I have decided that this is really a nonissue -- I was concerned after reading some of the comments here.

The truck does not have a 12v readout setting (at least that i've found). Good idea though. It does have a cigarette lighter -- now employed by my radar detector.

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[Hammick]

After the recall for LVB charging I removed the battery tender pigtail from my truck assuming it would keep the battery fully charged. Recently noticed using Carscanner that the truck wasn't keeping the LVB fully charged even though the truck is on powering our house about 16 hours every day.

I'm now using my NOCO charger again to keep the LVB at 100%. A lead acid battery that constantly sits at less than 100% will only last a few years.

 

[Ish]

I went to look at the up fitters guide last night as I’m about to install some LED warning lights and Ford only provides guidance on Pro and XLT models for upfitting with 55 amps DC available on Pro models and 30 Amps available on Base XLT models. The guides explicitly say that any models above do not have any capacity and it is not recommended to add additional 12v batteries.

This could be why our LV systems are always having troubles… I’m still installing the lights on my Lariat as they’ll only get used sparingly but it feels like an oversight on Ford’s part.

 

[PrimeRisk]

If I'm not going to drive the truck for a week or more, I throw it on a battery maintainer (BatteryMinder to be specific). I too have installed a pigtail for quick connections. I keep my camper's Deep Cycle attached to one all winter long and it has never fried it. As a result, I've got a 10 year old battery that still lasts a long-weekend dry camping trip. Before I used this type of smart maintainer, I replaced that stupid deep cycle every other year. They're great for motorcycles or lawn tractors you don't start over the winter.

 

[Ricks Lightning]

Seems like my LVB has a standing voltage of approx 12.2 volts. Seems low for a AGM 35ah battery. Of course once I start the truck it jumps up into the 14 volt range.
Is it possible that these vehicles might have sat on the lot 6-9 months before being sold wore them down?
When I check my t- mobile sync-up app, there are times it shows low voltage.
Rick

 

[davehu]

If I'm not going to drive the truck for a week or more, I throw it on a battery maintainer (BatteryMinder to be specific). I too have installed a pigtail for quick connections. I keep my camper's Deep Cycle attached to one all winter long and it has never fried it. As a result, I've got a 10 year old battery that still lasts a long-weekend dry camping trip. Before I used this type of smart maintainer, I replaced that stupid deep cycle every other year. They're great for motorcycles or lawn tractors you don't start over the winter.

I have used a battery maintainer on my boat(s) for decades. This summer, I realized I couldn't remember the last time I replaced the battery. Although the battery performance had been fine I thought I'd better check. To my surprise it had been eleven years! When I took it in for exchange the Autozone guy at the counter called out for has co-workers to come and see what he said was the longest working battery they'd ever heard of. The Battery Minder works!

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