Enhanced battery pack controllers and control methods are disclosed. One illustrative battery pack controller includes: a monitor circuit that couples to a battery pack load terminal to detect when a voltage of the battery pack load terminal indicates a load condition; a fault detection circuit that couples to a current path through an array of one or more battery cells to detect when a current indicates a fault condition; a switch control circuit that selectively de-asserts a discharge transistor control pin, asserts the discharge transistor control pin, and ramps a voltage or current of the discharge transistor control pin in an open loop fashion for at least 10 ms; and a status detection circuit that in the absence of a fault condition causes the switch control circuit to perform said ramping responsive to detection of the load condition while the discharge transistor control pin is de-asserted.