Lightning range fail

[Theo1000]

Ignoring the very likely chance of something wrong here, is it not okay to drive to 0%?

You can drive it to zero, there is quite a bit of reserve, just don't let it sit there very long. I'm talking more than a few hours, which won't happen during a trip. You should not have to do this though if you plan your route. I have over 4,000 miles and lowest I dropped was to 18% or so during a trip.
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I wonder if there is a low HVB state where it won't transfer power to the LVB to deal with a weak LVB. So the HVB may have been bailing out the LVB for a while and then when the HVB could not do so at a low charge the error codes start popping up.

On the Mach-E in the beginning all manner of error codes would pop up for the LVB, service vehicle, power is being transferred etc and then there was a software update and most of those errors codes were suppressed and we would get these odd messages that said nothing about the LVB but it was the LVB problem.

My bet is still on the LVB though it could be a bad HVB cell, though that would light up the car like a christmas tree and that does not seem to be happening. Case Bears careful monitoring.....

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[Amps]

My bet is on a problem with the 12v battery. Its crazy, but it seems like the 12v battery "controls" things in Ford EVs. If the 12v goes bad you could have 100% in the High Voltage battery and it wouldn't start.

I had 2 Ford hybrids that were the same way..if the 12v battery goes dead its game over.

Wouldn't connecting a jump pack or jumper cables to the handy 12V terminals in the frunk have been an easy diagnostic?

 

[greenne]

You can drive it to zero, there is quite a bit of reserve, just don't let it sit there very long. I'm talking more than a few hours, which won't happen during a trip. You should not have to do this though if you plan your route. I have over 4,000 miles and lowest I dropped was to 18% or so during a trip.

I wonder if there is a low HVB state where it won't transfer power to the LVB to deal with a weak LVB. So the HVB may have been bailing out the LVB for a while and then when the HVB could not do so at a low charge the error codes start popping up.

On the Mach-E in the beginning all manner of error codes would pop up for the LVB, service vehicle, power is being transferred etc and then there was a software update and most of those errors codes were suppressed and we would get these odd messages that said nothing about the LVB but it was the LVB problem.

My bet is still on the LVB though it could be a bad HVB cell, though that would light up the car like a christmas tree and that does not seem to be happening.

Or the LVB was fine and then just went bad all of a sudden. LVB do that all the time for no rhyme or reason--in hybrids, ICE, or EV. The only difference is in an ICE car(at least those older) is the engine would be fine for awhile and you'd just lose all the accessories. It appears with hybrids/EVs the 12v takes some role in the driving aspect of things.

 

[Theo1000]

Well it sat at the dealership overnight and even with me calling to tell them to charge the truck up it is still sitting there with a dead battery. That has to be good for it.

5% is not as bad as 0%. The HVB has a quite large buffer so your 5% is more like 10%. It should be ok for a few days. But would be curious if it charges at all at a low voltage. Like 110v. Sometimes the lower voltages bypass bad BMS circuitry. On the Mach-E occasionally, folks could charge at 110v but not higher.

BTW thanx for posting your updates, this is definitely something folks are monitoring....

 

[greenne]

Wouldn't connecting a jump pack or jumper cables to the handy 12V terminals in the frunk have been an easy diagnostic?

Maybe. I wonder if it would have started(at least briefly) if the OP(or roadside assistance) had tried to jump it.

 

[Amps]

Maybe. I wonder if it would have started(at least briefly) if the OP(or roadside assistance) had tried to jump it.

The ID.4 taught me to carry a jump pack. Same problems with the LVB, somewhat different symptoms and cause.

 

[greenne]

The ID.4 taught me to carry a jump pack. Same problems with the LVB, somewhat different symptoms and cause.

All you had to say was VW..LOL.

(I have a past bad experience with VW electrical systems)

 

[Woodypeoples]

I have a Tesla Model Y long range AWD. It is a great commuter car, but I don't like it for road trips. Longest I have done is a 300 mile round trip in a day. Nearly all highway miles. Stated range for that car is north of 300 miles. Didn't get anywhere near that. I had to stop and charge a little on the way just to be able to make it back to a supercharger on the way back. I had planned those stops, so it wasn't a huge surprise. Road trips in an EV is very different than road trip in ICE, and will be for some time. I am fine with that.

 

[Sklith]

I have a Tesla Model Y long range AWD. It is a great commuter car, but I don't like it for road trips. Longest I have done is a 300 mile round trip in a day. Nearly all highway miles. Stated range for that car is north of 300 miles. Didn't get anywhere near that. I had to stop and charge a little on the way just to be able to make it back to a supercharger on the way back. I had planned those stops, so it wasn't a huge surprise. Road trips in an EV is very different than road trip in ICE, and will be for some time. I am fine with that.

I've done two cross-country trips that totaled over 5,000 miles each with my family of 4 in the winter in my Model 3 Performance. Each day, we drove 800 miles. Not a single issue with charging.

 

[Woodypeoples]

I've done two cross-country trips that totaled over 5,000 miles each with my family of 4 in the winter in my Model 3 Performance. Each day, we drove 800 miles. Not a single issue with charging.

My Y is a great car to drive but it isn't as convenient as ICE for a road trip. If you are coming from ICE to and EV and expecting no tradeoffs, you are going to be disappointed. Those days that you drove 800 miles had at least 3 stops at superchargers, which would have been 3 hours give or take. Same drive in an ICE vehicle would have been 15 minutes in fueling. Hopefully this tradeoff gap becomes smaller in the future.

 

[Cruiser]

Wouldn't connecting a jump pack or jumper cables to the handy 12V terminals in the frunk have been an easy diagnostic?

I just don't think it could possibly be the 12 volt battery. The lights were all still very bright. The frunk would still open and close. All the accessories inside came on just fine. And the issue happened while running down the interstate at the end of a 450 mile drive on Sunday. I am not sure how the 12 volt battery charges but I doubt it would pull that much range.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Well it sat at the dealership overnight and even with me calling to tell them to charge the truck up it is still sitting there with a dead battery. That has to be good for it.

The battery is not dead, and even if it were, sitting idle will have no impact on it.

 

[Cruiser]

I've done two cross-country trips that totaled over 5,000 miles each with my family of 4 in the winter in my Model 3 Performance. Each day, we drove 800 miles. Not a single issue with charging.

Did you trust that if the car told you it could make it to a charging station it would? I had the range to make it with 5 miles to spare. I had just drove 420 miles at 80 MPH. The truck knew what milage I was getting. It's not like I changed driving style. Actually, I did. I slowed down to 55 mph when it just started dropping miles of range in a couple hundred feet. There is some issue with the battery pack, I am sure. I would have been in my GT350, but the AC went out a couple days before my trip.

 

[Cruiser]

The battery is not dead, and even if it were, sitting idle will have no impact on it.

Yesterday the app said it went into a deep sleep with 5% battery and zero range. Today it is showing zero percent battery.

 

[Cruiser]

People have range anxiety. I, for one, will never, at least on purpose, take it down to 5 percent. I have owned a 2012 ford focus ELECTRIC and I would never bring it down that low. Just me....and now I remember why.

I topped of In Ogalala NE. The next charging station on my trip was in Cheyenne WY. A 1 station 25 KW charger that according to the reviews on the app may or may not even be working. So, the truck said it would make it to Wellington Colorado to a fast charger. I'm guessing most everyone else would have gone to Wellington. There are many examples of the truck going past zero miles of range anyways.

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