OTA woes continue

[Ventorum94]

The SR Lightning maxes out at 120 kW, and that's only at the start of charging if SOC is low. So it's not an EA issue, it's as designed. See https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ightning-charging-frequently-asked-questions/, which says this:

Can I charge at a 350kW charge station?

Yes. Most Electrify America DC fast chargers can deliver up to 350kW of power, but your Ford all-electric vehicle will only accept up to 120kW or 155kW, depending on if you have the standard-range or extended-range battery, respectively.

I’ve seen as high as 178kW charging my ‘23 XLT SR on a 350kW EA. My understanding is that charging kW in our Lightnings is determined by available current, due to the relatively low pack voltage (mid-300V). EA 150kW units max at 350A (345V x 350A = 121kW charging) while EA 350kW units can output 500A (345V x 500A = 173kW charging). So, while it’s true that our Lightnings can’t charge at 350kW, we will always get higher max charging kW from a 350kW (500A) unit than a 150kW (350A) unit.

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[Calvin H-C]

I know it cannot accept 350 but should do better than 90. SOC was 50%. Disappointed that even new chargers do not deliver max that the truck accepts. I have seen 150kWh on several EA chargers on the east coast during charging trips.

While the charger may say "up to 350 kW" and most seem to understand that it won't deliver more than the vehicle is asking for, there is also a limit on how much the station itself can deliver.

Just because the station has one "up to 350 kW" unit and three "up to 150 kW" units, there is no way they have a feed from the grid that is capable of providing 800 kW if all those chargers were being used by vehicles demanding their maximum. 800 kW is more than 20 homes with a 200 A service would draw if they were all pulling their maximum load (and who ever does that).

Stations use banks of batteries to be able to deliver a high output for busy occasions that is kept charged using a lower rated power feed that runs 24/7. Some may even draw less from the grid at peak times.

If the batteries are capable of delivering 400 kW in total, that will be divided between the vehicles using it. Four cars may plug in each asking for 150 kW, but each can only be provided with 100.

The total rate the station can deliver is probably throttled down when the station batteries get below some SOC value as well. Think of taking a shower after others have depleted your 50 gallon water heater of hot water.

Perhaps the new station is seeing a high usage, leading to a throttled output. Either the novelty of the new station will wear off and the demand will better reflect its capabilities, or EA may have to reassess the station's capacity (I wouldn't hold my breath for that!).

 

[RickLightning]

hmmm the headlight thing is new to
Me. I’ll try that. My modem looks dead though…. No Wi-Fi available. I think that’s a part of this.

The modem has nothing to do with Wi-Fi, so if you're judging your modem working based on not getting a Wi-Fi connection, that's not going to tell you anything.

Playing with the headlights won't do a thing.

 

[Calvin H-C]

I think Lightning owners don't have much to complain about with OTA updates, as compared to Mach-E owners. But yes, Ford needs to step up their game, and they know it.

Tell me about it. From where I stand, MME owners don't have much to complain about compared to Focus Electric owners.

 

[Pitbull2o08]

In the same boat. But my FCSP is even worse than my truck. It loses internet weekly.

 

[Adventureboy]

The only important update for me was the one that added the battery SOC on the main screen. (Before it was only on the calm screen)
\

I am still waiting for this update. I haven't had an update since mid-July.

 

[Pod]

Dealer confirmed mine was “ cancelled in the cloud” and has not retried yet. Grrrrrr. Truck is fine so I guess I’m just rolling with it. Ford does not seem to be worried so I’ll wait I suppose.

 

[3121]

Took my 23 XLT SR in for 10k service. Good news, $36 services charge For check-up, rotation, ect. Bad news, they say truck updates are current but I show nothing since June 16th. Ford Pass connectivity poopy again as well. Talked to Ford BEV and confirmed update “cancelled in the cloud”. Truck has had Gateway Module TSB. LOVE the Lightning, just wish for 60k I did not have to keep going back to dealer for this kind of silly stuff.

Plus, brand new EA Chargers just opened across the street from my house. Tried one out on the way home….350kWh…..getting 90kWh at best. Gotta be better EA.

