Charging times no longer available

[talfaro61]

I've had a hell of a time setting the times for my Lightening to start charging at midnight to 7 am. No one at my dealership at Kearny Mesa Ford in San Diego has been of help, nor a second dealership close by. I decided to call Ford directly and to my amazement they stated that Ford updated their software and that the feature to set charging times has been removed. No explanation. Not being able to set charging times is a key feature as this will cost owners money and not being able to charge between 12 am-7 am. I'm actually going to attempt to return me truck as this is an important feature. Future buyers beware.

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[Amps]

I think you've managed to find a bunch of misinformation specialists. It's still in my FordPass app, as imperfect as it has always been.

 

[talfaro61]

It's on mine too, but when I attempt to program, it still begins charging the minute I plug in. Perhaps you have a solution?

 

[The Weatherman]

It's on mine too, but when I attempt to program, it still begins charging the minute I plug in. Perhaps you have a solution?

Yes change your setting in the truck to use the schedule. Not charge on plug in.

 

[VeganF150]

your charging station might offer it. Mine does I have a ChargePoint brand charger

 

[Hammick]

I've had a hell of a time setting the times for my Lightening to start charging at midnight to 7 am. No one at my dealership at Kearny Mesa Ford in San Diego has been of help, nor a second dealership close by. I decided to call Ford directly and to my amazement they stated that Ford updated their software and that the feature to set charging times has been removed. No explanation. Not being able to set charging times is a key feature as this will cost owners money and not being able to charge between 12 am-7 am. I'm actually going to attempt to return me truck as this is an important feature. Future buyers beware.

If you need an EVSE upgrade the Autel 50a charger works flawlessly for scheduled charging. It's wifi and bluetooth.

I set it up a few days ago to charge from 12:01 am to 5:59 am to take advantage of our .03kwh summer and .02kwh winter rates.

 

[Tony Burgh]

I've had a hell of a time setting the times for my Lightening to start charging at midnight to 7 am. No one at my dealership at Kearny Mesa Ford in San Diego has been of help, nor a second dealership close by. I decided to call Ford directly and to my amazement they stated that Ford updated their software and that the feature to set charging times has been removed. No explanation. Not being able to set charging times is a key feature as this will cost owners money and not being able to charge between 12 am-7 am. I'm actually going to attempt to return me truck as this is an important feature. Future buyers beware.

I normally treat my FCSP as a dumb EVSE set to 80Å and charge when plugged in. For the heck of it after reading your post, I set the current to 48Å and charge from 10pm to 6am. I plugged it in 5 minutes ago. Solid blue bar on FCSP meaning it’s not charging and not at reduced rate. The 5 light circle at the charge port is dark.
I’ll check in two hours to see if it’s working as set and saved.
Tomorrow I’ll return the charger to dumb 80Å mode.

 

[Tony Burgh]

It seems to be working as it should. Problem is not with my FP, FCSP or my truck. Hope this information helps you.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Charge rate seemed too high. I checked again and charge rate dropped. It cycles early on at reduced amperage if I remember correctly.

 

[Jim Lewis]

I have an FCSP. It's hardware set to charge at 80 amps but software set to only do 48 amps and to only charge between 3 am (start) and 8 am (mandatory stop). It usually works fine. I did have one time where it started charging as soon as I plugged it in in mid-afternoon, and just this week, it skipped charging in the Tuesday AM and charged at the appointed time a day later in the early Wednesday AM (maybe Ford servers took a Labor Day holiday?).

On Wednesday, my HIS unit installer showed up out of the blue, ostensibly to check if any updates had rendered my "Intelligent" Backup system workable (they hadn't; still not working). My suspicion is that the real reason for the sudden visit is that the guy asked me if my FCSP was overheating during charging. He said with another customer, he'd sat there and watched with the owner as the wires and the plastic backplate of that device got extremely hot while charging at 80 amps over 6 hours. He thought the summer heat in the Southwest might be a contributing factor (the other charger is mounted indoors in a garage, too). He hinted that because of the overheating issue, Ford might be replacing FCSPs under warranty. This is all just hearsay, but if you check the Sunrun Field Website, overheating of the FCSP is one of the FAQ Troubleshooting issues: Troubleshooting: Issues Performing a Backup Power Transfer - Google Slides

In the Sunrun troubleshooting, though, it states that actual overheating is not the problem. Rather, it's said that inaccurate programming of the sensors at the factory is the cause of overheating notifications during backup power transfer.

