Wireless Charging Pad - Ford, you can do better

[Albern]

What fans??

Underneath the charge pad, there is at least 1 fan that automatically turns on whenever a charging session is initiated. The charge pad has small holes for the air to be pushed through along with square channels for airflow along the back surface of the phone.

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[Caniki]

I just got an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and surprisingly, it stays put on the charging pad. The 15 Pro Max I had before it would constantly shift slightly enough to disconnect from the wireless charging.


I've never had an issue with wireless CarPlay, although I have noticed it takes longer to make its initial connection than it did a few months ago. I'm not sure if that's due to a recent update to my Lightning (at 6.8.0 now), or iOS 18, or just random sunspots or whatever.

 

[thunderbayterry]

The Ford charger also overheats my phone like crazy.

Yes, good point - this happens to me too with my Samsung S20

 

[MADequipment]

Underneath the charge pad, there is at least 1 fan that automatically turns on whenever a charging session is initiated. The charge pad has small holes for the air to be pushed through along with square channels for airflow along the back surface of the phone.

I have a 24 Lariat. Never have heard a fan go off. I’ve looked at the pad and there is no fan underneath the rubber mat. Can we see photos of your fan? I think it’s only passive cooling.

 

[ktom]

Sadly as poor as Sync is at connecting to CarPlay etc, I don't even consider wireless charging an option in the truck. Plugging in gets faster charging and wired CarPlay has reduced my frustration with this system.

I had turned wireless CarPlay completely off and only used wired until a week ago. I upgraded the iPhone and when setting it up decided I would try wireless again. Reports were that it was improved after the 6.14 update back in August.

A week with the new phone and wireless and I'm once again done. Every time I get in the truck CarPlay pops up decently fast, but there is never any sound. I reboot Sync and all is good.

So I'm once again back to wired CarPlay and charging everytime I get in the truck.

There is maybe still some hope for wireless with the big Sync update Ford has been talking about. However, it is nothing more than rumor for now because it hasn't been released.

I have found that my Android auto, which works pretty good wirelessly, that occasionally the sound would stop playing after a song changes. (Ford pass people could care less about this behavior)

I used to reset the panel but I found that switching to the FM, then back to Android auto, the sound returns. The FM airways plays.

This might help your car play behavior.

 

[nodoubleg]

I'd still like to delete my OEM charger from my '23 Lariat, and just gain back some extra space in that bin. I NEVER use the built-in phone charger. Just easier to plug my phone in than to futz with trying to get the phone lined up correctly.

Has anybody successfully deleted the OEM charger?

I imagine there might be some Forscan changes necessary if any other modules expect the charger to show up, but I think that'd be fairly straightforward.

 

[GDN]

I'd still like to delete my OEM charger from my '23 Lariat, and just gain back some extra space in that bin. I NEVER use the built-in phone charger. Just easier to plug my phone in than to futz with trying to get the phone lined up correctly.

Has anybody successfully deleted the OEM charger?

I imagine there might be some Forscan changes necessary if any other modules expect the charger to show up, but I think that'd be fairly straightforward.

The only think I know about the factory mobile charger is that is one of the modules that can not be update OTA. There was an update a year or so back for it, but it can only be done with FDRS plugged in.

 

[astrand1]

Mine works fine.

Yeah I’d have to agree. Mine works just fine. My 16 charges fine every time I put it on. I will say it gets a little warm sometimes. But nothing out of the ordinary that I have seen or should I say felt. Lol.

 

[astrand1]

I'd still like to delete my OEM charger from my '23 Lariat, and just gain back some extra space in that bin. I NEVER use the built-in phone charger. Just easier to plug my phone in than to futz with trying to get the phone lined up correctly.

Has anybody successfully deleted the OEM charger?

I imagine there might be some Forscan changes necessary if any other modules expect the charger to show up, but I think that'd be fairly straightforward.

Yeah you could get a bin from an xlt or lower trim that does not have the charger. Not sure if the lid would fit or not. And yes you could code out the charging pad with forscan.

 

[nodoubleg]

Yeah you could get a bin from an xlt or lower trim that does not have the charger. Not sure if the lid would fit or not. And yes you could code out the charging pad with forscan.

awesome. Wasn't sure if the XLT bin would fit with the larger 15" screen. Guess I have something to chat about with the parts department next time I'm near my dealership.

Not sure if I'd even need the lid either. I hardly ever close it.

I almost feel sorry for the team that developed that charger. It's a lot of effort and expense for something that can be outperformed by a ~$30 charging cord.

Anybody want to buy a bin and wireless charger from a '23 Lariat?

 

[Bokenator]

Every time I get in the truck CarPlay pops up decently fast, but there is never any sound. I reboot Sync and all is good.

I'm going out to the truck for lunch right now and see if I can figure it out in the menus, but other than turn the truck off and back on, how does one reboot sync?

 

[ktom]

I'm going out to the truck for lunch right now and see if I can figure it out in the menus, but other than turn the truck off and back on, how does one reboot sync?

Hold the two most outward buttons on you steering wheel for 10ish seconds. The panel will reset. This can be done at any time whether the truck is moving or not. The left one is the volume down button and the right side is the skip foreword button. I have attached an image.

 

[davehu]

The charging pad on my Lariat works fine. no problem with positioning my Google Pixel 5 (with case). just lay it down and push it all the way to the right. with the angle, it never moves even when on a bumpy road. and I've never noticed my phone getting hot. a lot of these comments are using carplay. Apple could be the issue! (just saying.....)

 

[nodoubleg]

For me, it’s more convenient to use the charging bin as a “junk drawer”. It’s a lot of space used for just a phone charger. The rest of the bin isn’t very usable when you’re also using the phone charger. Plus, being buried in the middle of the console like that HAS to block more signal than you get when the phone is more out in the open, such as in that center slot in the console. It’s more convenient for me anyways to me to use a USB cable and that center slot. Plus, the phone actually charges in a sensible amount of time

As the seasons change, one plus of the Ford charger has occurred to me: In the winter you get a nice toasty phone to put in your pocket when you get to your destination. Would make for a nice hand warmer!

I’m dropping the truck off for service next week (couple CSPs, couple other issues). I’ll be stopping by the parts department to see if I can order a “charger-less” bin for the center console

Then I’ll have to see if any faults get thrown when I unplug and remove the wireless charger. If i do get faults, i might have to go spelunking in FORScan to see if I can convince the truck that these are not the droids its looking for. Or… just plug it in and tuck it somewhere up underneath the dash? Anybody know how roomy it is up under the console or dash?

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