2024 Nautilus software and battery issues

[markfm]

@JMAB @swindler BM300 Pro installation question - access to the positive terminal nut.

Did you end up having to pull the scuff plate trim piece, fully disassemble the cargo area plastic to reach a connection point for the positive terminal of the BM300, or does the red positive assembly disconnect while the metal cover (support for the spare) is still in place?

(Or did you use the positive bolt, next to the clamp point, in the under the hood jumper area? If so, which bolt did you attach the bm300 negative to?)

Thanks!

 

[Billz]

well the OTA update for the Driver Status Camera module failed 2 times yesterday and again at 1 AM. Likely due to the battery SOC. I measure 11.8 v under the hood on my 24 Hybrid. I have an appointment for an oil change and tire rotation Tuesday. I have them check the battery

Update. Just picked up the car. New battery and latest APIM and DCSM update installed. Now on to reprogramming the profiles

 

[swindler]

@JMAB @swindler BM300 Pro installation question - access to the positive terminal nut.

Did you end up having to pull the scuff plate trim piece, fully disassemble the cargo area plastic to reach a connection point for the positive terminal of the BM300, or does the red positive assembly disconnect while the metal cover (support for the spare) is still in place?

(Or did you use the positive bolt, next to the clamp point, in the under the hood jumper area? If so, which bolt did you attach the bm300 negative to?)

Thanks!

I went into the battery bay, which yes — requires a bit of teardown. But instead of the BM300 Pro, I attached lugged wires leading to an SAE 2-pin connector at an accessible point under the lid. This let's me attached a charger, BM300, accessory device, etc. And I can easily make it clean removing all but the capped connector prior to service visits.

 

[markfm]

I went into the battery bay, which yes — requires a bit of teardown. But instead of the BM300 Pro, I attached lugged wires leading to an SAE 2-pin connector at an accessible point under the lid. This let's me attached a charger, BM300, accessory device, etc. And I can easily make it clean removing all but the capped connector prior to service visits.

Does the scuff plate pry up pretty easily? From the emergency response guide it looks like it's got 8 tabs. Just start prying gently on the inside edge?

Installing the BM300 means I got to pick up one more item I didn't already have (a set of the plastic trim removal tools):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZFJJZLF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

The '24-'25 Nautilus Emergency Response Guide can be found here: https://content.nfpa.org/-/media/Pr...a4c8603&hash=CC4E60E29BCC5489BAD2F9F9A1FA3C9C The detailed section on getting to the hybrid 12V battery starts on page 12. The negative terminal clamp nut is readily accessible, but the teardown is needed to get to the clamp nut on the positive terminal (the red positive cover extends under the spare tire bracket, have to pull the bracket to be able to open the cover).

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Billz]

Since I got the new battery and latest APIM update I had to reprogram the profiles. I discovered that I can now add, delete and rearrange the radio preset buttons. Simply, press and hold and drag to a new position. To delete press, hold and drag up away from the button bar.

I hope this helps some of you all. Sorry if this was posted earlier as I must have missed it if it was.

 

[swindler]

Does the scuff plate pry up pretty easily? From the emergency response guide it looks like it's got 8 tabs. Just start prying gently on the inside edge?

Installing the BM300 means I got to pick up one more item I didn't already have (a set of the plastic trim removal tools):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZFJJZLF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

The '24-'25 Nautilus Emergency Response Guide can be found here: https://content.nfpa.org/-/media/Pr...a4c8603&hash=CC4E60E29BCC5489BAD2F9F9A1FA3C9C The detailed section on getting to the hybrid 12V battery starts on page 12. The negative terminal clamp nut is readily accessible, but the teardown is needed to get to the clamp nut on the positive terminal (the red positive cover extends under the spare tire bracket, have to pull the bracket to be able to open the cover).

