Home Integration System Issues

[Boomerboy]

I would like to state to other forum members how my Home Integration system acts. Firstly, I wanted to state that I was using my 2022 Lightning and the Home Integration system to power my home in the event of a power failure. The system was installed in February. 2023. The system worked well powering our home through several power failures. I was confident in the operation of the system. I had tested the system approx. once every 3 months and it always performed as it should. Then about 18 months later my servicing Ford dealer performed many updates because OTA updates did not update the Lightning. After the Ford updates were performed the Integration system went wonky. Every time I tested the system a steady green light illuminated at the Ford Pro Charger but no green light illuminated on the truck at the charge port. I experimented many times and discovered the trick others have mentioned about pressing the release button, disconnected the charge cord, waiting a minute and reinserting the charge cord. After a short while, about a minute, the charge port light would go from white to green and the truck would begin powering the house. I have since upgraded to a 2024 Flash and the system has been behaving in the same way. No power transfer until the charge cord is disconnected then reinserted. One observation I made that I feel is important. When the truck remains plugged in sitting for a period of time (overnight in most cases) the power will not transfer until I perform the trick with the charge cord. Second observation I have made. If I drive the truck for awhile return home and plug it in then test the system. It works as it should. It transfers the power in approximately. 90 seconds after I test the system. So it seems to me, the truck sitting plugged in for an extended period of time does not allow the system to work as it should. My system works as it should after recently driving the truck, so I feel the problem seems to lie with the truck software. After calling Ford BEV, I am told that a software update is coming and the adviser closes the ticked at the end of our phone call. So I wait a month, call again, speak with BEV team ticket is opened and immediately closed at the end of the phone call. This BEV process seems counterintuitive. Closing a ticket before the problem is corrected. Certainly not good customer service, in my opinion. I have a problem with a Truck and a system I have spent my hard earned money on and no resolution, just a statement that an OTA software fix is coming. Needless to say, I am highly disappointed.

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[Pitbull2o08]

This is probably the biggest cash grab without support from any auto manufacturer in history. @Ford Motor Company


Also, a software fix has been coming since May 2023.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Welcome to the forum, we have several members with similar experiences posting in this section.

 

[tearitupsports]

Thank you for the information. What was your last couple of OTA? I assume the Flash already had pretty recent updates.
I do think several of the issues are related to the truck modem, and re-doing the cable may "wake it up" You definitely might be on to something.
I believe it is either 6.14 or ECG-24.2.5.6.3 that has the update. My buddy at Ford says it is actually the 10.x updates that are needed. I have almost the latest and still see what you see if I am too far away from the charger.
I don't know where you park in relation to the charger, but the closer you are the better success you will have on the first try. I believe even a few feet can make a difference.

 

[Boomerboy]

Thank tearitupsports for offering the tips on updates and parking location. I have contacted my Ford service department and asked them to check my truck whether it is in need of any known updates. According to them, all updates are current. My latest update shown on the center display on the truck is 10.1.1 which I think is tied to the latest Ford Pass update. I always parked my 2022 with the back left corner of the truck beside the Ford Pro Charger and the system worked fine for 18 months. It was just after the Ford service updates the system quit automatically working when tested. I now park the 2024 Flash with the back door directly beside the charger because I had read the bluetooth antenna is behind the back seat. In my case, I think the distance is not so much the problem. I think it has to do with how long the truck sits with the charge cable inserted. If parked overnight, the system will not work if I test the system. If I drive a few miles, park, insert charge cable, then test the system, it will work just fine.

 

[tearitupsports]

Thank tearitupsports for offering the tips on updates and parking location. I have contacted my Ford service department and asked them to check my truck whether it is in need of any known updates. According to them, all updates are current. My latest update shown on the center display on the truck is 10.1.1 which I think is tied to the latest Ford Pass update. I always parked my 2022 with the back left corner of the truck beside the Ford Pro Charger and the system worked fine for 18 months. It was just after the Ford service updates the system quit automatically working when tested. I now park the 2024 Flash with the back door directly beside the charger because I had read the bluetooth antenna is behind the back seat. In my case, I think the distance is not so much the problem. I think it has to do with how long the truck sits with the charge cable inserted. If parked overnight, the system will not work if I test the system. If I drive a few miles, park, insert charge cable, then test the system, it will work just fine.

