"ELECTRIC SYSTEM DRAIN SERVICE REQUIRED" error

[Ford Motor Company]

The fine engineers at Ford had been remote diagnosing my truck with the help of a local dealer (ok, local dealer is not much help, I did some stuff myself with the help of the engineers). They think they found the issue - at least in my truck - but need hands-on to check it to be sure. That was before the layoffs, so not sure how long to resume the troubleshooting after the dust settles... hoping it's just an issue with my truck and not something bigger that might be affecting the rest of you on this thread!

Good morning- I can look into this for you. Feel free to send over a private message with your VIN and dealership information at your earliest convenience.

Sponsored

 

[Aspesi4]

The fine engineers at Ford had been remote diagnosing my truck with the help of a local dealer (ok, local dealer is not much help, I did some stuff myself with the help of the engineers). They think they found the issue - at least in my truck - but need hands-on to check it to be sure. That was before the layoffs, so not sure how long to resume the troubleshooting after the dust settles... hoping it's just an issue with my truck and not something bigger that might be affecting the rest of you on this thread!

I got this error for the first time last week.

Fast forward a week, I got a High Voltage Warning and Powertrain Malfunction. I'm not saying they're necessarily linked, but I had zero issues prior to these two events. Waiting for Ford and the dealer to diagnose the problem. Hoping I hear more back tomorrow.

 

[G-Zeus]

Good morning- I can look into this for you. Feel free to send over a private message with your VIN and dealership information at your earliest convenience.

Thanks! But there are already multiple people helping, so no need to add more people to the pile.

 

[Grumpy2]

Thanks! But there are already multiple people helping, so no need to add more people to the pile.

REALLY? must not be a real problem for you....

 

[The Weatherman]

I just received the Charging Correction OTA just a couple days ago and I too am getting this same Fault Warning.

I’ve put a trickle charger on the jumper studs above the front wheel well, but have still received the Electric System Drain notice the last couple of nights.

I suspect the OTA may have caused an issue with the BMS.

 

[G-Zeus]

REALLY? must not be a real problem for you....

I already have the dealer, customer support AND Ford engineers working on it. Who else should get involved?

 

[G-Zeus]

The fine engineers at Ford had been remote diagnosing my truck with the help of a local dealer (ok, local dealer is not much help, I did some stuff myself with the help of the engineers). They think they found the issue - at least in my truck - but need hands-on to check it to be sure. That was before the layoffs, so not sure how long to resume the troubleshooting after the dust settles... hoping it's just an issue with my truck and not something bigger that might be affecting the rest of you on this thread!

Update: Next week, Ford is going to be switching out the driver's seat control module, there is some bizarre electric drain happening there. In fact, they are going to be sending it back to the engineers so they can look at it. While it's in service, they will also fix the stuck air dam. Unfortunately, nobody has the light bar parts for the recall, so that will be another trip in the future. I will reply next week on the results!

Bottom line, if you are getting this error, work with Ford customer support to get involved with these non-mechanical issues, not just your dealer...

 

[Nick503955]

This issue has arisen a few times in the past weeks.

23Jul2023 "Electrical System Drain Service Required." 20Jul2023 "Electrical System Drain Service Required." "There is an electrical drain in the truck, possibly caused by an after-market device(s). If that's not the case, please schedule service soon."

Interestingly, the truck was due for its 10,000-mile service, so we had the dealer examine the problem.

The dealer failed to find the root cause of the issue. They merely insisted that I remove the dash cam, which is powered by the Dongar dongle connected to the mirror. You can see the service advisor's text message below:

WITH THE CAM BEING CONNECTED IT STILL PULLS POWER AND VOLTAGE WHEN CONNECTED TO VEHICLE. YOUR VEHICLE IS ELECTRIC AND ANY DEVICE THAT PULLS POWER IS GOING TO CAUSE MILEAGE DIFFERENCE ALONG WITH TAKE MORE OF A DRAW FROM THE VEHICLE. WE PERFORMED A THOROUGH INSPECTION ON YOUR VEHICLE AND AT THERE IS NOTHING FOR ME TO REPLACE AT THIS TIME. WE NEED YOU TO REMOVE THESE AFTERMARKET COMPONENTS AND MONITOR TO SEE IF THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.

This explanation doesn't add up, considering that the camera has been installed since December 2022, and it loses power when the ignition is turned off.

