trailhunger
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #1
Drain the main engine battery and find out!...
Last night, I ran accessory mode a couple of times while working on wiring some pigtails in the dark. I had the camper lights on and assumed the system would shut down auxiliaries to preserve 1-2 engine startups. But nope—turns out you can completely drain the main engine battery and theoretically strand yourself in the middle of nowhere. Best to run generator mode as much as possible.
The initial timeout on accessory mode is the line in the sand. You push past it and demand power from the truck, you're in no-man's land. Surprised it gives you power beyond that initial timeout though No clear info if the hybrid cell can backup the main engine battery but it doesn't appear to based on this experience...
After noticing the camper lights were dimming, I decided to start the engine, but that’s when things got interesting. The engine wouldn’t start, and the dash lit up with a slew of codes—everything from the parking brake to check engine, radar SBPK, main system malfunction, and a “visit dealer” alert. The whole nine yards.
I trickle-charged the battery for a few hours, and the engine eventually started, but three main alerts refused to clear. The truck drove fine and even started up in 25-degree weather this morning. I tried disconnecting the battery a couple of times, but it didn’t clear the errors. So, I ordered a Carista.
This afternoon, I jumped in the truck, fired it up, and it was like nothing had ever happened—zero errors. The truck was back to normal without me clearing anything (though the infotainment system logged the errors, which I deleted).
So, yeah, if your main engine battery dies, give it some time, drive it a bit, and you should be back to normal operations assuming the battery health is good.
Last night, I ran accessory mode a couple of times while working on wiring some pigtails in the dark. I had the camper lights on and assumed the system would shut down auxiliaries to preserve 1-2 engine startups. But nope—turns out you can completely drain the main engine battery and theoretically strand yourself in the middle of nowhere. Best to run generator mode as much as possible.
The initial timeout on accessory mode is the line in the sand. You push past it and demand power from the truck, you're in no-man's land. Surprised it gives you power beyond that initial timeout though No clear info if the hybrid cell can backup the main engine battery but it doesn't appear to based on this experience...
After noticing the camper lights were dimming, I decided to start the engine, but that’s when things got interesting. The engine wouldn’t start, and the dash lit up with a slew of codes—everything from the parking brake to check engine, radar SBPK, main system malfunction, and a “visit dealer” alert. The whole nine yards.
I trickle-charged the battery for a few hours, and the engine eventually started, but three main alerts refused to clear. The truck drove fine and even started up in 25-degree weather this morning. I tried disconnecting the battery a couple of times, but it didn’t clear the errors. So, I ordered a Carista.
This afternoon, I jumped in the truck, fired it up, and it was like nothing had ever happened—zero errors. The truck was back to normal without me clearing anything (though the infotainment system logged the errors, which I deleted).
So, yeah, if your main engine battery dies, give it some time, drive it a bit, and you should be back to normal operations assuming the battery health is good.
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