Okay…rant over. Weather beautiful, let’s go wash the truck.

A classic case of Stupid or Liar…

If the tech hooked the truck up to FDRS it would show all the available module updates.

either the service writer is lying because the tech just didn’t bother to do it or they are stupid and don’t understand how the update and FDRS works.

 

[Howard_Scott_Warshaw]

Took my 23 XLT SR in for 10k service. Good news, $36 services charge For check-up, rotation, ect. Bad news, they say truck updates are current but I show nothing since June 16th. Ford Pass connectivity poopy again as well. Talked to Ford BEV and confirmed update “cancelled in the cloud”. Truck has had Gateway Module TSB. LOVE the Lightning, just wish for 60k I did not have to keep going back to dealer for this kind of silly stuff.

Plus, brand new EA Chargers just opened across the street from my house. Tried one out on the way home….350kWh…..getting 90kWh at best. Gotta be better EA.

Okay…rant over. Weather beautiful, let’s go wash the truck.

I hate being "that guy" but units matter. Kilowatts versus kilowatt-hours. Power versus energy.

And don't count on EA getting any better. They are a compliance company IMO. My own conspiracy theory is they have zero intention of fixing any crippled or down charging stations, and instead show the station as "working" in their app. The Feds use self reported data from the app to verify the station is installed and working, despite other apps like PlugShare showing the station is down. This is not fact based and is my own opinion based on knowing VW cheated to get themselves into the scenario, might as well cheat to get out of it.

There's an EA station I've used in NH where only one of the four dispensers reliably works. One has been offline since Q3 of last year. Another has been crippled at 50 kW for about the same amount of time. The only reliable one is the one that also has a CHADEMO connector so it's always occupied by a Leaf or Mini

 

[Labs4Lightning]

Dealership doesn't do OTA updates, they update modules. They'd be able to see if an OTA update is queued up (it isn't, per BEV as you noted). My last OTA update was 7/13/23, "frunk chimes". Prior to that was 6/18/23.

Dealerships don't update modules during service unless you have a CSP pending, or you have an issue that is fixed by a module update.

@RickLightning
i don’t understand your response. . . It seems mis leading, maybe not your intention. from your other replies you seem to know this stuff.

dealerships can do OTA updates.-just not by the update name we see. OTA updates have fancy names we understand. Dealership use fdrs and do module by module updates just not summarized in the easy to understand name we see via OTA. APIM updates in fdrs are the screen & interface updates. —>that is certainly equal to an OTA. A group of module updates performed by a dealer are what make up our OTA’s.

agree Ford mo co encourages dealers not to update modules but not a hard rule that only if CSP pending. Ford doesn’t like to reimburse warranty for module updates that might come if OTA’s are working.

reading enough posts here that some dealerships have updated without hesitation.

my dealerships reluctance to update via fdrs left me with an error message for over 5 months. I updated via fdrs - error went away and ota’s came after a 6 month absence.

 

[RickLightning]

@RickLightning
i don’t understand your response. . . It seems mis leading, maybe not your intention. from your other replies you seem to know this stuff.

dealerships can do OTA updates.-just not by the update name we see. OTA updates have fancy names we understand. Dealership use fdrs and do module by module updates just not summarized in the easy to understand name we see via OTA. APIM updates in fdrs are the screen & interface updates. —>that is certainly equal to an OTA. A group of module updates performed by a dealer are what make up our OTA’s.

agree Ford mo co encourages dealers not to update modules but not a hard rule that only if CSP pending. Ford doesn’t like to reimburse warranty for module updates that might come if OTA’s are working.

reading enough posts here that some dealerships have updated without hesitation.

my dealerships reluctance to update via fdrs left me with an error message for over 5 months. I updated via fdrs - error went away and ota’s came after a 6 month absence.

I think you understand totally.

Update comes OTA and is called 4.2.3. Faster DC charging (hypothetical). Dealership can update modules, but they cannot perform 4.2.3. They may, or may not, result in your truck having the faster charging, UNLESS Ford has spelled out to them exactly what modules to update, in what order. For example, BC updates to Mach-Es last year were pages of steps. Rewritten multiple times. Caused lots of issues.

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