I requested that they test the 12V battery and reset the BMS. The service advisor was unfamiliar with the BMS, but I was able to talk to the technician, who assured me that he "updated everything."

I'm contemplating performing the BMS reset on my own to be certain, and I'm beginning to think that investing in FDRS might be a wise move.

 

[G-Zeus]

@Ford Motor Company it would be good to have the engineers look into this. The dealers are not equipped for this type of diagnostic troubleshooting. They can only look at error codes that link to an already known problem.

For me, today I got my truck back from the dealer. Engineering asked them to replace my drivers seat control module and ship it back to Detroit for examination. The diagnostic I did with the engineers found where the drain was coming from, but not why… as I get more info I will share it! The dealer would have not been helpful here, they don’t do “exploratory surgery” especially when it comes to the electrical system and software. They prefer to swap out parts and mechanical components (after all, they are “mechanics”!)

Could be something simple like a pinched or stripped wire - maybe it’s more widespread and they need to adjust an assembly procedure, or relocate a wire harness. Maybe there is a software glitch. Certainly they can enhance the error reporting once they learn the root cause of the problem, and provide guidance to dealers as to how to interpret a better diagnostic trouble code and go about fixing it.

 

[lakeguy55]

I just got this on my truck. First issue I've seen. SOC at 57%. Only driven 440 miles so far, and only one charge to 80%. No 3rd party devices connected.

 

[G-Zeus]

It’s been a week, and no more electrical drain errors! The dealer would have never figured this out, so thanks to the Ford support team and the Ford engineers for diligently helping here. The dealer was so unhelpful, they didn’t even work with the Ford engineers with any troubleshooting to help determine the root cause. They received the part, they swapped the part, work done, move on. Needless to say I won’t ever bring my vehicle back to that dealer, especially after the mechanic somehow burned the plastic inside my frunk and nobody told me. When I texted them a photo asking what happened, they just casually responded that maybe the technician had to torch off the air dam bolts, and they would order me a new part. AFTER I had to ask them about it. I’m thinking “really”?? The air dam bolts are stuck, on a 9 month old truck, and you causally pull out the torch and start burning away, and then happen burn the plastic inside the frunk… and then don’t tell the customer or go ahead and order the part that you messed up?! Awful.

Never mind that when they connected the computer to update the software for the new installed module, they didn’t bother to install any other of the updates (especially the OTA that had been stuck for a couple of weeks).I suppose you could argue that they aren’t paid to do that, it’s unbillable time, and they have to watch their profit margins. And that’s ok, I will take my money elsewhere and they won’t have any profits from me at all!

these old school dealers need to understand that it about the experience and not just getting some mechanical repair. And the experience includes software, exceptional service, and communicating with the customer and corporate (and not insulting the very engineers that designed the truck and are trying to help).

 

[TaxmanHog]

They received the part, they swapped the part, work done, move on.

Which part was defective?

 

[G-Zeus]

Which part was defective?

There were two repairs: replacing the defective air dam --> that's where they managed to melt part of the inside of my frunk; and replacing the driver's seat control module --> that's where there was some sort of electrical drain happening. Was it a pinched wire? Was it something loose? We will never know because they didn't bother to contact Ford Engineering to step through the different troubleshooting/investigation topics. They just pulled out the old module and put in the new one. I don't even know if they are shipping that part back to Ford for analysis or not (they were supposed to).

Garbage service. A bunch of meathead massholes.

 

[lakeguy55]

I just got this on my truck. First issue I've seen. SOC at 57%. Only driven 440 miles so far, and only one charge to 80%. No 3rd party devices connected.

Thinking more about this, I'm wondering if I/we caused this unintentionally. My son's were using the Power Onboard all weekend to power a welder. In and out of the truck many times and usually leaving the doors open. The exterior lights were on and off all weekend. SOC started at 60 and ended at 57.

Are there functions that are exclusively powered by the 12V battery? Were they running it down? And with plenty of change in the main battery, why wouldn't it be used to charge the 12V one?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Are there functions that are exclusively powered by the 12V battery? Were they running it down? And with plenty of change in the main battery, why wouldn't it be used to charge the 12V one?

With PPOB being active, the truck is in a running state, therefore the DC/DC inverter to replenish the 12v LVB should operate as needed.

Sponsored