I agree that it sounds like the distance is no issue. One thing you might try when you have left the cable attached for a while is to try and "wake" the truck up by using the Ford Pass app right before you test the HIS. I suspect the modem is the issue in what you see, and doing a test like that might give a clue if I am correct.
For OTA I think you are fine. The people that don't have a certain OTA will never get their truck to connect no matter how close they park or how many times they reconnect the cable.

 

[Runaway Tractor]

The dealers and dealer service guys know absolutely nothing about anything with the HIS. They will not be able to answer any questions with accurate information. Asking the dealer is a waste of time.

You're experiencing the same fluster cluck that everyone else with a HIS experiences. It is a Ford firmware issue on the truck, and a Ford / Siemens firmware issue on the FCSP. Nobody at Ford or Siemens is in any hurry to fix it. They suck and you're screwed for now.

 

[Maquis]

The biggest surprise to me is that it worked well for 18 months!

 

[Boomerboy]

I agree that it sounds like the distance is no issue. One thing you might try when you have left the cable attached for a while is to try and "wake" the truck up by using the Ford Pass app right before you test the HIS. I suspect the modem is the issue in what you see, and doing a test like that might give a clue if I am correct.
For OTA I think you are fine. The people that don't have a certain OTA will never get their truck to connect no matter how close they park or how many times they reconnect the cable.

I did try a version of wake up last week. I used the Ford Pass app and hit the unlock feature. I then tried the system. The system still did not work.

 

[Boomerboy]

The dealers and dealer service guys know absolutely nothing about anything with the HIS. They will not be able to answer any questions with accurate information. Asking the dealer is a waste of time.

You're experiencing the same fluster cluck that everyone else with a HIS experiences. It is a Ford firmware issue on the truck, and a Ford / Siemens firmware issue on the FCSP. Nobody at Ford or Siemens is in any hurry to fix it. They suck and you're screwed for now.

Thank you Runaway Tractor. I have to agree with you 100%. Right now Ford/Sunrun is offering a system with absolutely no support to the customer that had purchased one of these. If you call for support, your ticket is closed directly after your phone call even though your problem is not resolved. I guess open tickets are held against the customer service agents. Otherwise there would be no need to close a ticket when a problem is not resolved. Seems like a system that works against a customer instead of for a customer.

 

[Boomerboy]

The biggest surprise to me is that it worked well for 18 months!

Yes, it worked fine for 18 months until the updates were applied to the 2022 truck. The 2024 truck must have the same firmware as after the update on the 2022 truck. After the updates the system remains unusable if the truck is parked overnight or longer. The system still works as it should if I drive the truck for awhile, plug in charge cord, then test the system. Something goes to sleep after the truck remains plugged in for awhile.

 

[v2h8484]

Keep in mind that wireless device comms using shared public spectrum can work for years without issues then suddenly have problems because other wireless devices in the environment were added/changed/removed.

 

[Boomerboy]

Keep in mind that wireless device comms using shared public spectrum can work for years without issues then suddenly have problems because other wireless devices in the environment were added/changed/removed.

Thanks v2h8484, your point is well taken although I have a different problem as the one you describe. My truck will not power the house if it sits for a long period of time. If I drive the truck and then plug it in then test the system, it works.
I am no software expert but this is what I believe has happened: Ford software engineers in an effort to save/preserve the 12v battery developed software for the Lightning to put certain systems to "sleep" in order to save the 12V battery. Once this software was applied to my 2022 Lightning the system became inoperable once the truck had been sitting for an extended period of time. When they developed this software the customers that owned Lightnings with Home Integration systems were ignored or forgot about. Great idea of Ford's to preserve the 12v battery but now they need to develop other software to make the Lightnings with Home Integration systems work. My opinion for what it is worth.

 

[Rocket808]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Wattsgas]

I have tried all the tricks mentioned in this post and others. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I think that the solutions often are red herrings. They work and we assume that we have fixed the issue. Only later at some point we find it isn't the solution. And Ford doesn't help us with, "It is a known problem and we will issue a OTA to correct it latter this month." I have been getting this same story since April of 2023. The system working is like throwing dice, hoping for 7 or 11.

When my system hasn't worked in the last couple of months, I have tried, the lock button, repositioning the truck, driving the truck for a half hour and re plugging it in. What I generally find is that if it doesn't start working in 5 minutes, it ain't gonna work. I am hopful that Ford is going to fix this. At this point I wish they would give me back my investment and then charge me when they get it to work.

Thanks for you post. I wish us all resolution of this long term problem.

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