DesertEV Lightning Build and I Don't Know Sh*t b/c First EV Thread

[DesertEV]

Very true lol

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[chl]

Nice.

I'd suggest you consider getting an inexpensive L2 EVSE instead of using the Mobile Power Cord all the time.

There have been any number of posts on the various Lightning forums of failures of the MPC, including some meltdowns with smoke and near fires.

They are made by Webasto and sold on Amazon, for example, as the "Webasto Go" Mobile Charger.
If you read the reviews there you will see some posts about failures.

They appear to be heat related.

It has been reported that they are covered by the Ford 3 year warranty when they fail.

If you search the forum you should see the posts about failures.

There are decent L2 EVSEs for under $500 that can charge faster as well if you are wired for it at your house/garage.

This is the inside of one that failed and the owner cut open to examine.

 

[DesertEV]

Nice.

I'd suggest you consider getting an inexpensive L2 EVSE instead of using the Mobile Power Cord all the time.

There have been any number of posts on the various Lightning forums of failures of the MPC, including some meltdowns with smoke and near fires.

They are made by Webasto and sold on Amazon, for example, as the "Webasto Go" Mobile Charger.
If you read the reviews there you will see some posts about failures.

They appear to be heat related.

It has been reported that they are covered by the Ford 3 year warranty when they fail.

If you search the forum you should see the posts about failures.

There are decent L2 EVSEs for under $500 that can charge faster as well if you are wired for it at your house/garage.

This is the inside of one that failed and the owner cut open to examine.

Thanks for the post. My electrician put in a 50 Amp circuit for the mobile charger. I’ll definitely monitor it for sure. I’ve used it for 5 months without issue. Most are short charges between 60 to 80%.

 

[chl]

Thanks for the post. My electrician put in a 50 Amp circuit for the mobile charger. I’ll definitely monitor it for sure. I’ve used it for 5 months without issue. Most are short charges between 60 to 80%.

Yes watch out! One post I saw was from someone who used it exclusively for about 2 years before it failed.

In that case, the failure was a slow down in charge rate, as if it was charging at L1 and not L2.

He took it to the dealer and they reproduced the issue so they gave him a new one.

Time and heat are the enemies - the effects of heating up components and connections during charging then cooling down afterwards takes a toll over time. So the longer/more often it is used, the more the cumulative stress.

 

[DesertEV]

Yes watch out! One post I saw was from someone who used it exclusively for about 2 years before it failed.

In that case, the failure was a slow down in charge rate, as if it was charging at L1 and not L2.

He took it to the dealer and they reproduced the issue so they gave him a new one.

Time and heat are the enemies - the effects of heating up components and connections during charging then cooling down afterwards takes a toll over time. So the longer/more often it is used, the more the cumulative stress.

Thanks! Great advice.

 

[Tony Burgh]

I used a box wrench and released the spring loaded clasp to flip the driver side rear seat back forward.
There isn’t much room back there.
I don’t think getting back there will be a regular occurrence for me.

 

[DesertEV]

I used a box wrench and released the spring loaded clasp to flip the driver side rear seat back forward.
There isn’t much room back there.
I don’t think getting back there will be a regular occurrence for me.

Every truck I’ve had before this I had access to it. Don’t know why Ford didn’t put that in. You are right you don’t gain a ton of space, but if you go camping and load up with stuff it does come in handy.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Every truck I’ve had before this I had access to it. Don’t know why Ford didn’t put that in. You are right you don’t gain a ton of space, but if you go camping and load up with stuff it does come in handy.

I’m glad I found out how to access that space. I didn’t know that seat back would flip down. I just don’t think I’ll need the space but may need to get back there some time.
I love all the nuggets of info I get from this forum.

 

[DesertEV]

I’m glad I found out how to access that space. I didn’t know that seat back would flip down. I just don’t think I’ll need the space but may need to get back there some time.
I love all the nuggets of info I get from this forum.

Same here. Deciding on the next mod. At some point maybe a level rims and tires. The front Ford grill mod looks cool too.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Good Afternoon Fellow Lightning Owners,

Purchased my 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning XLT ER (first EV) back in March 2023 and went with the Ford Lightning. I was really hesitant to say the least to purchase the truck, but after doing a lot of research and watching this forum, I decided to make the leap of faith and trade in my 2021 Titan Pro 4x and purchase one. My first trip ever in the truck was the trip back home from Chalmers Ford in Rio Rancho, NM (which was about a 290 mile drive). It was 30 degrees outside at 6 am in the morning (left the truck there charging overnight) so it was a good test to see how much efficiency I would have on the trip. I left with a 95% charge and made it about 170 miles to Elephant Butte, NM with 28% left as there was a Francis Energy Charging Station there (they have 2 total stations).

Luckily the sales rep had downloaded the Ford Pass App and showed me how to find the charging stations the night before at the dealership. Pulled into the charging station and knew nothing about how to charge the truck, but luckily there was a guy that had an EV car next to me that helped walk me through the process so that I could get it charging and could pay for the charge. He looked at the truck and could not believe that it was an EV. He was really impressed with the features of the truck. I sat in the truck and did some work on the work bench for about 40 min and then took back off home to El Paso. Got home with about 40% charge so I was happy with that. The temperature had climbed from 30 degrees to about 75 degrees by the time I made it home, therefore the last leg of the trip was much more efficient.

