[wiz043]

ASAIK, only Forscan and maybe Foccus. I have Forscan and purchased the ELM reader. I decided that I did not want to chance messing up the car’s computers so I defaulted you the dealer. There prices are competitive and at my age I am not up doing all that work to get the battery in and out.

Thanks...yeah, there is no way I would attempt replacing the battery myself due to the cowl or airbox hassle and will be taking it to the dealer when the time comes. Forscan is handy to have though.

 

[murcod]

Do you know if you can plug the OBD tool into an Android mobile phone or tablet with the Forscan app loaded?

A bluetooth OBD2 interface works with an Android phone and the free app version of Forscan. You'll possibly need to pay for the full Android version of ForScan to do the battery reset. I've used my OBDLink MX bluetooth with my phone and ForScan, but haven't looked into what the free app can do vs the Windows version.

 

[Kenshin X]

A bluetooth OBD2 interface works with an Android phone and the free app version of Forscan. You'll possibly need to pay for the full Android version of ForScan to do the battery reset. I've used my OBDLink MX bluetooth with my phone and ForScan, but haven't looked into what the free app can do vs the Windows version.

i can confirm that you need the full version of forscan to be able to reset anything.

with regards to the battery icon flashing 3 times, i do not see any other reason for it to flash, apart from the reset of the BMS using the methods outlined above. My WZ fiesta ST (german made) and my LZ focus titanium (thai made) confirmed with the 5 rear fog light presses and 3 hazard light presses, it flashes 3 times within 5 seconds of the 3rd press of the hazard light.

When i did replace the fiesta ST battery, i did not know that I needed to reset the BMS and just drove it like that for 2 years before resetting BMS. I did not notice anything different about the car or effects on fuel economy etc.

I'm just so stumped on WHY they did not make the procedure uniform across all fords in the world.

 

[Vader101]

i can confirm that you need the full version of forscan to be able to reset anything.

with regards to the battery icon flashing 3 times, i do not see any other reason for it to flash, apart from the reset of the BMS using the methods outlined above. My WZ fiesta ST (german made) and my LZ focus titanium (thai made) confirmed with the 5 rear fog light presses and 3 hazard light presses, it flashes 3 times within 5 seconds of the 3rd press of the hazard light.

When i did replace the fiesta ST battery, i did not know that I needed to reset the BMS and just drove it like that for 2 years before resetting BMS. I did not notice anything different about the car or effects on fuel economy etc.

I'm just so stumped on WHY they did not make the procedure uniform across all fords in the world.

For the windows version of Forscan, you can reset the BMS with the free version. You don’t need the extended license for this. I just did this a few days ago

 

[ralph7up]

i can confirm that you need the full version of forscan to be able to reset anything.

with regards to the battery icon flashing 3 times, i do not see any other reason for it to flash, apart from the reset of the BMS using the methods outlined above. My WZ fiesta ST (german made) and my LZ focus titanium (thai made) confirmed with the 5 rear fog light presses and 3 hazard light presses, it flashes 3 times within 5 seconds of the 3rd press of the hazard light.

When i did replace the fiesta ST battery, i did not know that I needed to reset the BMS and just drove it like that for 2 years before resetting BMS. I did not notice anything different about the car or effects on fuel economy etc.

I'm just so stumped on WHY they did not make the procedure uniform across all fords in the world.

Yes that is an interesting question. add that to why did Ford not do a better job telling the owner it needed to be done?

 

[wiz043]

i can confirm that you need the full version of forscan to be able to reset anything.

with regards to the battery icon flashing 3 times, i do not see any other reason for it to flash, apart from the reset of the BMS using the methods outlined above. My WZ fiesta ST (german made) and my LZ focus titanium (thai made) confirmed with the 5 rear fog light presses and 3 hazard light presses, it flashes 3 times within 5 seconds of the 3rd press of the hazard light.

When you reset the BMS with Forscan it actually indicates that the reset has been completed. The only reason I said the battery indicator flashing 3 times could mean anything is that I would have thought there would be a message on the dash to tell you that the BMS has actually been reset after using the video examples here.

