Intelligent backup power Bluetooth issues and solution

[ElectroJames]

If you are a Ford lightning owner, and you have also paid the extra money to install the Ford Intelligent Backup Power solution for your home you along with 99% of all customers in the same boat do not have a functioning or reliable back up power solution. No one is talking about this because supposedly Ford is still working on an OTA as a fix.


I personally have been very frustrated with the situation and wanted to try to figure out a solution or at least give DATA to Ford to help them just do better.

Ford I encourage you to get away from Bluetooth connectivity as unreliable as it is it shouldn't be used in a critical infrastructure such as power for your home, this should be a hardwired communication. I understand there are only so many wires in the charger cord between your truck and the charger but if you can't use existing com wires in your charger cord between the truck and the charger, there is a technology out there for communicating over top of powerlines. I know it's available for AC power lines, it's called PLC, power line communication, surely there is some sort of way you can utilize the DC wiring between the truck and the charger instead of relying on Bluetooth communication.


Not to be a troll, but maybe if this made its way to a few news outlets... that Ford is selling a product that doesn't function correctly let alone function at all for most people. Maybe that would help throw a few more engineers on fixing this issue sooner. wy if you don't believe me, start looking at Ford Facebook groups, this topic has been brought up, start looking at the Ford lightning forum, where other Ford owners clearly describe the same issues.

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[TaxmanHog]

Interesting findings!!!

 

[ElectroJames]

I spoke too soon…

 

[TaxmanHog]

Do you have the latest software on the FCSP?

As viewed in fordpass connected charge station settings:

As viewed in the Charge Station Pro setup utility:

 

[ElectroJames]

Do you have the latest software on the FCSP?

As viewed in fordpass connected charge station settings:

As viewed in the Charge Station Pro setup utility:

Yes it looks like I have the same.
2.112.91:2.149:1.32:0.62:1.53

 

[TaxmanHog]

That's good, at least we know you have the latest version, I was wondering if it would have a positive impact on reliable HIS operations, possibly not the case.

 

[v2h8484]

I spoke too soon…

Not surprised. That's the inherent nature of public shared spectrum wireless comms.

 

[Ekiehn]

If you are a Ford lightning owner, and you have also paid the extra money to install the Ford Intelligent Backup Power solution for your home you along with 99% of all customers in the same boat do not have a functioning or reliable back up power solution. No one is talking about this because supposedly Ford is still working on an OTA as a fix.


I personally have been very frustrated with the situation and wanted to try to figure out a solution or at least give DATA to Ford to help them just do better.

Ford I encourage you to get away from Bluetooth connectivity as unreliable as it is it shouldn't be used in a critical infrastructure such as power for your home, this should be a hardwired communication. I understand there are only so many wires in the charger cord between your truck and the charger but if you can't use existing com wires in your charger cord between the truck and the charger, there is a technology out there for communicating over top of powerlines. I know it's available for AC power lines, it's called PLC, power line communication, surely there is some sort of way you can utilize the DC wiring between the truck and the charger instead of relying on Bluetooth communication.


Not to be a troll, but maybe if this made its way to a few news outlets... that Ford is selling a product that doesn't function correctly let alone function at all for most people. Maybe that would help throw a few more engineers on fixing this issue sooner. wy if you don't believe me, start looking at Ford Facebook groups, this topic has been brought up, start looking at the Ford lightning forum, where other Ford owners clearly describe the same issues.

You are still on the right track. In order for me to get the transfer to work I have to pull the right side of the truck halfway into the garage(Ford pro charger is mounted on the outside wall - concrete) and it works... in other words I have to have the rear passenger seat ( were I was told the antenna is) no more than 3 feet away from the charger. That's with my phone on me and in the truck. So I'm going to try your trick and see if I can extend the distance - your truck was way further away than I could ever be to get it to work. One other thing, about your discouragement about it not working later. I was told by the Sunrun installers that Ford told them if it transfers power multiple times in a day- can't remember for sure but I think they said 2 maybe 3 times- then it wouldn't transfer again until the truck went through a deep sleep mode or 24 hours... I actually experienced this in that when we finally got things working I tried it I think 3 times and the 4th time it would work... discouraged I went a week and the next weekend tried again and it worked - albeit with mirrors folded and tucked partially in the garage to get within 2 feet of the Pro charger... which I shouldn't have to do. Ugh

 

[Dhawk]

I have a 2022 lightning extended range. I’m currently without power and successfully transferring power to the house. All lights and ac on. I have had it randomly stop twice in two hours. I can restart it from the truck under intelligent backup power. My fcsp is not updated and is not connected to fordpass app or the network. I’m interested in improving our connection reliability but excited that we’re not all the way in the dark. Thanks for everyone sharing!

