Lightning Software Updates using FDRS

[Mike G]

I reread most of this thread and can't find a reference. Has the BCM update issue been resolved?

I asked that same question up the chain last week and haven't heard an answer back.

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[Gimme_my_MME]

I asked that same question up the chain last week and haven't heard an answer back.

We are waiting on someone with the latest FDRS version to test and confirm

 

[tnugentfl]

My '23 Lightning is at Ford right now with a BCM issue. The third brake light is not coming on and the reverse lights on the rear lightbar stay on continuously. This is the 4th visit of lightbar issues. I think they might be stuck....

 

[rugedraw]

I wonder if the ICE vehicles can get away with a smaller backup supply. An ICE F-150 has an 80 Ah battery compared to our 35 Ah.

ICE trucks come with an H6 (70ah) or an H7 if it is a powerboost (80ah). In my case, I upgraded to an H7. We can get away with a 20amp power supply, but the EV's cannot.

 

[rugedraw]

We are waiting on someone with the latest FDRS version to test and confirm

I wish I would have known that sooner. I could have tried with my motorcraft login instead of my dealer login when I did one on a Lightning last week.

If anyone on here lives in the South Florida area and wants to be the guinea pig for this, let me know.

 

[BSull]

We are waiting on someone with the latest FDRS version to test and confirm

I would give it a shot, but my garage is over 100 degrees lately cooling to a balmy 90ish degrees at dawn. I don't think I need a SW upgrade that bad.

 

[rugedraw]

I would give it a shot, but my garage is over 100 degrees lately cooling to a balmy 90ish degrees at dawn. I don't think I need a SW upgrade that bad.

If it helps: It takes less than 10 minutes.

 

[Jim Lewis]

I thought I'd do a reality check here. I got my (Solar) Clore PL6100 power supply (it's BEAUTIFUL!). The reality of "it requires a 20-amp circuit" is that it comes with a 5-20P male plug on the power cord, not the typical 5-15P plugs on more modestly drawing power-hungry devices.

I have 20-amp breakers, and highly qualified electricians recently replaced my main subpanel, so presumably, they wouldn't have put those breakers in if I didn't have 12 gauge wiring (required for 20-amp circuits). Yet all the outlets in my house are 5-15R (duplex). I've read online that builders typically do this to save installation costs, but what I read implied I could replace the 5-15R receptacles with 5-20R receptacles if I have 12 gauge wiring and 20-amp breakers.

As a short-term solution, I've bought a 5-20R to 5-15P adapter on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QWWQX8G/). As a longer-term solution, I bought a NEMA 10-30P to 5-15R/5-20R power converter to plug into my 240 volt, 30 A dryer outlet along with a 25-ft 10-gauge 120-volt extension cord rated to carry 2500 watts with 5-20P/5-20R connectors (Clore allows a 25-ft 10-gauge extension cord).

If the PL6100 can draw up to 100 amps when used at 13.6 volts (1360 watts), if the supply can produce that with 10% power loss, the amperage drawn at 120 volts from the wall should be

1,360 watts / 90% efficiency = 1,511 watts. 1,511 watts consumed at 120 volts draws 12.6 amps.

The NEC expects one to draw only 80% of a circuit's rating for safety. 80% of 20 amps is 16 amps.

So, I presume the best thing to do would be to check the gauge of my wiring and replace the outlet I want to use with a 5-20R (dual?) receptacle. But since 80% of 15 amps is 12.0 amps, and I don't expect I'm going to be drawing 100 A for any extended length with FDRS and the Lightning, I think I could get by with my 5-20R to 5-15P adapter in a 5-15R receptacle.

If I set the PL6100 to maintain 13.1 volts, then the current draw at 120 volts from the wall would be 12.1 amps, ~80% of a 15-amp circuit, and presumably safe for my adapter plug and the existing wall receptacle.

Like they say, a (very) little knowledge is a dangerous thing. If anyone wants to save me from burning down my house, I'd love to hear about the error of my ways and how to toe the straight and narrow.

No matter how much FDRS updating I ever do, I'm going to turn off automatic updates and plug in my PL6100 every time there's an OTA update to do (you still have to have your LVB in good shape and have it charged up enough, though).

 

[duncanmaio]

I reread most of this thread and can't find a reference. Has the BCM update issue been resolved?