You got it. Accessing the battery sure could have been easier, but this is a commonly replaced item during the life of the vehicle. As far as prying pieces apart, I've done this so many times for so many cars I guess I don't think of it as much bother. Those pry tools definitely help. Just try to apply pressure as close as possible to the retaining clips, and they'll pop.

 

[markfm]

I'll gladly trade a small amount of extra work to get to the battery (which should normally only need to be accessed once once every multiple years) for the convenient, clearly marked, near the positive, negative jumper post found on the Nautilus.

A certain other "high reliability", very popular. premium SUV hybrid has the negative jump connection roughly 4' away from the positive. Multiple people who called the manufacturer for dead-12V-battery roadside assistance have had their ECU modules fried due to the manufacturer-contracted road service people using what "looked" like a good jump point closer to the positive attachment point. The owners had to point out their logged assistance calls to get the multi-thousand-dollar replacements covered.

 

[angore]

It should be better marked but on the hybrid the contact point is not a stud but more a sheet metal blade.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[markfm]

It should be better marked but on the hybrid the contact point is not a stud but more a sheet metal blade.

Check the vertical stud under the red cap, diagonal from the vertical tab - it also tests hot. That's why I was contemplating that area as an alternate BM300 attachment point.

 

[angore]

The stud is much shorter than the negative. The flange looks like you could get more contact.

 

[markfm]

The stud is much shorter than the negative. The flange looks like you could get more contact.

True, but the flange needs more thickness. Clamps like on the Noco Genius 5 have the C-shaped clamp piece, designed to use on a round post. That thin vertical positive flange only gets contact on the tip of the clamp, it would have been better IMO if they used something more like the negative.

 

[markfm]

Looks like we'll be joining the battery replacement elite club. I topped off the battery with the Noco Genius 5 last Thursday, and we did about a 1 hour drive with it Friday.

Today the keypad entry wasn't working, so I checked and measured 12.1V at the jumper terminals. Noco indicated < 25% charge, though Lincoln Concierge said it was somewhat higher. Noco took 5-1/2 hours to reach solid green, which in theory is about the time to charge a 40AH battery starting at 50% charge.

Fortunately we're scheduled for a service next Wed, I already texted Service info on the drained battery.

After pulling the charger, about 30 minutes later (I know, too soon, but it's late) the jumper terminals showed 12.7V.

I suspect this battery has actual capacity more on the order of 30 - 35 AH, the joys of transport discharge

Other than keypad entry having flaked out, the only other glitch I've run across is Google Maps not retaining a volume change during a given trip. We test drove enough Nautilus' that I'm confident I'm adjusting volume while it's speaking, know how that works, but on the next directions it's back at the previous (too loud) volume. I've adjusted it multiple times during a trip, it keeps going back to its base volume. Annoying, definitely a glitch in the firmware since other vehicles have retained a volume change.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[angore]

noco told me that when you hook up the noco, it spends time characterizing the battery so will always start with the 1st LED blinking so for a some period while it is in learning mode. If a higher charge, it will quickly step up.

 

[Billz]

Looks like we'll be joining the battery replacement elite club. I topped off the battery with the Noco Genius 5 last Thursday, and we did about a 1 hour drive with it Friday.

Today the keypad entry wasn't working, so I checked and measured 12.1V at the jumper terminals. Noco indicated < 25% charge, though Lincoln Concierge said it was somewhat higher. Noco took 5-1/2 hours to reach solid green, which in theory is about the time to charge a 40AH battery starting at 50% charge.

Fortunately we're scheduled for a service next Wed, I already texted Service info on the drained battery.

After pulling the charger, about 30 minutes later (I know, too soon, but it's late) the jumper terminals showed 12.7V.

