Charge Faults when plugged in but not charging

[Robz]

TLDR; 2021 Mach-E GT gets "charge fault" messages when plugged in but outside of preferred charge times. Going in to the dealer for software updates on Thursday and will provide an update after the service.

A few weeks ago my electric company approved me for reduced rates during off-peak hours of 11pm - 6am on weekdays and anytime on weekends. So I set my preferred charging times on my 2021 Mach-E GT to charge during those times.

That's when I started having charging faults. I now get the "Charge Fault" messages when the car is plugged in outside of the preferred charging times. And it happens several times a day. So there are charging faults even though it's not charging. Plug it in, says it's waiting to charge, and then usually about 30 minutes later I get a "charge fault" message to the charging failed and to unplug and re-plug in. This happens even though it's not scheduled to charge until several hours later. This sometimes happens several times during the day.

Up until this point I'd have a charge fault once on month. And if the car is plugged in to charge on the weekend when the charge isn't delayed due to the preferred time - it starts charging without any issues or charge fault messages.

Brought the car in last week to my local Ford dealer. They checked codes but found nothing that pointed to the problem. However, they called Ford to discuss the issue and Ford has some software patches that they are suggesting to be applied. Apparently other cars are having similar issues - anyone else on this forum have this issue?

The car goes in again to the dealer on Thursday for them to apply the recommended software updates. I'll post an update once these fixes are applied.

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[Mach-Lee]

Couple questions:

• Were the preferred charge times in the Mach-E the ONLY thing you've changed, or did you also change settings on the EVSE?
  • EVSE set to allow charging 24/7 or not?
• Which EVSE do you have?
• Did you just sign up for any apps that monitor or control your charging or battery?
  • e.g. utility smart charge apps, ev.energy, optiwatt, recurrent
• How long have the charge fault messages been going on?

It's not normal to get charge faults. I never get any.

 

[Robz]

Couple questions:

• Were the preferred charge times in the Mach-E the ONLY thing you've changed, or did you also change settings on the EVSE?
  • EVSE set to allow charging 24/7 or not?
• Which EVSE do you have?
• Did you just sign up for any apps that monitor or control your charging or battery?
  • e.g. utility smart charge apps, ev.energy, optiwatt, recurrent
• How long have the charge fault messages been going on?

It's not normal to get charge faults. I never get any.

Thanks for the questions. Here's some additional details.

- No changes on the EVSE - just the Mach-E that has the preferred times
- It's a Wallbox Pulsar Plus set to charge anytime
- No utility apps involved
- Noticed the issue about 2 months ago and then spent the last month to track when this was happening. The typical pattern is; (1) plug-in and FordPass shows it's waiting to charge, (2) in about 20 - 30 minutes, get a "charge fault" message, (3) disconnect the EVSE, and plug back in after waiting about 15 - 30 seconds, (4) this cycle happens two to four more times and then no faults before it charges overnight.

Agree, this is very odd. When I plug it in during the off-peak hours, it charges without any issues. It's only while it's waiting to charge that I get charging faults.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

TLDR; 2021 Mach-E GT gets "charge fault" messages when plugged in but outside of preferred charge times. Going in to the dealer for software updates on Thursday and will provide an update after the service.

A few weeks ago my electric company approved me for reduced rates during off-peak hours of 11pm - 6am on weekdays and anytime on weekends. So I set my preferred charging times on my 2021 Mach-E GT to charge during those times.

That's when I started having charging faults. I now get the "Charge Fault" messages when the car is plugged in outside of the preferred charging times. And it happens several times a day. So there are charging faults even though it's not charging. Plug it in, says it's waiting to charge, and then usually about 30 minutes later I get a "charge fault" message to the charging failed and to unplug and re-plug in. This happens even though it's not scheduled to charge until several hours later. This sometimes happens several times during the day.

Up until this point I'd have a charge fault once on month. And if the car is plugged in to charge on the weekend when the charge isn't delayed due to the preferred time - it starts charging without any issues or charge fault messages.

Brought the car in last week to my local Ford dealer. They checked codes but found nothing that pointed to the problem. However, they called Ford to discuss the issue and Ford has some software patches that they are suggesting to be applied. Apparently other cars are having similar issues - anyone else on this forum have this issue?

The car goes in again to the dealer on Thursday for them to apply the recommended software updates. I'll post an update once these fixes are applied.

Hi there, I'd be happy to look into your Mach-E concerns on my end. Will you send us a message with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into things on my end.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Thanks for the questions. Here's some additional details.

- No changes on the EVSE - just the Mach-E that has the preferred times
- It's a Wallbox Pulsar Plus set to charge anytime
- No utility apps involved
- Noticed the issue about 2 months ago and then spent the last month to track when this was happening. The typical pattern is; (1) plug-in and FordPass shows it's waiting to charge, (2) in about 20 - 30 minutes, get a "charge fault" message, (3) disconnect the EVSE, and plug back in after waiting about 15 - 30 seconds, (4) this cycle happens two to four more times and then no faults before it charges overnight.

Agree, this is very odd. When I plug it in during the off-peak hours, it charges without any issues. It's only while it's waiting to charge that I get charging faults.

Try setting the Wallbox to a lower amperage of 24 or 32 amps. If that improves or fixes the faults, we know it’s an overheating issue. But I’d also recommend the software updates.

 

[Robz]

Try setting the Wallbox to a lower amperage of 24 or 32 amps. If that improves or fixes the faults, we know it’s an overheating issue. But I’d also recommend the software updates.

It would be odd that it overheats when it's not charging, but then work fine when it's charging.

Software updates are being applied on Thursday and will post updates.