Anyway I've been driving the truck about 5 months now and am overall happy with it. I've read some horror stories here and hope that this truck does not end up with the same fate. Received 22k from rebates, discounts and tax credit on the truck so I'm happy where I ended up with the trade in, 3.9% financing for 5 years and the total left to pay. But I am much more happier not having to pay for gas! I don't miss standing in long lines for gas at Sam's either, which I'm sure some of you may have done that in the past as well. Below are the mods that I've done to the truck. Thinking about leveling it out with the EV Toyo Off Road Tires, but a little worried on the range hit. I do have an A2Z Tesla adapter so I will say that was a game changer. Bought that from a member on here in May and was very grateful to him for selling it to me. Ford's Tesla adapter is not set to arrive until September (crossing fingers).

Mods:

Built Right Industries Rear Seat Release Kit: https://builtrightind.com/products/builtright-industries-ford-f-series-rear-seat-release-kit

Rough Country Tonneau Cover: https://www.roughcountry.com/product/ford-hard-tri-fold-bed-cover-49221550

Ford F-150 Lightning Spoiler: https://accessories.ford.com/f-150-2021-black-roof-spoiler-1

A2Z Tesla Adapter

Ford F-150 Lightning BEV Front License Plate: https://dealer.parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/license-plate-bracket-front-(bev)-p-nl3z17a385aa?pdp=y

F-150 Back Tailgate Vinyl Letters: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1392121487/2018-2020-ford-f-150-tailgate-letter?click_key=43e334bc6e341b3f29dbb84577a5b2758d07dbcd:1392121487&click_sum=6e3bdfd5&external=1&rec_type=ss&ref=pla_similar_listing_top-1

Charging at the Home with Mobile Charger: Overall very happy with that. I was going to install the Ford Charging Station Pro, but decided not to do that b/c electric company said I needed an extra meter to put that in. Still have it and may end up selling it. I am really satisfied with charging with the Mobile Charger.

Averaging 2.3 mi/kw so far with all my travels including the trip home from Rio Rancho in 30 degree weather. Also, had another trip of about 170 miles to the lake where I had really bad headwinds and averaged about 1.6 mi/kw all the way home.

Updates: I've received a ton of updates lately. The last update was for the Tesla Charger update. Not sure what update is next, but hopefully they will continue.

Happy to be a part of the group and have enjoyed the forum and all the knowledgeable people on here. Have enjoyed a lot of the conversations on here. Seems like a good community of guys like me that kind of fell into/researched heavily into buying one of these trucks and then were surprised that the damn thing actually worked and has an amazing ride quality. Overall Ford has done a great job here and I don't think all the flack that this truck is getting is warranted from people that don't own EVs. However, Ford does need to fix some of these issues that I've read on here and not let the dealers take advantage of good people with serious truck problems. I'd buy it again...ask me again at 30,000 miles or if I ever have a major failure happen to the truck. Knocking on Wood. Yes, I still don't know Sh*t about EVs but I'm getting to know this truck. Cheers!

Welcome to the Ford family, Matthew! That's a stunning F-150 Lightning! If you'd like to learn more about the ins and outs and everything in-between, we'd be more than happy to help schedule a virtual guided tour for you and your Lightning. Please send us a DM if you're interested.

 

[MTBAZ]

Great post -

For the range in colder weather, as noted on several hundred posts here, Did you use cabin heat or just Seat warmers? The cabin heat has a large effect on range. Good thing you live in TX where it's cold 15% of the year.

For the charge station pro - you should be able to install it on a smaller circuit an not need a separate meter. Use a 30A or 50A or 70A breaker and set the max charge rate in the charger to 20% less than your breaker. I'm ignorant to your local codes and utility needs and your homes electrical equipment so take my input with that in mind.

NOTE: the cable on the charge station pro is annoying because it has the DC contact points and you have to lower the DC flap before you can plug in . If you use this charger, look at replacing the cable if you have no plans to back feed DC to your house.

 

[DesertEV]

Great post -

For the range in colder weather, as noted on several hundred posts here, Did you use cabin heat or just Seat warmers? The cabin heat has a large effect on range. Good thing you live in TX where it's cold 15% of the year.

For the charge station pro - you should be able to install it on a smaller circuit an not need a separate meter. Use a 30A or 50A or 70A breaker and set the max charge rate in the charger to 20% less than your breaker. I'm ignorant to your local codes and utility needs and your homes electrical equipment so take my input with that in mind.

NOTE: the cable on the charge station pro is annoying because it has the DC contact points and you have to lower the DC flap before you can plug in . If you use this charger, look at replacing the cable if you have no plans to back feed DC to your house.

Thanks for the info on the charger. I’ll check that out for sure. I used the cabin heat on the trip. I’ll try seat warmers next time. We do get some cold mornings in the winter.

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