Problems charging

[Thefishlady]

My new Lightning has 491 miles, I didn't want to buy the charger & rather use the one that comes w/the truck. I'm fully solar & I like the savings. * Last bill for 2 months was $ 22.00. My electrician ran a new 230 volt line, wires are the right gauge & breakers are 40 AMP. We did a test, the blue lights comes on for a few seconds, then the red & the orange. Cannot figure out why it will not charge. I called Ford, the advisor suggested I go back to the dealer as it could be a charger issue. The electrical installation is professional, there is a ground; couldn't ask for more or better. Any thoughts?

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[Amps]

Assuming you are referring to the Ford Mobile charge cord, not a buil-in FCSP that would come with an Extended Range battery. Go back to the dealer, it could be a issue with the unit you have. They may have a receptacle and another mobile cord in a Lightning or Mach E to compare with the one you have.

My best suggestion is to buy a reliable EVSE to use at home and keep the mobile cord in the truck once you establish you have a working unit.

 

[Heliian]

With just the charger plugelged into the wall, what is the light?

After plugging into the wall, you should have a blue light eventually. Then plug in vehicle.

 

[RickLightning]

The lights are explained in the manual.

Unplug charger, pull pigtail, plug back in all the way, try again.

A 14-50 outlet should have a 50amp breaker. 4 wires required.

 

[jimfigler]

The lights are explained in the manual.

Unplug charger, pull pigtail, plug back in all the way, try again.

A 14-50 outlet should have a 50amp breaker. 4 wires required.

There is no harm in having a 40amp breaker on a 50amp outlet. You could fill your house with 20 amp outlets and have them all with 15 amp breakers. You just can't oversize a breaker.

 

[Maquis]

Make sure the dongle is fully seated in the mobile charger. The shoulder of the dongle must be flush with the body.

 

[bg226]

Make sure the dongle is fully seated in the mobile charger. The shoulder of the dongle must be flush with the body.

This! This is the reason I have seen most when the mobile charger isn't working.

 

[papajon]

When my 240V travel charger would not charge, I replaced the 240V cord with 120V cord, plugged it in and it worked. Then reinstalled 240V cord and all has worked well for several months. Apparently it reset itself via this process - good luck!

 

[Thefishlady]

New chapter in the charging issue. Mt electrician did exactly what Ford was recommending, ran 8 gauge wires from the breaker box, grounded properly & the breaker is 40 Amps. Still not charging so on Friday morning I went to Galpin Ford to have them check the charger and see if it would charge at their facility. After 2.5 hrs wait, the service advisor told me that all was well w/the charger and the tests were negative for any issues. I called my electrician to return and have him re-check all the electrical at the recently installed 230 volt/grounded outlet. The power was fine, and again when we plugged the charger in; it went from blue to red & stayed on orange. At this point, we are pulling our hair out. He decides to drive back to Galpin and discuss the issue. Come to find out, Galpin did not have a plug to test my charger with, this charger has 4 prongs. This means that their test was incomplete & they basically lied to me when I asked it they had fully tested at all levels up to level 3, which they confirmed they had. They told my electrician to drive to another dealer, approximately 15 miles away in North Hollywood as they have the outlet which can take the 4 prongs. Then...it gets better....the service advisor told my electrician that apparently there now is a "class action lawsuit" because the truck documentation states the charger pulls 32 Amps & that a 40 Amp breaker is sufficient. WRONG, the charger pulls up to 44 AMPS and a 50 Amp breaker is the minimum, and wires to the outlet should be gauge # 6, not # 8 which is what was installed based on the previous information. Any idea how much this "hit/how" is costing me? The electrician is coming back tomorrow to replace the breaker + pull 125ft of new wires. Ford is going to hear from me....In the meantime, I have a beautiful truck sitting on empty with less than 500 miles.

 

[Pioneer74]

New chapter in the charging issue. Mt electrician did exactly what Ford was recommending, ran 8 gauge wires from the breaker box, grounded properly & the breaker is 40 Amps.

Where does it state that this is what Ford recommends? It makes no sense to run a 40 amp circuit to a 50 amp receptacle.

 

[rdr854]

Where does it state that this is what Ford recommends? It makes no sense to run a 40 amp circuit to a 50 amp receptacle.

Everything I have seen is that Ford tells you to consult a licensed electrician and to comply with local building codes.

 

[Thefishlady]

Everything I have seen is that Ford tells you to consult a licensed electrician and to comply with local building codes.

My electrician is licensed and you do not need a permit to install an outlet in order to use the charger which comes w/the vehicle. I've charged my Cmax for 5 years on a 115 volts outlet w/o any problem. The truck requires more & it takes up to 4 days on 115 volts to charge, reason I chose to have an additional dedicated outlet at 230 volts for the truck to charge faster. Your reply doesn't help me in any way. Thank you.

 

[Thefishlady]

Where does it state that this is what Ford recommends? It makes no sense to run a 40 amp circuit to a 50 amp receptacle.

Ford was wrong saying the charger is 32 amps and fine on a 40 amp breaker, now they are admitting to being wrong and the breaker needs to be no less than 50 amp w/6 gauge wires thus I've got to change breakers & wires to be able to charge from the mobile charger.

 

[Thefishlady]

Where does it state that this is what Ford recommends? It makes no sense to run a 40 amp circuit to a 50 amp receptacle.

As per the service advisors at 2 Ford dealerships today, admitting the information given prior was incorrect as charger rated at 32 in reality is more like 44.

 

[rdr854]

My electrician is licensed and you do not need a permit to install an outlet in order to use the charger which comes w/the vehicle. I've charged my Cmax for 5 years on a 115 volts outlet w/o any problem. The truck requires more & it takes up to 4 days on 115 volts to charge, reason I chose to have an additional dedicated outlet at 230 volts for the truck to charge faster. Your reply doesn't help me in any way. Thank you.

In my County in Virginia, an electrical permit is required and the permit application requires a detailed load calculation to ensure that there is sufficient capacity assuming everything is on at the same time. We made it by just under 2 amps.

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