 

[ElectroJames]

I have a 2022 lightning extended range. I’m currently without power and successfully transferring power to the house. All lights and ac on. I have had it randomly stop twice in two hours. I can restart it from the truck under intelligent backup power. My fcsp is not updated and is not connected to fordpass app or the network. I’m interested in improving our connection reliability but excited that we’re not all the way in the dark. Thanks for everyone sharing!

@Dhawk
would you mind sharing pictures of your setup and a video of it successfully transferring during a simulated outage. Hoping to pickup some magical difference in your setup to see what you are doing differently than the rest of us with problematic systems.

 

[smandel]

I had written that the HIS finally kicked in last week for the first time. I havent had any real outages but simulating it 4 times it has transferred power on 3 of those occations. Now I also just saw the Pending update label disappear on my phone app after I saw the FCSP go into the communication mode after I unplugged the truck. Hhhmmmm?

I also have solar connected (AC coupled) and get a negitive current reading on the BDI inverter App. I am assuming this is because the Solar power is far greater than the load from the house. The truck showed no output at that time and after that event the battery level increased by 1% so I guess it dc charged from the inverter.....

It would be nice if there was more robust information on the phone or truck app concerning power flow during these events. Just saying. My truck is a SR Lariat.

 

[v2h8484]

I also have solar connected (AC coupled) and get a negitive current reading on the BDI inverter App. I am assuming this is because the Solar power is far greater than the load from the house. The truck showed no output at that time and after that event the battery level increased by 1% so I guess it dc charged from the inverter.....

That's interesting. Is AC coupling with existing solar system a supported configuration by Ford/SunRun?

 

[smandel]

They said not when I initially called many months ago but it says AC/DC coupled on the BDI -10 spec sheet. Also I have demonstrated that fact with getting this huge negative number from my solar output on my inverter as well as no draw on truck battery during backup mode. Now the other thing that I was told was that the truck would not charge from the DC coming from the inverter. It also seems to be untrue with my truck, gaining a percent of battery level during the backup event last week.

 

[v2h8484]

They said not when I initially called many months ago but it says AC/DC coupled on the BDI -10 spec sheet. Also I have demonstrated that fact with getting this huge negative number from my solar output on my inverter as well as no draw on truck battery during backup mode. Now the other thing that I was told was that the truck would not charge from the DC coming from the inverter. It also seems to be untrue with my truck, gaining a percent of battery level during the backup event last week.

The inverter is bidirectional but reliable and safe AC coupling with existing solar in off-grid situation is also critically dependent on the truck battery management system and FCSP. So, AC coupling may work under many conditions. However, there could still be unsafe conditions that have not been addressed by the integration between the truck, FCSP and HIS. Such as when the truck battery is nearly full and sudden large AC coupled solar power backfeed spikes due to large load (e.g. central A/C) turn offs could potentially fry sensitive electronics in the the, FCSP or HIS if not handled properly and quickly (in milliseconds). Given the known HIS comms reliability issues I can see why AC coupling is not supported by Ford/SunRun even though the Delta inverter supports it.

 

[Wattsgas]

I share your frustration. During my last simulated power outage. I got interrupted. At approximately minute 10 to 11 I heard the power kick on in the house. I am getting tired of simulating power outages. Mostly because I am sure that one of these times I will take a sledge hammer to the system. I have a ticket in with Ford. The Ford Rep said, "That there is a known issue. It would be nice if they gave us some visibility to the issue resolution. A big part of my decision to go with the Lightning was the home integration system. With the current state of things it would have been a better solution to go with a backup generator plug. The uncertainty is unsettling.

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