Stranded on the I.C.E. !

[atguru]

My ‘23 Lightning Pro with 36k miles on it stopped accepting “a” charge! My usual routine is after 10 or 11 pm to plug the truck into my ChargePoint home charger .. Several nights ago, plugged it in and walked away... Within 10 minutes, I got a notification of a Charge Fault! Plugged it in and got the dreaded amber lights. Unplugged the charger, turned off the 240v breaker, wait a few minutes. Flipped back on the breaker, and plugged back up the charger... Same thing - amber lights!! Disconnected the 12 V battery, waited about 15 minutes, and re-connected the battery back. Same thing, Charge Fault - amber lights!!

Took the truck to the dealer the next day... The service manager plugged it into their level 2 charger, it seem to work normally. Turns out the ChargePoint charger had some kind of issue, and Turns out the ChargePoint charger had some kind of electrical issue, one of the prongs had overheated and was damaged. Upon inspecting the 240 V plug it was also melted and had clear signs of overheating Upon inspecting my 240 V socket, it had clear signs of overheating type damage. I have an electrician coming this week to take care of the 240v socket issue and ChargePoint is sending a replacement charger.

However, there was an alert message - "Powertrain Malfunction / Reduced Power". Additionally, there were multiple errors coming from the Air Dam. This problem with the Air Dam, I'd seen maybe 8-9 months ago, and the dealer supposedly took care of that, but here it is back again!

The truck appears to be driving normally despite all of these issues. I took it to an EA charger to see if it would charge. It seems to start normally, but then it doesn't go any faster than 20 kW! I tried several EA chargers in the area, and I got the same results. It got so slow that it went all the way down to 6KW! Now it doesn't charge at all. Now it won't charge on the EA DC at all. The truck immediately reported a Charge Fault - amber lights.

Later that evening, I thought I'd give it one more try. I pulled out the charger that comes with the truck (the one that has the 240 plug and the 110 plug). This charger is still brand new still in the plastic, and never even opened it. It worked fine for a few hours but then went to a Charge Fault state. It stopped at 60% SOC.

The next morning I took it to the dealer. I was given a rental '23 F150, XLT ICE. It's got over 23k miles. This thing bounces around like I'm riding a horse! Very noisy and very uncomfortable!! I had to buy gas (very reluctantly), I haven't bought gas in almost a year and 1/2. Went to the lowest cost place I could find (which in my area is the Sam's Club). Brought $30 of gas, and got me a 1/4 tank!! Very shocking after getting used to spending on the average $15-$20 bucks for 80% SOC!

Now I'm stuck on the I.C.E. ! The dealer has no idea when they're gonna get this thing fixed. Hopefully, I'll hear something from the Ford electrical mechanic next week.

 

[The Weatherman]

 

[Pioneer74]

I bet your 14-50 receptacle isn't industrial rated. The cheap outlets from the big box stores can't handle continuous loads.

 

[Fastnf]

What he said ^^^
The industrial ones are slightly larger in diameter and significantly more expensive but worth it. Because of the larger in diameter they will need a new face plate as well.

 

[StrikesTwice]

What were the amps set on the Chargepoint?

 

[atguru]

It was supposed to be a commercial version Hubbel socket... Not the cheap stuff.

It's been working fine since I got the truck, which has been about 16 months. Additionally, I've got a galvanized retractable door surrounding the socket just to keep it from being exposed to the weather... Of courses not a whole lot of weather in the garage (except when the garage is open, long period of time), but it's just a safety precaution.

Obviously, I'm gonna double check it on this new install, that's happening this week.

ChargePoint was set for 50 A.

Any ideas on why I would get these alert/error messages? I'm specifically interested in this one regarding powertrain performance.

 

[Maquis]

ChargePoint was set for 50 A.

That’s an issue. A 50A circuit should only be used with continuous loads up to 40A (80% rule). Drawing 50A over the course of 16 months caused enough thermal cycling to induce failure.

 

[StrikesTwice]

From my understanding, you should hardwire the evse when going over 40 amps. But I’m not an electrician and there may be exceptions to the rule.

Also, I know it’s recommended to go back and check the connections after some time of use. A loose connection can generate heat.

Regardless, I’m sorry you’re going through this, it can’t be fun.

 

[Newton]

Did you use the same outlet for the portable charger? The internals of that outlet are probably toast, perhaps problems all the way back to and including the breaker.

This could all indicate that your charge port also overheated and melted something. Have them replace it with a NACS

 

[atguru]

Thank you for the responses.

It actually may be 40 A. I'm just going on what the ChargePoint app is configured for but the ChargePoint charger is (obviously) disconnected, so maybe the data on the app is the default settings.

Yep, you're right this is not a lot of fun. I'm just hopeful I can get my truck back soon.

Thanks for the feedback regarding the possible amount of electrical damage. I'll have the electrician check it all the way out to the circuit breaker. Maybe it's best to hardwire it.

 

[Jmmanley1]

I didn’t have any overheating issues but I did get the dreaded charge fault. Battery Module 5 was bad. Dealer said there were 20+ fault codes thrown. I’m on week 5. Battery module finally showed up on week 4, buttoned everything back together and the OBDII harness was throwing a code. They assumed it was related to the battery issue. Been waiting on that for almost a week. Maybe today? Maybe not.

Good luck!

 

[hturnerfamily]

likely you have a 'loose' wire, one of your HOT LEADS in your outlet...

this is common, actually, since a lot of HEAT is passing thru the New outlet/prongs/wires and this can expose issues where the original 'tightening' of the screws on the outlet has worked loose, over time. TIGHTENING the screw(s) is generally the answer.

The best course of action for any new NEMA 14-50 outlet, for an EVSE, is to use it for a week, then dismantle the outlet and RE-TIGHTEN every screw. You might be amazed at the 'loosness' of one or more of them...

 

[hturnerfamily]

or, something 'else' caused it.............

 

[atguru]

Thanks for the response. Haven’t heard of that before. I’ll run it by electrician.

likely you have a 'loose' wire, one of your HOT LEADS in your outlet...

this is common, actually, since a lot of HEAT is passing thru the New outlet/prongs/wires and this can expose issues where the original 'tightening' of the screws on the outlet has worked loose, over time. TIGHTENING the screw(s) is generally the answer.

The best course of action for any new NEMA 14-50 outlet, for an EVSE, is to use it for a week, then dismantle the outlet and RE-TIGHTEN every screw. You might be amazed at the 'loosness' of one or more of them...

 

[Jmmanley1]

I didn’t have any overheating issues but I did get the dreaded charge fault. Battery Module 5 was bad. Dealer said there were 20+ fault codes thrown. I’m on week 5. Battery module finally showed up on week 4, buttoned everything back together and the OBDII harness was throwing a code. They assumed it was related to the battery issue. Been waiting on that for almost a week. Maybe today? Maybe not.

Good luck!

7 weeks and I have my truck back. Rough.

Sponsored