 

[JeffGo]

Just hit a Charge Fault myself. Using the Ford Mobile charger on a 220v 50A circuit, same as always for almost 2 years. The car was charging for about 2 hours (38-56%) then I got a notice in FordPass. Went to the car, unplugged, cycled power on the charger (which was blue in any case). Each time I try to plug it in, all charge lights are red. I don't have a charging schedule set - no rate advantages here. Nothing changed whatsoever in settings. Latest PowerUp. It is raining but has been for a while.

I'll mess around more tomorrow, maybe try a DC fast charger. Hoping the car runs!

 

[MarkP213]

Just hit a Charge Fault myself. Using the Ford Mobile charger on a 220v 50A circuit, same as always for almost 2 years. The car was charging for about 2 hours (38-56%) then I got a notice in FordPass. Went to the car, unplugged, cycled power on the charger (which was blue in any case). Each time I try to plug it in, all charge lights are red. I don't have a charging schedule set - no rate advantages here. Nothing changed whatsoever in settings. Latest PowerUp. It is raining but has been for a while.

I'll mess around more tomorrow, maybe try a DC fast charger. Hoping the car runs!

Same here… got my Mach E back from Ford on Wednesday (they performed a couple of software updates to clear a Frunk fault error message) and now I can no longer charge using my Ford Connected Charger or the mobile charger that came with the Mach E when plugged into the 220 circuit - the car keeps erroring out no matter how low amperage I set the FCC to. Currently using the mobile charger on the 110 outlet. I'll try DC Fast Charging tomorrow. I have another appointment on Wednesday to fix whatever got messed up!

 

[JeffGo]

Took it to an Electrify America charger today. No problem (not especially fast) got to 81%. Then I came home and plugged in, and it's charging (I think).
I guess Blucifer was just "having a day".

EDIT: completed charging to 90% with no additional issues. No software or setting changes since April 5 and this wasn't the first charge after that.

 

[Robz]

An update on my situation with getting charge faults while plugged in and waiting for a scheduled charge.

I'm happy to report that (at least at this point) the software updates made to my car appear to have done the trick. The car has been plugged in waiting to start charging for about 13 hours and there hasn't been a charge fault.

My dealer had contacted the Ford Technical Assistance Center and they recommended several software updates. My dealer didn't share exactly what was done. The best information is from the invoice and some attachments they included.

It appears they updated the following modules; BCMB, PCM and GSM. I believe the GSM update was for an unrelated TSB no. 21-2405 (Illuminated powertrain malfunction indicator). Never experience this issue - guessing the dealer just wanted to be safe.

There were two other DTCs they addressed; P1A10:00:28:SOBDMC and P1A1E:66:28:BECM. Perhaps someone with more detailed knowledge of the modules and DTCs would know exactly what they found and fixed.

 

[MarkP213]

An update on my situation with getting charge faults while plugged in and waiting for a scheduled charge.

I'm happy to report that (at least at this point) the software updates made to my car appear to have done the trick. The car has been plugged in waiting to start charging for about 13 hours and there hasn't been a charge fault.

My dealer had contacted the Ford Technical Assistance Center and they recommended several software updates. My dealer didn't share exactly what was done. The best information is from the invoice and some attachments they included.

It appears they updated the following modules; BCMB, PCM and GSM. I believe the GSM update was for an unrelated TSB no. 21-2405 (Illuminated powertrain malfunction indicator). Never experience this issue - guessing the dealer just wanted to be safe.

There were two other DTCs they addressed; P1A10:00:28:SOBDMC and P1A1E:66:28:BECM. Perhaps someone with more detailed knowledge of the modules and DTCs would know exactly what they found and fixed.

Good to know. Thanks for the update. Fingers crossed that my updates go according to plan on Wednesday. I’m asking them to top me off to test it before I pick it up.

 

[MarkP213]

Good to know. Thanks for the update. Fingers crossed that my updates go according to plan on Wednesday. I’m asking them to top me off to test it before I pick it up.

Got my Mach-E back this morning. Ended up the Charge Port Harness assembly was bad, and was replaced. I reset my Ford Connected charger back to 48amps and so far is charging fine now.

 

[Robz]

Unfortunately, the good news didn't last long. While the first charge was successful without any faults, the 2nd and 3rd attempts both generated charge faults. The same situation as before - plug it in and while it's waiting to charge during off peak times it generates a charge fault.

I reached out to my dealer and let them know that the software updates. That was Wednesday morning. Once I hear back about next steps from my dealer, I'll post another update.

 

[JeffLG]

Hi there, I'd be happy to look into your Mach-E concerns on my end. Will you send us a message with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into things on my end.

I am having problems with charging too. I have had it fault once with my Chargepoint charger at home and 3 times in the last 2 days on separate fast chargers (2 separate electrify america locations and one CharePoint location). This was happening on a road trip and this put us at risk of not being able to get to our destinations. In each instance the charging started but them stopped after a few minutes.

I took my car to the dealer for this a few weeks ago (after the home error) and they said they could not find an issue and then I take this car on a roundtrip and I had many issues. There is clearly something wrong with the car.

 

[MarkP213]

Unfortunately, the good news didn't last long. While the first charge was successful without any faults, the 2nd and 3rd attempts both generated charge faults. The same situation as before - plug it in and while it's waiting to charge during off peak times it generates a charge fault.

I reached out to my dealer and let them know that the software updates. That was Wednesday morning. Once I hear back about next steps from my dealer, I'll post another update.

Two months later and no issues at all after the replacement charge port harness was installed. I wonder if that’s what yours and Jeff‘s needs?

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