My new Ford Home Integration System + Battery installation project

[tearitupsports]

A couple notes from my experience... first when you say you turned off the FCSP at the same time as the main circuit breaker I'm not sure why that isn't on the main circuit as well... you should not have to turn that off... The dark start battery for the FCSP kicks in and powers the communication of the FCSP with the truck and also monitors to assure power doesn't come back on...
Second, and most likely the problem.. The FCSP needs to communicate via Bluetooth and that is where things usually break down... first pull the truck with the passenger side read door as close to the FCSP as possible , within 3 ft mostly works for me. next for extra connectivity lower the passenger rear seat up to give extra unobstructed clearance to the Bluetooth antenna behind the rear seat... then give it a try... it will probably work... after that experiment with moving the truck further away .. be warned you can only do this about 4 times before you have to shut everything down on the FCSP an put the truck into deep sleep to reset and try again.... Good luck and let us know how it goes...

Thank you for the input. I turn off the breaker for the CSP and the transfer switch at the same time, so that I don't have to turn the whole house off. I would be a dead man if I turned off what my wife was watching. It should be effectively the same thing.

As far as the communication from the truck to CSP, I paired the truck with the CSP without issue. I never moved the truck from that location, which is only a few feet away.

The truck does know that power was cut off, and immediately displays "preparing to provide power" so I believe that they are talking correctly.

I updated my previous post with pictures.

Can you verify this is the symptom of the truck being too far away to communicate?

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[Runaway Tractor]

first pull the truck with the passenger side read door as close to the FCSP as possible , within 3 ft mostly works for me. next for extra connectivity lower the passenger rear seat up to give extra unobstructed clearance to the Bluetooth antenna behind the rear seat... then give it a try... it will probably work... after that experiment with moving the truck further away .. be warned you can only do this about 4 times before you have to shut everything down on the FCSP an put the truck into deep sleep to reset and try again.

On any other day, I'd think this was satire and laugh. The only thing missing is to stand on your head with the right turn signal on.

 

[Wattsgas]

I think that Ekiehn is on point with the issue being the bluetooth communication between the truck and the charger. I have had inconsistent results with the HIS. Unfortunately, Ford hasn't provided us with an effective method for troubleshooting the system, so, we are left to guess at the cause. But, in my observed experience, I have better results when the rear passenger door is close to the charger.

 

[Ekiehn]

Thank you for the input. I turn off the breaker for the CSP and the transfer switch at the same time, so that I don't have to turn the whole house off. I would be a dead man if I turned off what my wife was watching. It should be effectively the same thing.

As far as the communication from the truck to CSP, I paired the truck with the CSP without issue. I never moved the truck from that location, which is only a few feet away.

The truck does know that power was cut off, and immediately displays "preparing to provide power" so I believe that they are talking correctly.

I updated my previous post with pictures.

Can you verify this is the symptom of the truck being too far away to communicate?

I have been able to get the system to "pair" without being that close... pairing isn't a problem anymore after some updates came across... operating/transfer is where it is not up to par... like you I also thought, hey I'm paired it should work, but it doesn't unless the Bluetooth signal is at or near 80db... that is another way to figure out where you can park the truck... download an analyzer to your phone.. the Bluetooth signal won't be present from the FCSP until you either restart it or trigger an outage... measure the dB and check to see how far you can get from the unit... I found that bit of info from an installing problem solving document from Sunrun and Ford... there is some good info there that might help you out... the software updates have fixed most of the issues except range of the Bluetooth signal from the FCSP...

 

[Ekiehn]

On any other day, I'd think this was satire and laugh. The only thing missing is to stand on your head with the right turn signal on.

lol... My problem is the FCSP. I could even live with putting the truck 3' from the unit but my FCSP bricks itself about every week to week and a half... that then requires me to reset the unit, ie power off disconnect the Dark Start and reprogram the unit... once the FCSP is reconfigured HIS works consistently and reliably... So far neither Sunrun nor Ford will replace my FCSP...

 

[Ekiehn]

I think that Ekiehn is on point with the issue being the bluetooth communication between the truck and the charger. I have had inconsistent results with the HIS. Unfortunately, Ford hasn't provided us with an effective method for troubleshooting the system, so, we are left to guess at the cause. But, in my observed experience, I have better results when the rear passenger door is close to the charger.

I spent a ton of time with Sunrun testing every variation and combination of things... resetting, reprogramming all the equipment over several visits... Bluetooth is the week point of the Seimens FCSP not the truck. If my unit wouldn't brick itself on a regular basis I would figure out if I could add an external antenna to the FCSP (already sourced what I need)... I just need a good working FCSP...

 

[tearitupsports]

I spent a ton of time with Sunrun testing every variation and combination of things... resetting, reprogramming all the equipment over several visits... Bluetooth is the week point of the Seimens FCSP not the truck. If my unit wouldn't brick itself on a regular basis I would figure out if I could add an external antenna to the FCSP (already sourced what I need)... I just need a good working FCSP...

What are you looking at for external antenna? Does it have a connection to do that? Interestingly enough my charge station pro has worked great since owning the truck the last year and half.

 

[Ekiehn]

What are you looking at for external antenna? Does it have a connection to do that? Interestingly enough my charge station pro has worked great since owning the truck the last year and half.

Glad to hear yours works... mine disconnects itself from the Ford Charge Station Pro app and is not accessible from the Ford app usually about a week or so after the full reset... Wifi is not the issue. Unit charges great at 80amps. As for Bluetooth, there are no connections that I see in the FCSP. I found some schematics of the unit and would have to do some work to figure out if it were possible... as for the antenna, there are several designed for Bluetooth. All I would need is one for the right frequency...

