Post Storm, Lighting is keeping things going

[TaxmanHog]

Don‘t the cargo lights go off after some period of time? I was thinking something like 30 minutes.

They do, I was using mine a couple weeks ago to work on a project where there was no exterior lighting, it gave me great lighting for 30 minutes, then I had to tap the in-bed switch to revive it.

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[cal]

Your bed lights are on. They are turned on and off by the button to the left of the headlight switch.

Tried that but the only thing it switched off and on was the rear lights on sides of the bed by the tailgate.

 

[Pioneer74]

Tried that but the only thing it switched off and on was the rear lights on sides of the bed by the tailgate.

Ok. One more thing you can try is to open and close each door. I haven't seen it on my Lightning, but on my 2018 and 2021 ICE truck, the light wouldn't go off if it thought the door wasn't closed enough.

 

[hturnerfamily]

as for ProPower working just fine, and for many different scenarios, our recent camping trip is a great example:

- we left home, with the camper in tow, having the ProPower 'power' the camper the whole time we traveled, with the 120v Fridge operational and cold, and fans and the like all going to keep the camper cool while in near 100degree temps and sunlight.
- we arrived at a beach state park, parking the rig nearby, left the ProPower running(the truck ON), and hit the beach with our chairs and drinks for the day. We visited the camper for the bathroom, for snacks, to cook/microwave lunch, and even just to take a deserved 'nap', all the while the truck was providing 120v power for the roof-air conditioner, as well. Perfect.
- we never turned the truck OFF, or the ProPower, for over 35 straight hours, including a few charging stops along the way there, and back, and a few overnights...

Campgrounds and RV Parks are nice, for reasons when you really need them, but having the ability to simply 'travel' without reservations and worries is a game-changer. This is after years of RVing with a fifth-wheel, gas motorhome, and more recently a diesel motorhome, where 'off-grid' overnights was a difficult proposition, and where a noisy 'gas' or 'diesel' generator was in use, for the most part. And, when you find yourself in a BristishColumbian state park campground, on the way into Alaska, with VERY strict generator time rules, you will be happy that the park staff, and your close neighbors, don't even REALIZE that you are using one - a SILENT one.

 

[cal]

Ok. One more thing you can try is to open and close each door. I haven't seen it on my Lightning, but on my 2018 and 2021 ICE truck, the light wouldn't go off if it thought the door wasn't closed enough.

You're right! I was testing it with the drivers door open. I would turn it off and the bed lights would go out but the cab lights stayed on. When I closed the door the bed lights would immediately turn off when I hit the switch but the cab lights would stay on for about 5 or 6 sec before going out. If the door was open it never went out.

Thanks! Nothin wrong, just operator error!

 

[cal]

Did anyone explain how to increase or shut off the timer? Having to restart every half hour would be a real pain especially when the weather gets bad.

 

[astolleis]

Thanks to @TaxmanHog and @Pioneer74 for posting all the steps. i didn't realize what I did to acomplish the setup. It all now seems so natural to me. This saturday completes my first year with the truck.

Truck has to be Key On Engine On for ProPower on Board (PPOB) to work. I was hoping a YouTuber was right that engine didn't need to be on, but just is not true. Maybe one day we won't have to be engine running.

I had to sit and "work" to keep my lights from coming on. Turned off the "Welcome Lights" in truck settings on big panel, Set headlights to manual via control nob, also turned off zone lights via the big panel.

Only other thing I did, was to place my screens on "Calm" and feel it is only a prefernce. Big Screen - push in on the volumn ring and turn clockwise. On Dash - use the up/down buttons to move view to "Calm"

All in All great experience and have told everyone who would listen my experience.

 

[cal]

I think the timer folks were referring to in earlier posts was the truck shut off timer. Makes sense if a ICE truck has to be on to run the generator for any long length of time. This is an electric truck not a hybrid so it really should not have to be running. I’m assuming that every time it times out I have to go out and turn the truck on and restart the bed outlets. Then I’ll have to wait for Starlink to start back up, the computer to restart, etc. God what a PIA. Fortunately our power outages are not that often. A few times a year.

Does flipping the timer to off stop complete shut down and the outlets can just run until it hits the range limit? Maybe I won’t be selling my Honda generator just yet.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Does flipping the timer to off stop complete shut down and the outlets can just run until it hits the range limit?

The Key-ON Engine-ON status engages the HV contactors that pass HVB 400v energy to the traction motors and PPOB inverters, that's why it currently needs to be ~running~ [contactors engaged]

After ~starting & running~ the truck, PPOB is powering the cabin outlets and subject to the 30 minute restriction on ~idling~ as per the hybrid method of operation.

I believe an enhancement was made to automatically switch off the 30 minute shutdown timer when we switch on the frunk or bed outlets, you can see that status in the vehicle settings display, the timer switch is off, if you touch it, then you're turning the timer on again and the truck will shut down in 30 minutes, leave it alone if you want the truck to run until the reserve miles to go limit is reached, then the truck will shut down.

 

[cal]

Thanks, Looks much easier than I thought!

 

[srspring551]

Picture it Dallas Texas Fall Storm, rain, not ford lighting, and strong winds. 11:30pm a huge pecan falls and takes out all the power for my block. 6am, I get into the garage, get 'Blue' all setup for ProPower. Power cords run to fridge and of course the cable modem/tV. I've used about 5% of my battery so far today and I've been super impressed. My house is going without the ultra-fancy whole house backup system.

Do you have a sub-panel with whole house disconnect switch, so as to not back-feed the grid? It's all manual then, not like the Home Integration complexity$.....

 

[astolleis]

Do you have a sub-panel with whole house disconnect switch, so as to not back-feed the grid? It's all manual then, not like the Home Integration complexity$.....

I'm 100% manual here. I had 2 very long extention cords from the garage into the house. Nothing fancy here. BUT it did bring up a discussion on what would it take to add a manual disconnect switch like you ask. For now, I was super happy how the truck performed with extension cords.

 

[cal]

Can we lock the truck with it still on?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Can we lock the truck with it still on?

Yes

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