😭😭😭 POST BATTERY CONTACTOR RECALL -- FIRST JUNCTION BOX FAILURE 😭😭😭😭

[WyldStallyn]

Not quite what I meant ... ?

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[DevSecOps]

This is where the magic happens at Bob Wonderies Ford. Think they have to rename their Lube Center -- photoshop, anyone?

I'm not sure I want to tackle this photoshop project. Anything with Quick Lube Center in it and my history with Twinkies wouldn't go over very well on this family friendly forum.

Not quite what I meant ... ?

He can still "test" without breaking (we hope).

 

[Logal727]

Glad you got your MME back!

At least I know now NOT to take my Ford EVs to Wondries Ford in Alhambra!

I dunno, they seem to have got it done mostly in a very quick turnaround.

 

[WyldStallyn]

He can still "test" without breaking (we hope).

Is three the magic number where we start blaming the operator? ?

 

[Bayviews88]

Here's some analysis, I believe this was scoopman's route. He started the last leg with a 44% to 81% DCFC at an average rate of about 87 kW, which is about 250A into the pack. The continued driving on I-5 South towards Los Angles, passing over a mountainous area locally called "The Grapevine". The "Service vehicle soon" message appeared near the end of the downhill side, shortly before Castaic, CA.

Failure point is marked in magenta on the map above. Here is the elevation profile of the leg:

The cursor is at the failure point, approx. coordinates 34.53535 -118.64553. It occurred on a -4.4% downhill slope shortly after a brief lane change acceleration. Random thought: perhaps the contactor monitoring does not work during regen, if so it wouldn't notice overheating on long downhill stretches until power is used?

The maximum slope on the uphill side is 6.0%. Assuming the vehicle is fully loaded (GVWR), the power required to go up that hill at a constant 80 MPH would be: 2713 kg x 36 m/s x 6% = 5860 kgf⋅m/s or 57 kW of power to increase elevation, plus the normal aero and RR for 80 MPH of about 32 kW, so 89 kW total or about 250A (about the same power as the DCFC). This had the effect of basically two DCFC sessions in the course of an hour. The contactors rated for 500A should be able to handle 250A continuous just fine without overheating, so the contactors were likely faulty or damaged previously to overheat there. Shouldn't happen.

The other interesting point here is the 250A to go uphill is less than the ~350A power limit applied with the fault, so in theory you could still go over the Grapevine just fine with the power limit in effect, you just won't be able to pass anyone. Moving over and following a semi over the hill would be safe, pretend you are one.

If you have to drive up mountains in hot weather, it's probably wise to just use BlueCruise and avoid hitting the pedal to pass. Maybe you'd want to do a cool down period before and after DCFC, but I'm not sure how fast the contactors cool down? Meh. Either way, some people have bad parts and they are going to fail eventually no matter what you do. If you do have a good part, then you'd just be needlessly waiting, worrying, and babying the car. IDK, get the updates, live your life, take your trips, use the forum for catharsis, and just deal with the car problems if you happen to be the unlucky 1%. On the bright side, once you have a failure you'll get the new part so you can stop worrying.

I wonder if ambient temperature or battery size plays a factor in this failure point. I made a similar Bay Area to LA on I-5 trip in late March and did not have any issues over the Grapevine at night. I have a SR AWD and made multiple DCFC before and on the Grapevine:

1. ChargePoint DCFC near Wheeler Ridge Road to get to 80% (right before Grapevine). Left at 8:04 pm.
2. Caltrans Lebec rest stop DCFC to get back to 80% near Tejon Pass. It’s free, albeit slow at around 50kWh. Left around 9:15 pm

I was using 1pd on the drive, and I did put the MME in neutral during part of the steep decent into Castaic to see how it would affect my speed (“Officer, this was a scientific experiment”) so perhaps that prevented any problems with the HVBJB. As the SR HV battery has lower maximum output than the ER HV battery, perhaps that also prevented any issues?

Have anyone else has issues with their MME on southbound I-5 over the Grapevine?