If this works for some and actually does the job then that's great...

 

[ralph7up]

When you reset the BMS with Forscan it actually indicates that the reset has been completed. The only reason I said the battery indicator flashing 3 times could mean anything is that I would have thought there would be a message on the dash to tell you that the BMS has actually been reset after using the video examples here.

If this works for some and actually does the job then that's great...

You can also confirm the reset by doing a scan on battery days in service. A reset will change the value to 0.

 

[vmills76]

Thank you everyone for your advice.

I’ve been able to fix the problem. I took the following measures:

(1) I connected the pigtails in the picture above (white cable up and brown cable down) to the connector hookup on the negative terminal but the battery drain problem persisted.
(2) I took the battery to a technician for test. I was told the cells were bad and needed a new battery.
(3) I got a new battery and installed the pigtails wrongly as stated above since I had not figured out the correct connection. My vehicle came back alive but was having a wiper malfunction.
(4) I researched further on the forum and got a perfect advice from @chucksbp - trust me, he is an expert! I reversed the pigtails and my wipers started functioning well again.

Now, my vehicle is in a perfect working condition.

I can’t thank members of this forum enough for not only saving people from unnecessary spendings and visits to the dealers and technicians but the disappointment of not enjoying our precious cars.

This forum is a must for every Ford owner👍

I'm having the same issue with my Ford Escape. I just had the BMS resetted today at the dealer 87 dollars because after reviewing the forum; I was supposed to have done that after disconnecting the battery. There was a lot of corrosion on the terminals....my wipers are going on and off by themselves without me turning them on. It's really embarrassing to be driving down the road and like the wipers are turning on when it's not raining, LOL...I'll be removing my wipers tomorrow and taking the cowls off to inspect the pigtails...I just don't know how easy it is to do the replacement of the pigtails...I don't have a heat gun to shrink the wrap....I'd like the replace the negative Cable too...one of the guys that I work with said that there's something that I can plug into my cigarette lighter to keep the power going so that even if I remove the battery, the vehicle will still think that the battery hasn't been removed. Not sure what this device is, but I'd like to save me some money to not do a BMS reset. Has anyone tried to reset the battery with the Forscan tool?

 

[Vader101]

I'm having the same issue with my Ford Escape. I just had the BMS resetted today at the dealer 87 dollars because after reviewing the forum; I was supposed to have done that after disconnecting the battery. There was a lot of corrosion on the terminals....my wipers are going on and off by themselves without me turning them on. It's really embarrassing to be driving down the road and like the wipers are turning on when it's not raining, LOL...I'll be removing my wipers tomorrow and taking the cowls off to inspect the pigtails...I just don't know how easy it is to do the replacement of the pigtails...I don't have a heat gun to shrink the wrap....I'd like the replace the negative Cable too...one of the guys that I work with said that there's something that I can plug into my cigarette lighter to keep the power going so that even if I remove the battery, the vehicle will still think that the battery hasn't been removed. Not sure what this device is, but I'd like to save me some money to not do a BMS reset. Has anyone tried to reset the battery with the Forscan tool?

I moved your post to this thread. Have a look at some of the other posts for help with the BMS reset. If you are just disconnecting the battery, you don’t need to reset your BMS. You only reset this if you get a new battery. Your other questions on this has been asked/answered many times on this forum. A quick search should be able to find the answers you need.

 

[mew1033]

Just wanted to post my experience: I used my OBDLink MX Bluetooth adapter (not the MX+) with my Android phone and Forscan Lite. I tried the free Forscan Demo, and I could see the service function there, but it was locked in the demo version. The full version (technically Forscan Lite) worked great.
I checked the battery age in days before and after the reset. Before: 2082, after: 0. Perfect.

Thanks!

 

[murcod]

FYI the ForScan Android app is more limited in what you can do for free. Last time I checked the PC version does the battery reset without even the extended licence being activated.

