A new way to manage Intelligent Backup Power is up ahead.

[v2h8484]

I doubt most people would accept an automatic transfer switch that fails 5 out of 9 times.

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[Jim Lewis]

I doubt most people would accept an automatic transfer switch that fails 5 out of 9 times.

OTH, a lot of folks brag about running extension cords and throwing manual transfer switches. It worked 9/9 times for me with less work.

I should say, too, that all of the tests Ford asked me to perform were with the truck turned on and running. They differed in whether the right rear backseat was up or down and whether the truck was already plugged in or not when grid power was cut. The one test I did on my own initiative with the truck turned off but plugged into the FCSP worked like a charm with no action by me. That would be the usual scenario under which I'd expect backup power to work automatically.

Backup power transfer worked for me whether the right rear passenger seat was up or down. All windows and doors were closed, except for me opening and closing the driver-side door to turn the truck on or off as instructed and to read the IBP app power transfer output on the SYNC screen. I also had my OBDLink MX+ device in the truck's OBD port the whole time, a State Farm Drive Safe & Save BT beacon in my center console cupholder, and my iPhone with BT on and FordPass running while I was about the truck and in and out of the truck during all the tests. I even accidentally had CarPlay turned on under Settings, General on my iPhone during the first test, although I may have turned it off in the truck SYNC screen Phone List tab when I first started the truck. My truck was parked head-on in my garage with the left rear passenger door a few feet from the FCSP, directly in parallel with it, and the truck's BT module away, on the far right side of the truck. I deliberately left all that stuff in the truck and had all windows and doors closed to see if backup power transfer would work, and I conclude, for me, none of that stuff, including whether the right rear passenger seat is up or down, makes a significant difference in backup power transfer working for me. I can get transfer to work in my usual parked vehicle situation in my garage... I'll see if that holds up over time...

 

[v2h8484]

Your detailed and patient testing and reports are really a great resource for the community. But Bluetooth will always be the Achilles heel. The apparent few people that have working systems now can have problems later when they/neighbors add/change devices that use the same open wireless spectrum used by Bluetooth.

 

[Jim Lewis]

But Bluetooth will always be the Achilles heel.

Yes, the 2.4 GHz spectrum is pretty crowded. It was one of the limited areas of the electromagnetic spectrum that the FCC (and the rest of the world) reserved for public use.

I'd also agree that Ford could have done much better designing and testing BT and the Home Integration System before putting it on the market.

However, I'm not worried for myself. I live in a development with large lot sizes. There are only two other houses nearby, which are at least 40 to 50 feet from my garage. Radio wave transmissions fall off according to the inverse square law.

I'm my own worst enemy on EMI. I have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi EVERYWHERE. In the garage, I have a Wi-Fi-based garage door opener, garage lights, house water flow meter/shutoff, and water leak detector, and nearby I have several mesh routers and BT-controlled hose bib shutoff valves/timers. My computer is nearby in the kitchen with Wi-Fi and BT output. Two Amazon Echo devices and a Google Home device are in the kitchen, too. I wear BT hearing aids, and my iPhone and Apple Watch are putting out both BT and Wi-Fi. My wife has her own laptop, a MacBook Air, an iPad Mini and Pro, an iPhone, and an Apple Watch, all frequently used in the kitchen right next to our garage.

The thing about most of these transmissions is that when the power goes out, they go out, too. There's just the truck and the HIS system, each powered by its own battery. (In my testing, I left my OBD dongle, my State Farm BT beacon, and my iPhone and Apple Watch all on to see if they would interfere with a backup transfer, and they didn't, even though they were either in or just outside the truck the whole time and still on from battery power. Backup transfer still worked). The trouble for people in dense population areas is that when you do a test shutdown of just your own house or condo power, you don't shut down the neighbors' power, which can still cause EMI interference with your HIS test. But in a real grid outage, most of the neighbors' devices will go out, too.

Nonetheless, my Home Integration system works in the midst of the limited 2.4 GHz EMI during a test shutdown in my ~isolated home. My HIS system should keep working, too, since our neighborhood is frozen in development and lot size by the HOA covenant.

I have experienced serious BT EMI in the past. I used to go to a Gold's Gym with hundreds of patrons. Every other person seemed to be wearing Apple AirPods. At times, streaming to my hearing aids or BT headphones would drop out from the amount of BT signals in the air nearby! By those (extreme) criteria, there is no significant BT or 2.4 GHz EMI in my home.

 

[tearitupsports]

When I go to the site, it just shows this message now.

 

[Jim Lewis]

When I go to the site, it just shows this message now.