I suspect this battery has actual capacity more on the order of 30 - 35 AH, the joys of transport discharge

Other than keypad entry having flaked out, the only other glitch I've run across is Google Maps not retaining a volume change during a given trip. We test drove enough Nautilus' that I'm confident I'm adjusting volume while it's speaking, know how that works, but on the next directions it's back at the previous (too loud) volume. I've adjusted it multiple times during a trip, it keeps going back to its base volume. Annoying, definitely a glitch in the firmware since other vehicles have retained a volume change.

this bug is killing me, see red text in original message. It is also present when Siri speaks to me and I lower the volume. Next time right back to a very loud setting.
Anyone know how to resolve it? I have the latest APIM update (the one with the new compass widget.

help

 

[markfm]

noco told me that when you hook up the noco, it spends time characterizing the battery so will always start with the 1st LED blinking so for a some period while it is in learning mode. If a higher charge, it will quickly step up.

Understood. I'm used to seeing it run on the first light for several minutes (I use it on another vehicle, non-hybrid, that has a fairly new battery and a BM300 attached). On the Nautilus it stayed on light one, pulsing, for 3/4 hr before starting to pulse the second light, then another 4-3/4 hr to reach solid green.

Voltage measured at 1:30pm was 12.6V. Car had been off other than for unlocking the door and popping the hood this morning. Door keypad entry still not working, it won't light up.

 

[Black Label]

Understood. I'm used to seeing it run on the first light for several minutes (I use it on another vehicle, non-hybrid, that has a fairly new battery and a BM300 attached). On the Nautilus it stayed on light one, pulsing, for 3/4 hr before starting to pulse the second light, then another 4-3/4 hr to reach solid green.

Voltage measured at 1:30pm was 12.6V. Car had been off other than for unlocking the door and popping the hood this morning. Door keypad entry still not working, it won't light up.

I think this video is somewhere in the thread, but are you connecting the negative charging cable in the correct side of the sensor?

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[swindler]

I think this video is somewhere in the thread, but are you connecting the negative charging cable in the correct side of the sensor?

Under the hood will always be on the correct side of the sensor for the hybrid.

 

[markfm]

I'm using the designated under-hood attachment points. Page 404 of the '25 manual references use of an external battery charger if you have low SOC, then points to the section on Jump Starting for connection points.

For anyone who has picked up the PDF workshop manual, pages 7165-7169 is the section on getting to the hybrid's 12V battery. It starts by telling you to remove the load space scuff plate, on pages 9221-9222.

 

[angore]

I hope all this is a wake up call to Ford (and industry) on improving software quality. Bad software can distract drivers if they try to attempt various actions while driver. It is like an itch you want to scratch.

The other concern is that from reports even in Lincoln service information is that software may not update properly. Since software is not always easy to reproduce it could be difficult to get a dealer to reflash it.

 

[markfm]

I've liked this thread as a kind of master reference point for the '24+ Nautilus 12V battery, so posting here, data for our '25 R2 hybrid.

I really like the BM300 Pro, though the scale on its voltage graph is a bit wonky (at least on my phone). I exported my July data, dropped a few days of the output into Excel and ran a graph:

Perhaps the BM300 Pro SOC estimates for 12V AGM are off due to our BAGM fairly low nominal capacity (only 50 AH), though the one time I was able to get Concierge to check SOC they came in within 2% of what I showed. I suspect when it shows 100% that really is best that battery can possibly get to. When SOC had gone to 50% is when the door keypad entry was dead, Nautilus had gone into Sleep (though no alert came in).

Since I had basic data formatting down I took a look at 7/18, when I had my one and only set of alarms shown in Lincoln Way. Nothing about going into Sleep, but the mix of alarms felt like a power delivery problem.


The first section where V > 13V is the start of an hour driving, which boosted SOC from 52% up to 97%. The series of shorter charging columns is us going to other places, individually shorter drives, before final parking at home.

SOC may well have dipped lower than 52% at the actual start (data points are logged every 2 minutes). (I should have run the graph time line starting a couple minutes earlier, voltage was pretty low just before I turned it on)

The duration of the rapid discharge (drop in SOC) appears to be on the order of 30 - 40 minutes. Definitely some healthy draw going on after the car is nominally off.

(Collecting data for when I reach out to local Lincoln Service )