 

[ozzy44]

The owner's manual says this:
"After battery replacement, or in some
cases after charging the battery with an
external charger, the battery management
system requires eight hours of vehicle sleep
time to relearn the battery state of charge.
During this time your vehicle must remain
fully locked with the ignition switched off.
Note: Prior to relearning the battery state
of charge, the battery management system
may temporarily disable some electrical
systems."
The implication is that a reset is not necessary, IF the car is kept in the condition listed above for the minimum of 8 hours.

My '15 FE owner's manual does NOT have this procedure listed. Mine just has the usual advice about having your Ford dealer replace the battery. It does say that if anyone disconnects the battery, that certain settings will get erased, such as: the clock and radio pre sets, also gives some instructions on re-learning the fuel trims. So, I must have gotten a different owner's from the one you have!

 

[ralph7up]

My '15 FE owner's manual does NOT have this procedure listed. Mine just has the usual advice about having your Ford dealer replace the battery. It does say that if anyone disconnects the battery, that certain settings will get erased, such as: the clock and radio pre sets, also gives some instructions on re-learning the fuel trims. So, I must have gotten a different owner's from the one you have!

The whole concept of the BMS and computer controlled charging has been seriously neglected by Ford. The wording in your manual has led many to falsely assume that the BMS reset is automatic. IT IS NOT. The WSM is clear on that and the many posts here also confirm. THIS IS NOT FORD’S FINEST HOUR wrt one of the most common owner maintenance tasks.

 

[Stew]

The whole concept of the BMS and computer controlled charging has been seriously neglected by Ford. The wording in your manual has led many to falsely assume that the BMS reset is automatic. IT IS NOT. The WSM is clear on that and the many posts here also confirm. THIS IS NOT FORD’S FINEST HOUR wrt one of the most common owner maintenance tasks.

I am not positive this actually worked but no longer any problems with radio turning off quickly after key off so that's indicative that it does work. To reset your BMS for north american fords, ( Mine is a 2013 ford escape sel 2 litre. do this-Close all windows and rear hatch-doors, Turn ignition to the on position ( no need to start vehicle) wait 10 seconds, Flash high beams 5-7 times then tap on brake pedal 3 times, You will see the Battery light in dash flash 3 times to confirm its reset. I recently replaced my battery myself and found this method on a Forscan forum website, There is also a way to do it on euro fords which is a different method.

 

[Chrisb62]

So...I just got a 2013 escape. Still learning all these quirks with new vehicle systems. I took the negative terminal off because it was a bit corroded and cleaned it and out it back on.

Was i ok to do that?
Reading about this. BMS thing has me wondering if I had to do some sort of reset of some kind?

 

[hlh1]

I would only reset the BMS if I installed a new battery.

 

[murcod]

Was i ok to do that?
Reading about this. BMS thing has me wondering if I had to do some sort of reset of some kind?

No problem with doing that. The Body Control Module will still retain all the battery data. e.g. I've had the battery disconnected on mine for a week or more and the data is still retained. You can check using ForScan - battery "Days in Service" is listed. Only reset the BMS if a new battery is fitted- as already mentioned.

 

[Chrisb62]

No problem with doing that. The Body Control Module will still retain all the battery data. e.g. I've had the battery disconnected on mine for a week or more and the data is still retained. You can check using ForScan - battery "Days in Service" is listed. Only reset the BMS if a new battery is fitted- as already mentioned.

Ok thanks.
Ya I'm waiting on a new odb plug cuz my Bluetooth one didn't work with forscan. So I'll play around with it when it comes.

 

[montermahan]

Is there a simple/economical OBD2 scanner that will reset the BMS without having to have a laptop, dongle, cord, program and who knows what all to reset this stupid BMS BS. After reading the above 218 posts, I'm so confused, If I wasn't already an alcoholic, I would consider becoming one.

 

[montermahan]

Will I be able to reset the BMS with "FORSCAN LITE" app on android phone and bluetooth. and the ELM327 bluetooth? I have read so many posts with conflicting answers I am totally burned out. I do not have a laptop. Or what other android app will Simply Reset the BMS? Thank's