23 GT thinks it is plugged in when it's not and is undrivable — Electrical System Drain

[macheforme]

So, this is a bit of an odd one.

2 days ago I received a notification to my Fordpass app, while the car was sitting in my garage, unplugged:

"Electrical System Drain Service Soon"

I did some research on these forums, and ended up calling the Ford dealership, who told me they recently had one come in with the same message, which was caused by a recent software update, and they were pretty confident I could safely drive on it for the next week (My local dealership's next opening for an appointment is a week out).

All was well...until last night. I got home from running errands, plugged the car into my Emporia lvl 2 home charger in my garage, and about an hour later, received the following message from the Fordpass app:

"Charging Station Fault"

So I went to my garage, unplug the charger, and then plugged it back in. I received another charge station fault. So I unplugged the car, jumped in the driver seat started her up, still had a charge station error, and then turn the car off. Hoping that power cycling the car would remove the error— It did not.

My car is now in my garage, completely bricked. It still thinks that it is plugged in to "the stable" (the name of my home charger location).

I am unable to drive the car out of my garage and to the service center, because you are unable to move your car from park into gear when the car is plugged in. The car is not plugged in, but it thinks that it is.

Here's what I've tried so far:

- I reset the sync system by holding the power and volume ring.
- I removed PaaK and completely reset the vehicle settings.
- I removed the panels to access the 12 volt battery and unseated all fuses for 10 minutes

The only thing that I have not tried, is actually charging the 12 volt battery.

I really hoping that someone @Ford Motor Company has someone advice— is there something that can be done remotely to reset this error message? Otherwise a tow is looking like the only option, and I'm not sure how that would work, considering the car is in my garage and unable to be placed into tow mode.

Any help is greatly appreciated. The best part — whoever was in there last, left the positive terminal battery cap off, the post is somewhat corroded because of it, and there was also a little Debbie snack wrapper tucked in there. Still had oatmeal cookie crumbs in it.

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[njb]

did you try resetting the breaker on the L2 charger?

 

[nicholsjon]

Maybe try to disconnect 12v battery for 10 minutes. Fuse removals might not have completely disconnected it (just a guess).

 

[Mike G]

Maybe try to disconnect 12v battery for 10 minutes. Fuse removals might not have completely disconnected it (just a guess).

That's what I would try as well. Leave the fuses alone...just disconnect the negative terminal for 2 or 3 minutes and then put it back and try again. Takes a 10mm wrench or socket.

 

[macheforme]

did you try resetting the breaker on the L2 charger?

I did try this, but it shouldn't matter - the car is giving this error while it isn't even plugged in!

I could try disconnecting the battery. I'll give that a shot, then will likely test it's charge using my meter/12v battery charger.

As an additional update, it did also try blowing out the charge port on the car with compressed air, the port looks very clean/pins look healthy.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

If your garage is too close to where you leave your fob or phone it might also be draining your 12v battery. I had this happen when I rented an Airbnb last winter. So charging the 12v should also be something that you try.

 

[macheforme]

Okay, I disconnected the battery at the negative terminal for about 10 minutes, unfortunately that did not solve my issue.

The car starts, and still thinks it is plugged in to the charging station. I even get a "unplug vehicle before starting" warning message.

Because all the lights work, and the car starts, I feel like the 12v battery should be relatively charged. I realize that electronics start acting wonky as their batteries fail, but doesn't it seem a bit odd that the car starts and all AC accessories are running fine?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Based on what I see, you may have some type of wire corrosion problem causing the car to think the plug is still connected when it's not. The area under your hood is very dirty and there is an important weather cover missing on the main fuse box. Dirt and mud buildup fester wire corrosion. There could also be rodent damage somewhere causing this.

 

[macheforme]

Based on what I see, you may have some type of wire corrosion problem causing the car to think the plug is still connected when it's not. The area under your hood is very dirty and there is an important weather cover missing on the main fuse box. Dirt and mud buildup fester wire corrosion. There could also be rodent damage somewhere causing this.

Thanks for the feedback. This was the first time I had ever taken off the panels and I was pretty off put with how dirty everything was.

That said, a few clarifying details — the waterproof cover is there, it's just open in the pic. As mentioned in my initial post, I unseated both sets of fuses for 10 minutes to force all AC modules to reboot.

Though I will say, the red post cap for the positive terminal was already off when I removed the panel, and there is corrosion on the terminal because of this.

The plastic baggie is what loons to be a Little Debbie snack wrapper, left behind by whoever previously worked on this car... There are even crumbs still in the bag! ?

At this point, I'm really hoping that this was some sort of over the air update that didn't finish properly... I have noticed an increase in posts regarding the dreaded electrical system drain message, And in most cases it seems to be caused because of a recent update.

The car definitely thinks that it is still plugged in, when the power is on, You even hear the fluid moving through the system and gurgling, as if it was actually charging (I think they circulate coolant while charging to keep temps regulated).

 

[Mach-Lee]

Not sure what to tell you. Perhaps pulling the SOBDM (on-board charger) fuse would get it into gear?

Also feel if the lock pin at the top of the charge port is damaged. Should be fully retracted.

 

[exit74chris]

Have you tried plugging the charger back into the car, let it begin to take a charge, and unplug? I'm wondering if a new handshake will reset the message.

 

[nicholsjon]

Another thought (which could be far fetched); is there any dirt inside the pin location highlighted in the image below? This is the communication pin for the connector which tells the vehicle it is connected and can't be moved. Maybe dirt/moisture inside here could cause a false resistance reading?

 

[MattN]

Hi, I’m experiencing the same issue on my Puma Gen E which is no more than a month old….

Any chance you had your problem resolved? Would you please be able to share some more information on what was diagnosed in the end ? Thank you

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