Are there any known cases of the pre-update bricking or post-software neutering after a HVBJB failure occurring with MMEs that have a standard range battery?

 

[DevSecOps]

I wonder if ambient temperature or battery size plays a factor in this failure point. I made a similar Bay Area to LA on I-5 trip in late March and did not have any issues over the Grapevine at night. I have a SR AWD and made multiple DCFC before and on the Grapevine:

1. ChargePoint DCFC near Wheeler Ridge Road to get to 80% (right before Grapevine). Left at 8:04 pm.
2. Caltrans Lebec rest stop DCFC to get back to 80% near Tejon Pass. It’s free, albeit slow at around 50kWh. Left around 9:15 pm

I was using 1pd on the drive, and I did put the MME in neutral during part of the steep decent into Castaic to see how it would affect my speed (“Officer, this was a scientific experiment”) so perhaps that prevented any problems with the HVBJB. As the SR HV battery has lower maximum output than the ER HV battery, perhaps that also prevented any issues?

Have anyone else has issues with their MME on southbound I-5 over the Grapevine?

Are there any known cases of the pre-update bricking or post-software neutering after a HVBJB failure occurring with MMEs that have a standard range battery?

None of the trims are immune to this. Some are just more likely than others based on overall power consumption. 1PD on a GT only pulls a max of 500amps (that's full regen) while full acceleration pulls over 1000. 1PD isn't going to cause it but any regen will cause power to flow and heat to build.

This specific thread is about post-recall. I don't recall any that were pre-recall on Tejon Pass. I routinely drive Echo Summit, Pacheco Pass and Altamont Pass (all 3 weekly) and I haven't had any issues, but I don't have the recall on my car.

 

[scoopman]

I dunno, they seem to have got it done mostly in a very quick turnaround.

I think some birdies at Ford pushed this repair along. Dealer wasn't particularly happy.

 

[scoopman]

Mach N Cheese is tucked in at the hotel for the night, free L2 32amp charging up to 100% for our EV terrain mountain validation testing tomorrow morning!

 

[scoopman]

None of the trims are immune to this. Some are just more likely than others based on overall power consumption. 1PD on a GT only pulls a max of 500amps (that's full regen) while full acceleration pulls over 1000. 1PD isn't going to cause it but any regen will cause power to flow and heat to build.

This specific thread is about post-recall. I don't recall any that were pre-recall on Tejon Pass. I routinely drive Echo Summit, Pacheco Pass and Altamont Pass (all 3 weekly) and I haven't had any issues, but I don't have the recall on my car.

I drove this exact route round-trip in early December 2021 without incident. That was on HVBJB #1.

 

[macchiaz-o]

He can still "test" without breaking (we hope)

... in before the homonym police:

But can he "test" without braking? I hope not.

Mach N Cheese is tucked in at the hotel for the night, free L2 32amp charging up to 100% for our EV terrain mountain validation testing tomorrow morning!

The taco stand replaced your horsey lamp with a real puddle lamp?

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Not quite what I meant ... ?

You know if @scoopman really wanted to take one for the team, he'd turn around tomorrow when he hits Fort Tejon State Park and head south again... You know, just to be sure.

 

[scoopman]

You know if @scoopman really wanted to take one for the team, he'd turn around tomorrow when he hits Fort Tejon State Park and head south again... You know, just to be sure.

I don't think the family would be down for that.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I think some birdies at Ford pushed this repair along. Dealer wasn't particularly happy.

"Who does he think he is expecting us to diagnose, order parts, and fix his vehicle in less than a week? Do I look like a goddamn miracle worker? It hasn't even collected dust in the parking lot yet!" ?

 

[Logal727]

Mach N Cheese is tucked in at the hotel for the night, free L2 32amp charging up to 100% for our EV terrain mountain validation testing tomorrow morning!

Godspeed Mach n Cheese*

*for real this time

 

[phil]

... in before the homonym police:

But can he "test" without braking? I hope not.

Not a great pun, but props for use of the word 'homonym'!

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