The Ford Lightning Miscellaneous Question and Answer Thread

[Lightning Rod]

You can and I did for a while - I actually loaded up some Flac files. I've got them on an SSD drive plugged into one of the ports by the phone charger. It became too frustrating as the truck couldn't keep them sorted. It would index and sort day 1, then a few days later they were totally in a different order.

Once you get the drive plugged in - hit the screen with the apps on it and it'll have a USB drive or the name of your drive may even appear - select that and you should be able to play them after it indexes what is on the drive.

Excellent. I will give it a go tomorrow.

Thanks.

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[Lightning Rod]

I wasn't sure where to ask this question. I have someone who is upgrading my electrical service for 60 amp to 200 amp and is going to install my Ford Charge Station Pro. Did I not read somewhere on this forum that the Ford Charge Station Pro requires a dedicated sub panel that should be in close proximity to the charger? They are installing the charger in my detached garage and they are saying that a sub panel is not required for the FCSP. Does anyone know if this is true?

Thanks.

 

[Pioneer74]

Sub panel isn't required but the NEC requires a lockable disconnect on any circuit over 60 amps that isn't readily accessible to the breaker.

I don't have my code book in front of me so I can't quote the exact language.

 

[Amps]

Did I not read somewhere on this forum that the Ford Charge Station Pro requires a dedicated sub panel that should be in close proximity to the charger?

You may have read that to use aluminum wire for a long run from service panel to the FCSP (to save money on expensive copper conductors) that you need to have a transition from aluminum to copper to run to the FCSP. Copper is required for the terminals on the FCSP. This could be done with a sub-panel with an appropriate circuit breaker or a disconnect.

 

[Lightning Rod]

I am going on a trip to Ontario Canada today and I just wanted to know... all I need are some credit cards to charge up at fast charge stations right? I'm going to need probably 2 charge sessions and I'd love for them to happen without many issues. Are there any Dos and Don'ts when it comes to seeking and using fast chargers?

Thanks.

 

[Pod]

I would make sure you have the appropriate apps for the brand chargers you will visit. In my experience, point of sale charging with a credit card is rife for failure.

 

[Amps]

Are there any Dos and Don'ts when it comes to seeking and using fast chargers?

What @Pod said. Biggest don't is, don't rely on card readers to activate fast chargers. They're nowhere near as reliable as card readers on gas pumps.

Get apps and add app payment cards to your phone's digital wallet. You may have to put a card on file or $10 in your account. It's worth it. Remember that the NFC tap area on the charger is often different than the credit card reader.

 

[Lightning Rod]

I'm sitting by the lake, 79 degrees F, fairly humid and my climate control is set at 72 degrees. The screen says the AC is on and also the Heat Icon is lit. Are both operating, and if so, why? The cabin temp is definitely not cold enough to warrant the heater being on. I keep checking to see if the AC has cooled cabin down enough to where the Heat icon would turn off but no, it's been on for over 30 minutes now. If I bump the temp down to 70, the Heat icon turn off. It's this normal, guys?

Thanks.

 

[Refactoringdr]

The heat is not on. It will come on if it needs to warm up to a temp. If that is off, it will not use the resistive heater even in winter.

 

[Jim Lewis]

On some forums, it's relatively easy to find the answer you're looking for with a search. An OP posts a question, and the reply that answers the OP's question is often voted as THE (best) ANSWER by the OP or the moderator(s). And a copy of THE ANSWER is then often promoted from wherever it is in the thread to be right smack dab after the OP's original query post, so it's easy to find (while the original ANSWER reply keeps its place in sequence in the thread to maintain continuity).

 

[TaxmanHog]

I'm sitting by the lake, 79 degrees F, fairly humid and my climate control is set at 72 degrees. The screen says the AC is on and also the Heat Icon is lit. Are both operating, and if so, why? The cabin temp is definitely not cold enough to warrant the heater being on. I keep checking to see if the AC has cooled cabin down enough to where the Heat icon would turn off but no, it's been on for over 30 minutes now. If I bump the temp down to 70, the Heat icon turn off. It's this normal, guys?

Thanks.

It's not actively warming, simply on standby in the event there is a real need to warm the cabin if the outside & inside temps drop below your comfort setting.

 

[GoodSam]

Would be nice to have someone, like an administrator, create a continuously updated thread starter comment to create a FAQ for Lightning owners. This could help new users in particular to find the most common quirks to understand and solutions to problems? But Search is pretty good if folks have stated the issue clearly, avoiding winks and nods as answers.

 

[Jim Lewis]

Would be nice to have someone, like an administrator, create a continuously updated thread starter comment to create a FAQ for Lightning owners.

Some forums have associated highly organized Wikis "Things You Need To Know...". But that takes a lot of curation. I remember some smartphone forums in the 2000s, but then a smartphone is a lot less complicated than a truck!

 

[TaxmanHog]

 

[Jim Lewis]

@TaxmanHog. The set of forums I'm thinking of and was a member for many years was pdaphonehome.com,

Those forums were usually moderated by IT experts in the cellular phone or telecommunications industry.

I've just been answering the OP's original conjecture that a FAQ thread is the way to go about things. pdaphonehome's moderators didn't seem to think so. The moderators got a tremendous amount of help in organizing and answering questions from some of the more active forum members. But they were the most organized and informative forums I've been on, with important stuff usually in massive, highly organized sticky threads right at the head of a forum. The advent of the iPhone basically did 'em in. They died along with the Blackberry...

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