Sorry to hear that. Did it work before recently? Maybe it depends on the state of your system.

It's working for me now:

Last night, during a BPT test, I had trouble connecting on my iPhone, but the site came back on for me when I tried again a few minutes later. Maybe if you try again in a bit, you'll get through?

 

[tearitupsports]

Sorry to hear that. Did it work before recently? Maybe it depends on the state of your system.

It's working for me now:

Last night, during a BPT test, I had trouble connecting on my iPhone, but the site came back on for me when I tried again a few minutes later. Maybe if you try again in a bit, you'll get through?

It used to flash for a second then go blank. Now it redirects me to an error page (for days and on multiple devices).

 

[Jim Lewis]

It used to flash for a second then go blank. Now it redirects me to an error page (for days and on multiple devices).

Perhaps the web page is still in Beta and we're only able to successfully connect if we've gotten Ford's secret sauce of Beta updates on our system. I've asked Ford what's making my HIS unit work "more better" than previously and gotten no reply from them on that. The lack of communication and the lack of expensive things working the way we have a right to expect is insanely frustrating.

 

[Wattsgas]

I tried your unlock method during my power outage today, several times, I have not been sucessful in providing power to my home. I was really hoping that this would work, especially since I am in the middle of a real power outage. Thanks for the tip, but it didn't work for me.

 

[Steely]

I tried the unlock method as well to see if it would resolve my fault condition and it did not. It did allow me to retry so I could see how it might be useful if you have an unsuccessful transfer and something gets hung up it may give you additional chances for success but that may be all. And honestly having to try a second time with a system like this is already a failure.

I called Ford's BEV specialist and wasn't able to get anything more than this is a known issue and we are waiting on a software update. They wouldn't escalate specific details or forward info to anyone it was just a scripted reply. I gave them all the lowest satisfaction scores I could on the end of call survey, all they accomplished was wasting 33 minutes of my time trying to get them to do something.

 

[Jim Lewis]

@Wattsgas and @Steely, sorry to hear the unlock method is no help to you.

Ford, in asking me to participate in a backup transfer trial, implied that my truck had been specially updated to be "fully functional" but ignored my request as to what update(s) I had received that did that.

My truck has received just about every recent update announced on the forum, including, in reverse chronological order: ECG 24.2.5.6.2, ECG-24.2.4.10, 6.14.0, and ECG-24.2.4.9. After the power transfer tests around 10/2/24, I also received 10.1.0 and 10.1.1. It's always possible an "unlabeled" hidden update was delivered to my truck, too. In September, I had a time or two when my LVB dropped a lot more than a few percent SOC with the truck sitting overnight.

Although 11/11 BPT tests have worked for me since 10/2/24, since only 5 of 11 were without the unlock method, I'd say Ford has a ways to go before they can claim they have a fully operational Home Integration System. Hope Ford comes through on that promised October 2024 update that's supposed to remedy matters.

 

[Steely]

My trucks update screen shows 6.14 as the last successful one. I don't recall anything about those ECG ones unless the dealer loaded those when it did the APIM update.

It seems like us 22 year owners aren't getting many updates of late. Somehow I have the karaoke app, and after the APIM update my around view camera was miniaturized so I had to bring it back in for them to do another procedure to fix that. So now I have permanent buttons on the camera screen to change view which is nice. No idea if I'm still really at 6.14 still.

I've lost track but I don't think I tried a backup test after the recalibrate procedure, I don't see why that would fix it but who knows. I'll have to try again to confirm.

 

[Jim Lewis]

@Steely, perhaps ECG 24.2.5.6.2 was the enabling update for me. In the forum thread announcing it, relatively few people got it, and apparently, folks in the EAP program got ECG 24.2.5.6.1 instead. All my Ford contact told me for the BPT tests was that some EAP program folks and folks like me outside of the EAP program whose status had been elevated would be participating, and my truck had also received an update that made it "fully functional" (ha ha ha). I received ECG 24.2.5.6.2 around 9/11/24.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...d-rcv-software-24-2-5-6-2-2.21120/post-418730

 

[Steely]

Ok good to know maybe that is what the Ford contact was referring to as the magic future update to fix things.

I hope they send it out soon. Reading about all the modules and versions is quite a mess which probably explains why they haven't sent it out yet.

If they get this thing actually working should we just disable updates altogether to prevent the HIS from becoming non operational again in the future...

 

[Jim Lewis]

should we just disable updates altogether

After a failed update bricked my truck in July. I've set my updates to manual to make sure my LVB has >80% SOC and the update is something that's working for other folks. And also I can be around and aware the update is taking place.

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