It would be interesting if overheating or the accuracy of overheating monitoring in the FCSP, especially during backup transfer, is the real issue as to why ~no one's HIS unit works. Maybe Ford has shut down backup power transfer until they solve "overheating," whether real or sensor-imagined and reported. (They might have a "The Boy Who Called Wolf-type of problem).

Charging at 48 amps and my garage always less than ~87 deg F when charging, I've never gotten an overheating notification (but also, backup transfer only worked twice after the initial installation around 6/12/23). IIRC, the tech said for the installs they've done in San Antonio, most owners keep their trucks in their garage, and, IIRC, as a matter of principle, the installers don't recommend installing the FCSP out-of-doors here.

A thread here on FCSP overheating: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/fcsp-overheating.15987/

 

[Amps]

Ford updated their software and that the feature to set charging times has been removed. No explanation. Not being able to set charging times is a key feature as this will cost owners money and not being able to charge between 12 am-7 am. I'm actually going to attempt to return me truck as this is an important feature. Future buyers beware.

It's still in my FordPass app, as imperfect as it has always been.

It's on mine too, but when I attempt to program, it still begins charging the minute I plug in. Perhaps you have a solution?

Your original post indicated that the feature was removed leading me to believe that you couldn't find it in your truck or the FordPass app.

Have you made sure the "Use Preferred Charge Settings" radio button in the FordPass app is selected for your saved charging location?

FordPass->Vehicle->CHARGING->Preferred Times->Saved Locations tab->Use preferred charge settings (selected in one of your saved locations)->Tap on the location, make sure your preferred times under both WEEKDAY and WEEKEND tabs are correct and make sure to scroll down to the SAVE button and save them.

When you set a location like at home, it helps to be plugged in at the exact place you intend to charge so the sensitive GPS recognizes exactly where you want to charge within reach of your EVSE.

 

[Maquis]

I have an FCSP. It's hardware set to charge at 80 amps but software set to only do 48 amps and to only charge between 3 am (start) and 8 am (mandatory stop). It usually works fine. I did have one time where it started charging as soon as I plugged it in in mid-afternoon,

Note that if the truck calculates it can’t reach the set charge level in the scheduled time, it will ignore the schedule and start charging as soon as you plug in. So if you need about 50 kwh (or more), 5 hours isn’t enough time at 48A.

 

[Jim Lewis]

Note that if the truck calculates it can’t reach the set charge level in the scheduled time, it will ignore the schedule and start charging as soon as you plug in. So if you need about 50 kwh (or more), 5 hours isn’t enough time at 48A.

Thanks, by accident, I've never encountered that condition and didn't know about it. I'm usually no lower than a 40% SOC and have 50% SOC as my usual top-off limit or an 80% SOC limit for a long day trip, so I never have hit the >50% charge trigger that's created by my limited allowed charging window. I think the few times I've drained my battery to somewhere between 20% and 30% SOC from an 80% fillup, my refill limit was reset to 50% SOC. So, I've been obliviously tiptoeing around accidentally hitting that instant recharge trigger you describe.

 

[hturnerfamily]

Note that if the truck calculates it can’t reach the set charge level in the scheduled time, it will ignore the schedule and start charging as soon as you plug in. So if you need about 50 kwh (or more), 5 hours isn’t enough time at 48A.

This is, unfortunately, CORRECT - as Ford engineers decided that even if YOU choose a preferred set of charging hours, such as overnight for time-of-use rates, the truck will calculate whether it needs to start charging earlier, compared to your State Of Charge % setting, and WILL do so, immediately, or BEFORE, no matter what 'hours' you prefer. Crazy.

I want a SIMPLE screen that just tells the truck WHEN to allow for charging, and then does NOT allow it to charge outside of those hours, NO MATTER the state of charge of the battery. We will ALWAYS have an option to 'immediately' charge, when we want to override that - it's even already on your APP.

Here's how I get around the charging starting the moment I plug in at home, or starting before my 11pm 'preferred' charge time: I set the preferred charge time to 11pm to 5pm.
WHY?
Because of the way Ford's engineers 'engineered' the truck to try to 'reach' your Charge Percentage % Goal you set - they think that no matter what 'preferred' hours you have programmed, your CHARGE PERCENTAGE % should override that, even if the truck has to start taking on power the moment you plug it in, HOURS before the start time you prefer!

I found that 11pm to 5pm sets up a perfect 'time frame' where the truck can never calculate that it needs to start before 11pm, even if the truck is practically empty at plug in. My FordMobileCharger, at 240v 30amp power always fits into this equation, and it works every time.

Now, one caveat - don't plug in before 5pm.

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