Did a couple of FDRS updates last night - BCM update is still not available without a security clearance.

EDIT: And in the process, likely killed the 12 volt battery. Drive to work this morning was fine, but running an errand at lunch the dash lit up like a christmas tree with idiot lights, and i got a warning to stop driving. 30 minutes later everything was fine, but the battery is 26 months old, so it is getting replaced this afternoon.

BTW I used a 90 amp IOTA power supply during the FRDS sessions.

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

Did a couple of FDRS updates last night - BCM update is still not available without a security clearance.

Can you post screenshots?

 

[Mike G]

I thought I'd do a reality check here. I got my (Solar) Clore PL6100 power supply (it's BEAUTIFUL!). The reality of "it requires a 20-amp circuit" is that it comes with a 5-20P male plug on the power cord, not the typical 5-15P plugs on more modestly drawing power-hungry devices.

I have 20-amp breakers, and highly qualified electricians recently replaced my main subpanel, so presumably, they wouldn't have put those breakers in if I didn't have 12 gauge wiring (required for 20-amp circuits). Yet all the outlets in my house are 5-15R (duplex). I've read online that builders typically do this to save installation costs, but what I read implied I could replace the 5-15R receptacles with 5-20R receptacles if I have 12 gauge wiring and 20-amp breakers.

As a short-term solution, I've bought a 5-20R to 5-15P adapter on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QWWQX8G/). As a longer-term solution, I bought a NEMA 10-30P to 5-15R/5-20R power converter to plug into my 240 volt, 30 A dryer outlet along with a 25-ft 10-gauge 120-volt extension cord rated to carry 2500 watts with 5-20P/5-20R connectors (Clore allows a 25-ft 10-gauge extension cord).

If the PL6100 can draw up to 100 amps when used at 13.6 volts (1360 watts), if the supply can produce that with 10% power loss, the amperage drawn at 120 volts from the wall should be

1,360 watts / 90% efficiency = 1,511 watts. 1,511 watts consumed at 120 volts draws 12.6 amps.

The NEC expects one to draw only 80% of a circuit's rating for safety. 80% of 20 amps is 16 amps.

So, I presume the best thing to do would be to check the gauge of my wiring and replace the outlet I want to use with a 5-20R (dual?) receptacle. But since 80% of 15 amps is 12.0 amps, and I don't expect I'm going to be drawing 100 A for any extended length with FDRS and the Lightning, I think I could get by with my 5-20R to 5-15P adapter in a 5-15R receptacle.

If I set the PL6100 to maintain 13.1 volts, then the current draw at 120 volts from the wall would be 12.1 amps, ~80% of a 15-amp circuit, and presumably safe for my adapter plug and the existing wall receptacle.

Like they say, a (very) little knowledge is a dangerous thing. If anyone wants to save me from burning down my house, I'd love to hear about the error of my ways and how to toe the straight and narrow.

No matter how much FDRS updating I ever do, I'm going to turn off automatic updates and plug in my PL6100 every time there's an OTA update to do (you still have to have your LVB in good shape and have it charged up enough, though).

I did exactly that. Replaced one outlet that was originally a 5-15R with a 5-20R and that's what I plug the PL6100 into. Since neither my Lightning nor my MME will draw more than 60 amps when programming I have no issue with it.

I also have an adapter pigtail (15P to 20R) that came attached to a Utilitech 12 GA extension cord I got at Lowes that I used to use before swapping out the receptacle.

I have a separate extension cord that I run the laptop powersupply to on a different circuit in the garage.

 

[duncanmaio]

Can you post screenshots?

Don't have my laptop with me, but I will try to get a screenshot tonight.

 

[Jim Lewis]

On the power supply amperage bit I also read on the Internet that the NEC 80% rule is for "continuous" loads, those that run for three hours or more. A fluctuating power supply is considered a "non-continuous” load. So, by NEC rules, it would be considered safe to draw up to 15 amps from a 5-15R receptacle (on my 20-amp circuit) as long as the current draw is fluctuating.

 

[duncanmaio]

Can you post screenshots

View attachment 86588

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

View attachment 86588 View attachment 86588 View attachment 86588 View attachment 86588

Can you update FDRS and try again? Do you have an NASTF login?