Charge Issue with Mobile Power Cord

[TaxmanHog]

So one leg would need to be shorted to ground for the charger to supply power, and it would call for up to 32 amps in that case?

Not really shorted, remember that the FMC is designed for either 120 or 240, with the ground and neutral functional it's still able to pass through 120 volts to the truck which is taking it at the 1.4 kw rate given values presented.

Sponsored

 

[TaxmanHog]

Another possibility, but probably not as likely is that the truck was consuming more electricity to keep the battery warm. The last time I tried my mobile charger at 18 F it quit and had a yellow fault light. The truck reported it was plugged in, but not charging. The charger worked fine for 8 hours or so (until the pack got too cold?) and the stopped charging. I wasn’t plugged in long enough to see if it would have started charging again if the temps came back up to something more reasonable. The mobile charger works fine above freezing, but seems to be lacking when the pack temps get pretty low. I thought my mobile charger must be faulty, but perhaps something similar occurred with yours?

But if his power outlet was providing 240 x 32 that's enough energy to warm and charge, but the net progress might very well have been a half of the energy being stored in the battery while the other half was used to keep it in a warm chargeable condition.

This brings to mind a potential experiment, I can derate my FCSP to 32 amps and see how it behaves, ie how much in losses I have vs stored charge.

 

[Joneii]

But if his power outlet was providing 240 x 32 that's enough energy to warm and charge, but the net progress might very well have been a half of the energy being stored in the battery while the other half was used to keep it in a warm chargeable condition.

This brings to mind a potential experiment, I can derate my FCSP to 32 amps and see how it behaves, ie how much in losses I have vs stored charge.

Yeah, especially since he didn’t get the charging faults that I saw.

 

[Maquis]

Wow, that is interesting:

So one leg would need to be shorted to ground for the charger to supply power, and it would call for up to 32 amps in that case?

Not really shorted, remember that the FMC is designed for either 120 or 240, with the ground and neutral functional it's still able to pass through 120 volts to the truck which is taking it at the 1.4 kw rate given values presented.

This is my understanding:
The charger gets power through 2 input pins that connect to the dongles. Both dongles put power to those same 2 pins.

The voltage has to always be applied to the two input pins on the charger. When using the 240V dongle, if one of “hots” loses power, the charger won’t draw power from the other hot/ground combination. The neutral isn’t even connected to the charger. In order for the charger to charge at 120V when the 240V dongle, 120V must be applied to the prongs on the plug that normally carry 240V.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The voltage has to always be applied to the two input pins on the charger. When using the 240V dongle, if one of “hots” loses power, the charger won’t draw power from the other hot/ground combination. The neutral isn’t even connected to the charger. In order for the charger to charge at 120V when the 240V dongle, 120V must be applied to the prongs on the plug that normally carry 240V.

I confirmed and agree with your observations, I used an ohm check of continuity for each pin and plug contact on my FMC, matches what as you stated for both types of plugs, so that puts the OP back to potentially losing performance due to cold conditions slowing the charging impact when energy was consumed for battery heating.

 

[TaxmanHog]

But if his power outlet was providing 240 x 32 that's enough energy to warm and charge, but the net progress might very well have been a half of the energy being stored in the battery while the other half was used to keep it in a warm chargeable condition.

This brings to mind a potential experiment, I can derate my FCSP to 32 amps and see how it behaves, ie how much in losses I have vs stored charge.

Results of last nights charging session 72% to 90% in 3 hours 50 minutes on the FCSP
Overnight garage temps around 32°
Peak rate was 7350 watts at 31 amps & 237v per hour
Total energy consumed 28 kWh
The input to storage energy efficiency was ~ 89%, or 11% conversion losses.

The Fordpass app shows the battery storing 25 kWh, providing an overly optimistic 74 miles or range, my real winter MPK is 1.7 not 2.96 !!



I think you have a service voltage issue or the FMC is malfunctioning

 

[Joneii]

My FCSP has always worked no matter the temperature. The mobile charger has issues below 20 F, but only after several hours (like 8-12 depending on ambient temps) for the battery pack to drop in temperature. I will inquire to see if Ford will replace my mobile charger under warranty since this seems to be an unexpected malfunction.

 

[Farmford42]

Good info everyone.
i am tempted to try pulling one leg off the plug in the garage this weekend and see how it behaves on the mobile charger.
I got no errors or warnings at all. It is out of cell service and the ford pass seems to have issues when Bluetooth is the only connection but I would hope the truck would register an error if it was so cold it spent all the power on the battery or some other design choice. It don’t get that cold very often on this side of the country to try and recreate the situation.

 

[Pod]

So will a mobile charger like Splitvolt automatically reduce rate to 24amp if I use it at a campground? i know Ford mobile will not work. Planning on TT-30 to 14-50 NEMA adapter. Or do I need to find a charger with manual way to downgrade amps? I’m so confused.

 

[Amps]

do I need to find a charger with manual way to downgrade amps?

That's what I did. There are just too many situations where you need to downrate your EVSE, especially when traveling. The Ford Mobile isn't flexible enough.

Amproad is what I bought. There are lots of others. The Amproad has a feature you would like - its own WiFi for when you're off the internet/cell grid. You can check on your EVSE from inside the tent or lodge or trailer, etc.

 

[Pod]

Amproad is what I bought. There are lots of others. The Amproad has a feature you would like - its own WiFi for when you're off the internet/cell grid. You can check on your EVSE from inside the tent or lodge or trailer, etc.

Very helpful thank you

 

[craig040608]

So will a mobile charger like Splitvolt automatically reduce rate to 24amp if I use it at a campground? i know Ford mobile will not work. Planning on TT-30 to 14-50 NEMA adapter. Or do I need to find a charger with manual way to downgrade amps? I’m so confused.

I hope I'm not bursting any bubbles here, but I was pretty crushed last weekend when camping at a 30-amp RV spot. Come to find out (through experience and on this forum) that the Lightning has a built-in limit when charging at 120V of about 11-12 amps. Charging on a TT-30 (even with an EVSE that can adjust amps) returns the EXACT same charge rate as charging on a normal household outlet due to being 110/120V.

I used the Ford Mobile Charger this weekend and hoped maybe that was the limiter. So I ordered an adjustable EVSE from Amazon to have here yesterday to test at the local campground with the amps dialed down to 24. Same rate.

I also called Ford's Customer line today, but they didn't even know what I was talking about.

Here's the one I bought and am returning (through no fault of the EVSE): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SZ7HM45?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

PLEASE someone prove me wrong and tell me how to pull 120V/24 amps to the Lightning from a TT-30. I just bought an RV and don't want to be limited to 50-amp sites.

 

[Pod]

Exactly what I’m afraid of. Getting to the campsite and not being able to charge up decently. Should have just booked a 50 site I suppose. Would have been easier.

 

[Maquis]

PLEASE someone prove me wrong and tell me how to pull 120V/24 amps to the Lightning from a TT-30. I just bought an RV and don't want to be limited to 50-amp sites.

Can’t be done. The truck has a hard 12A limit on 120V.

Sponsored