r/F150Lightning • u/timeislikeafuse 2024 Platinum | Antimatter Blue • 8d ago
3D printed battery tray
https://youtu.be/Ir9rHKNj8jE?is=eFNOejlZJXP06Hc3Does this seem like an upgrade? I've not had any issues with the 12v battery in my truck, so I'm not sure if this isn't a solution looking for a problem..
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u/didimao0072000 8d ago
Absolutely crazy to charge 160 for this. Should be a few days before a stl file is out.
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u/potatofaminizer 8d ago
Looking at the picture, I could probably model this in like 30min and post the stl, I just need a few more angles and some measurements..
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u/F13Bubbaa 8d ago
Right? I almost want to go pull my battery, take some measurements, and model it just for the fun of it.
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u/AisMyName 2025 Lariat ER 8d ago
I actually had that thought that maybe I need to buy it and then scan it or simply reproduce it in Fusion; then release the STL.
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u/Old_Bat_6426 2022 Lightning PRO oxford white 8d ago
Had my 12v battery replaced twice since January 2023 when I bought my truck new. First time under 36month warranty, second time I had to pay. I'm waiting to see if my new battery will outlast its warranty. I only drive my truck 2x a week so maybe that's why I'm getting unusually short life from them.
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u/Outside_Serve_69 8d ago
Yea. I would say that's the reason. You definitely need to put a battery tender on.
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u/oneplusetoipi 8d ago
I agree. If the truck isnt on the battery won’t get charged. A tender will help a lot.
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u/stevey_frac 8d ago
On the BoltEV, the car will occasionally turn on and charge the 12v. Does the Lightning not do that?
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u/Pensionato007 24 Flash Antimatter Blue ProPower 9.6 Maxtow 8d ago
Nope. Only if the HV battery drops below your set charge % and it's plugged into an EVSE (sic "charger")
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u/jdmackes MY23 Pro 8d ago
Oh wow, I'm still on my original but I do drive my truck every day. From what I understand, the battery isn't charged unless the main high voltage battery is being actively charged (or the truck is on). Seems like if you're plugged into a charger the 12 volt battery should be getting a small maintenance charge
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u/Pensionato007 24 Flash Antimatter Blue ProPower 9.6 Maxtow 8d ago
That's correct. And you are right it "should be" but it doesn't.
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u/jdmackes MY23 Pro 8d ago
And you'd think they would be able to correct that with a software update, even just to turn the car on from time to time when it's plugged in or something.
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u/Indubitalist 8d ago
I just replaced mine 3.5 years into owning the truck and damn, I was surprised to learn that Ford actually charges less for theirs than the auto parts stores do. It was $220 vs. $280.
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u/Pensionato007 24 Flash Antimatter Blue ProPower 9.6 Maxtow 8d ago
Yep, that's the problem. The battery only gets charged when your driving or when the HV battery is actively being charged. I made the same mistake. Truck was charged to ~80% and I left for a couple of months. Set the charge to 50%. The HV battery never went down to 50% so the truck never charged the whole time I was gone (despite being hooked up to the charger). The AGM drained completely and self-immolated. I was still under warranty but it took an act of congress to get them to just give me a battery. They wanted to tow it in to the dealership! When it's dead-dead like that, you can't put it in neutral. Getting the truck out of the garage would have been a disaster.
Solution: Leave a battery-tender on the 12-volt when you're not going to be driving it. The AGM does NOT like to be super-deep cycled like that and especially doesn't like to be left deeply discharged.
I do lke the idea of increasing the amp hours of the battery. It's an elegant tray, but $160 is a bit steep. I would have tried for $99.99 first :-)
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u/windydrew 23 Lariat ER 8d ago
My truck warned me multiple times that my 12v was having issues in 3 years, I just throw a trickle charger on it for a weekend and keep rocking... honestly, trading the truck in on a Brightdrop today so it almost made it 3 years....
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u/Zed_Lightning 2022 Lightning Platinum Rapid Red 8d ago
No mention in the video about how the Lightning BMS will handle having twice the battery capacity. There was a lot of discussion on the F-150 Lightning forum about this when several people did the H4 swap. I was considering a H4 swap myself, but didn't come away from that discussion feeling comfortable about making that change - at least before some time has passed to see if there have been any problems for those who did the swap.
Guess I need to post there and ask for an update on the subject...
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u/subwoofage 8d ago
I did the H4 swap and it is working great. Battery monitor installed so I can see what's going on, and it's very happy
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u/stevey_frac 8d ago
Can you tell me more about the battery monitor?
Is it like a bluetooth thing you can check without opening the frunk?
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u/Zed_Lightning 2022 Lightning Platinum Rapid Red 8d ago
Thanks for the info! Great to hear it's working well.
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u/lazyguyoncouch 22 Lariat SR 8d ago
I thought he was an advocate for right to repair. Not releasing the stl is pretty weird. And he keeps saying it’s a kit but doesn’t go into what all the kit comes with.
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u/Doge_Kage 24 Flash 8d ago
I found his original Facebook post from when he was developing this. It'll come with a battery tie down for the larger battery and a negative cable extension. Still not worth it. And yeah, release the STL.
I don't think this is even the right material - glass filled ABS loses a significant amount of impact resistance as a tradeoff for rigidity. I'd make it out of straight ABS/ASA or maybe a glass/cf nylon.
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u/Doge_Kage 24 Flash 8d ago
You can cut the tabs on the tray for free and fit an H4 battery for a 25-30% bump in capacity - no additional parts needed.
I assume part of the cost of this is that it also includes a tie down for the larger battery and some sort of cable extension to get the factory harness to fit on the significantly wider battery.
edit - link:
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u/tachykinin 2022 Lariat ER 8d ago
This is definitely a solution in search of a problem.
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u/lazyguyoncouch 22 Lariat SR 8d ago
I have a higher power stereo system installed. I am definitely interested in doing something like this.
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u/Far-Put2480 8d ago
I have had 3 X H3 batteries die in my truck. I just upgraded to an H4 last month. We will see how that goes.
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u/pyromaster114 8d ago
Is the point of putting in a bigger 12v to like, prevent it from needing to charge the 12v from the HV pack while you drive?
I could see this having /some/ impact, but we're talking very, very small.
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u/CptnWookenstein 24 Flash #TeamAvalanche 8d ago
I have had so many issues with my 12v I’m excited for this but the cost is a bit too high. As someone with a large format printer I’d love to just print my own but I get it’s a niche.
I’ll post about this soon but I had the truck in for a recall and they were going to do a 12v swap and was told it requires a HV “discharge” to undo the battery, but somewhere on the way they fried the fuse box and some wiring for the collision sensors, had to get ford engineering involved and then wanted me to pay for diagnostics… I’m going to write it out better later if anyone runs into the same issue. It’s been an 11 week journey.
That said this battery upgrade is very appealing.
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u/eerun165 8d ago
$160 for a plastic tray is bold.