 

[Runaway Tractor]

I spent two weeks of useless telephone troubleshooting my FCSP before they finally caved and sent a replacement. The factory reset button on the board didn't even work. But no, let's do 20 other pointless steps 3 times first.

 

[tearitupsports]

Before I go chasing bluetooth issues, can someone confirm 100% what the symptom is?

When the power is on, or the charger is not plugged in I get the first screen. When I go to grid-down mode, and the cable is plugged in, I go to the second screen which is "preparing to provide power"

Is this what happens to people who's only issue is bluetooth?

I had my truck pulled up with the back window open next to the CSP (and back seat down). No change in symptom. Previously the truck was quite close as well, so it could be a different issue.

I also noticed that when using my phone and truck at the same time to pair, the codes appear on both. Whichever one I click confirm on first will pair, and the other will fail. I assume this is not a concern as long as the truck shows as paired, but want to make sure. Is there confirmation in the charge station app or the ford pass app that backup power is enabled? The only confirmation is in the truck itself right now.

Last weird detail is that the truck shows range in miles when on, but when the truck is off, the screen changes to km.

 

[tearitupsports]

I thought I might have figured out the issue (neutral wire from inverter was not terminated to backup panel) but that did not fix it.

I am wondering if it could be a communication issue between the inverter and CSP. Although the cable run is not long, I am not using twisted pair wires. There doesn't seem to really be any diagnostics, although the CSP summary in the app does show the inverter.

I am not getting any errors on any of the equipment. It just won't send backup power from the truck, even when parking the truck so close to the CSP I can touch both CSP and modem at the same time. As per another video on the forum, I turned off and removed all bluetooth devices from the area.

Is the bluetooth signal in grid-down mode continuous or just a one time blip?

 

[Ekiehn]

If you have done a full reset on the FCSP then you have to delete the previous pairing and re-pair the truck... also when pairing the numbers should match I have never had a successful pairing where they didnt... the km miles thing slaughters itself out when you are actually powering the house... as for the Bluetooth, I assume that it is needed to make the initial transfer but may not be needed after that, but you can't move the truck then anyway so who knows... I do know that multiple Bluetooth in the area when trying to get things going can cause an issue... as an aside I went and tried my setup today as I had time, was getting the same screen you are but I figured no big deal as my FCSP wasn't communicating in the Ford App or charge station pro app I would just factory reset and setup again... well I got the FCSP communicating with the apps but I can not get the pairing to work.. testing the dB signal from the FCSP put it 3 " from the FCSP at 60 to 64db... no way I will get this to work so my FCSP Bluetooth seems to be toast... Finally, maybe can get Sunrun or Ford to replace the unit...

 

[tearitupsports]

If you have done a full reset on the FCSP then you have to delete the previous pairing and re-pair the truck... also when pairing the numbers should match I have never had a successful pairing where they didnt... the km miles thing slaughters itself out when you are actually powering the house... as for the Bluetooth, I assume that it is needed to make the initial transfer but may not be needed after that, but you can't move the truck then anyway so who knows... I do know that multiple Bluetooth in the area when trying to get things going can cause an issue... as an aside I went and tried my setup today as I had time, was getting the same screen you are but I figured no big deal as my FCSP wasn't communicating in the Ford App or charge station pro app I would just factory reset and setup again... well I got the FCSP communicating with the apps but I can not get the pairing to work.. testing the dB signal from the FCSP put it 3 " from the FCSP at 60 to 64db... no way I will get this to work so my FCSP Bluetooth seems to be toast... Finally, maybe can get Sunrun or Ford to replace the unit...

Sorry to hear that I indirectly also broke your unit.

My FCSP has always worked on my wifi without any issues. I can always connect to it via the fordpass app and the charge station pro app.

I have re-paired the bluetooth connection several times. Today without any other bluetooth devices near (phone had bluetooth turned off), the pairing only took about 5 seconds. Codes matched on both charge station pro app as well as the truck. Both showed successful faster than ever before as well. I definitely think there is something to having all phones paired with the truck having bluetooth turned off when setting it up. I had to find my key fob to do this.

That being said, still no go on the transfer even with the modem a couple feet away.

I am going to check the RS-485 connection between the FCSP and the E4_BDI just in case, and also test the DC fuse in the FCSP. Those are only things I can think of that might cause an issue. It is too bad they didn't add a lot more diagnostics to either piece of Ford equipment.

 

[Ekiehn]

Yes more diagnostic info would be great as I and Sunrun electricians have spent hours blind sorting out the right combination to get things working. I was there 2nd install in our region back in January 23... as for the system kicking it finally, I'm kind of glad it did (other than the timing here during hurricane season) so thanks for spuring me on to reset things today. I have known for some time the FCSP was the issue but as long as the unit could reconnect no one wanted to replace it. Now blue tooth is basically dead... Sunrun will have to send their techs/electricians again (I get to catch up with the guys as it's been a number of months) and this time they won't be able to get it connected and maybe finally get Ford through Sunrun to replace the unit...

 

[thunderbayterry]

Does anyone know if the FORD HIS system is available in Canada? I have a Lightning Lariat ER, I have the Ford Charge Station PRO on a dedicated, 100amp circuit - and we have occasional power outages where I live. Is it EVEN POSSIBLE I can get this to work in Canada?

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