Ford Charger that comes with MME not charging solid red light

[Rocky29670]

I've been using the travel charger as my primary charger since I got the car in 2021. We're experiencing a huge heat wave and not sure if it's related or not, but I've got two solid red lights illuminated.

Do you think it's heat related or has it finally just kicked the bucket? I tried unplugging it, the light goes blue then immediately red again.

I have it charged into a 240 or whatever dryer volt. So if I'm replacing it does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

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[merchjo]

Did you check the voltage at the outlet? It should be around 220V across the 2 hot legs. Did you try the 110v plug? If you have no way to check the voltage at your 220 plug try the 110 to see if you have the same issue.

 

[Maquis]

Overheating causes an amber light. See the owners manual for a matrix of what the light colors indicate.

 

[merchjo]

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

• Blue Light: Indicates the vehicle is connected and actively charging or waiting for a charging schedule.
  
  
• Orange Light: Often signals a fault, such as overheating or a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) fault.
  
  
• White Light: Can be used as a courtesy light for plugging in and unplugging, or to indicate that the vehicle is plugged in but not actively charging and no errors are present.
  
  
• Flashing Yellow: May indicate the charge point is rebooting or undergoing a software update.
  
  
• Flashing Red: Could indicate a charge cord fault.
  
  
• Solid Red: Typically indicates a charging error.

 

[RickMachE]

Where's the red lights - the charger or the car?

If you're plugged into a 30amp dryer circuit, you're overloading the circuit and it might have caught up with you.

If it's 40amp or higher, then check the outlet for melting.

If that's good, then bring it into an air conditioned environment for a few hours. Then, back out, and plug in again to the wall, not the car. If the light isn't blue, the charger is bad.

 

[Rocky29670]

Tried everyone's advice, from keeping it in the AC for a few hours, changing to the 110 plug and checked the 50a breaker and nothing worked. Looks like it's cooked.

I ordered a Grizzl-E from Amazon. Is that a decent replacement? Will it be reliable or perhaps even a little faster?

 

[RickMachE]

Tried everyone's advice, from keeping it in the AC for a few hours, changing to the 110 plug and checked the 50a breaker and nothing worked. Looks like it's cooked.

I ordered a Grizzl-E from Amazon. Is that a decent replacement? Will it be reliable or perhaps even a little faster?

The Ford Mobile Charger is 32amps. The Grizzl-E is whatever you bought, I assume 40amps. Therefore, it would be 40/32=25% faster.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The Ford Mobile Charger is 32amps. The Grizzl-E is whatever you bought, I assume 40amps. Therefore, it would be 40/32=25% faster.

That's assuming @Rocky29670 is using a 50A-capable circuit. If he's using a 40A circuit, he needs to de-rate to 32A. ??

 

[Maui]

The Ford Mobile Charger is 32amps. The Grizzl-E is whatever you bought, I assume 40amps. Therefore, it would be 40/32=25% faster.

What is your current favorite / recommended charger for NEMA 14-15 (50) ?
*fixed typo

Seems to be a lot of recommendations for "HomeFlex Level 2 EV Charger J1772"

 

[RickMachE]

What is your current favorite / recommended charger for NEMA 14-15?

Seems to be a lot of recommendations for "HomeFlex Level 2 EV Charger J1772"

14-50.

ChargePoint's HomeFlex is a quality unit. https://amzn.to/4et5ZIG

Emporia is notably cheaper. https://amzn.to/442NTcN

Grizzl-E is even cheaper. https://amzn.to/3TOdD6A

All good units.

 

[markystarky]

I've been using the travel charger as my primary charger since I got the car in 2021. We're experiencing a huge heat wave and not sure if it's related or not, but I've got two solid red lights illuminated.

Do you think it's heat related or has it finally just kicked the bucket? I tried unplugging it, the light goes blue then immediately red again.

I have it charged into a 240 or whatever dryer volt. So if I'm replacing it does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

I had a similar problem and discovered the plug in the top of the Ford charger was slightly ajar by a hair. I used a small hammer to tap it back in and it's been working since.

 

[Rocky29670]

I had a similar problem and discovered the plug in the top of the Ford charger was slightly ajar by a hair. I used a small hammer to tap it back in and it's been working since.

That's crazy that you say that. I was just about to throw mine out after having and using the Grizzle-E for almost a month now. Tried hooking it back up and making sure it was fully plugged in and viola it worked. Guess it's going back in the car as a true backup, mobile charger as it was intended.

 

[YeOldeTraveller]

I used the Ford Mobile Charger for the first 7 months at 120 V without issue. I got an adapter for the 50 A welding plug just below the break box in the garage. It worked for a while at 240 V, but I eventually got the red light, so went back to 120 V. I eventually replaced the controller in the JuiceBox 40 I got from my boss, and installed that. I have had no issues since with Level 2 at home.

I have a J+Booster that I ordered as soon as I got the car to have with me on trips. It has a case and easy control over the allowed current. I have a couple adapters that work with it in the same case.

Have the Ford Mobile Charger and all the associated hardware in a box, so I have it available to return with the car when the lease is up.

 

[AllenXS]

I had a similar problem and discovered the plug in the top of the Ford charger was slightly ajar by a hair. I used a small hammer to tap it back in and it's been working since.

I used to get that a bit when using mine. Re-seating it did the trick.
But get a faster L2 wired in, it’s easier

 

[Larry Paul]

Tried everyone's advice, from keeping it in the AC for a few hours, changing to the 110 plug and checked the 50a breaker and nothing worked. Looks like it's cooked.

I ordered a Grizzl-E from Amazon. Is that a decent replacement? Will it be reliable or perhaps even a little faster?

As others have stated, the circuit and wiring must be sized for the EVSE (charger). If you get one that charges even faster and you are only using a dryer circuit (typically 30A max, you must not use a charger that is over 24A continuous draw).

Why do you need to charge faster? Does the car not fully recharge while you sleep?

Personally my preference is to use a slower charger to not overload wiring and it will reduce stresses on the battery for a longer battery life. I rarely need to get more than 100 miles the day after I have driven a long distance from my house. When I am on the road, I will use as much DCFC as I need, but when I am home after a long trip I typically sleep long enough to recover at least 100 miles by the next morning on a slow charger…and never have gone on back to back trips from my house where that is not enough.

Also if you have solar, having a slower charger may enable you to charge more during the times when the sun is up without using any power from the grid.

This was today when I charged two of our EV’s while the sun was up.

Having slower chargers allows me to do that.

This allows me to charge all of our vehicles that are home during the daytime and charge off the grid.

I have a nearly 10 year old 10.4kW array and two 6 year old Powerwalls that enable us to for most of the year offset most of our grid use age (July has been a great month). We still sell a great amount of power to the grid and I just avoid using the grid as much as possible. The images on this post are from our Tesla Powerwall system.

If I can avoid using my “fast” (32A/7.2kW) charger I can do that more often, but if I need the “faster” charger, I have one.

If you really drive a great deal every day, than I totally agree a faster charger is needed…but I suspect most people don’t really need a faster charger experience at home.

On the road, that is s totally different story.

My 2¢.

Here is my month.

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