Cold Weather & Acceleration

[DevSecOps]

I've seen the 10 gray bars show up on mine a couple times when parked outside, unplugged or on 120V power in below freezing weather for a day or two. Level 2 or 3 charging + preconditioning makes them go away.

If you or anyone else who has this issue here gets the PCM update I would be curious if the issue remains. I believe Kevin is going to update his vehicle soon so we'll see if it's resolved in the latest version.

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[Larva]

Do you happen to have an OBD reader? You can hook it up and see what your temps look like. I expect if it is due to temps, its your battery being too cold.

If you're not preconditioning at all, and only driving a few miles here and there, it may be cold enough that it can't get warm in the few miles you drive.

Do you keep it plugged in overnight? In a garage or outside?

I do keep it in a garage (unheated) and plugged in. The charger is set to only charge from 8pm to 8am, so not sure what it does during the day. At the time I posted this we had just gone through a cold snap which had a high of 1 degree. We were on our way out of it and the time I was driving it, it was about 17.

 

[benk016]

I do keep it in a garage (unheated) and plugged in. The charger is set to only charge from 8pm to 8am, so not sure what it does during the day. At the time I posted this we had just gone through a cold snap which had a high of 1 degree. We were on our way out of it and the time I was driving it, it was about 17.

When you say its set to not charge during the day, did you set that on the charger, or in the car?

If you set it on the charger, it won't let any power go to the car at all, at lest thats how my chargepoint works. If you set it with the car, it will still pull some power for keeping the battery warm, but won't charge in that window.

 

[Larva]

When you say its set to not charge during the day, did you set that on the charger, or in the car?

If you set it on the charger, it won't let any power go to the car at all, at lest thats how my chargepoint works. If you set it with the car, it will still pull some power for keeping the battery warm, but won't charge in that window.

I set it through the Ford Pass app, so I'm guessing that is through the car.

 

[benk016]

I set it through the Ford Pass app, so I'm guessing that is through the car.

OK yeah that is the car controlling it then. Are you pugged into 240v or 120v?

 

[Larva]

OK yeah that is the car controlling it then. Are you pugged into 240v or 120v?

I've got the Ford Charge station with 240v hookup.

 

[benk016]

I've got the Ford Charge station with 240v hookup.

OK, all that is good, in that scenario, based on how its worked for my FE and GT, it should be keeping the battery warm while plugged in. Although I've only experienced that level of cold when I first got my FE in Feb we had 2 weeks between 0 and 25 degrees. But The FE didn't have the power meter so I didn't know if I was limited or not. The day I picked up my FE, it was 1 degree out, and the GOM showed 110 mile range at 100% SoC. Even deleting driving history wouldn't bring it up because the pack was just so cold.

Try this. Go to the garage, leave the car plugged in, But "Start" the car. It won't actually start, but will engage the HVB, and allow the heater to run. Let it go for the full 30 minutes it will idle. And see what it looks like.

 

[DevSecOps]

Here's another example. Didn't drive the car for 2 days no preconditioning. Charge completed at 2:15 am, 6 hours prior.

39 degrees 0 grey bars

 

[Norseman]

I have this problem. The gray bars only go away when the battery is preconditioned. Fine for my drive to work in the morning. On my way home, however, after parking outdoors all day, I feel like I'm limping all the way home.

Why can't I precondition it without being plugged in?

 

[Larva]

I can't get the bars to go away no matter what I do. I brought it to a dealer, they said the issue had to do with it being disconnected improperly from a DC rapid charger, and they reflashed the firmware on some part (I forget which). The grey bars went away for a couple of days. Coincidentally those days were warmer. It got colder, and then they came back.

 

[DevSecOps]

I have this problem. The gray bars only go away when the battery is preconditioned. Fine for my drive to work in the morning. On my way home, however, after parking outdoors all day, I feel like I'm limping all the way home.

Why can't I precondition it without being plugged in?

You can ...

In departure time check the option "Allow start when vehicle is unplugged"

 

[Norseman]

You can ...

In departure time check the option "Allow start when vehicle is unplugged"

That will warm the cabin, but not the battery. I use that feature and just wish it preconditioned the battery too.

 

[Mach1E]

I can't get the bars to go away no matter what I do. I brought it to a dealer, they said the issue had to do with it being disconnected improperly from a DC rapid charger, and they reflashed the firmware on some part (I forget which). The grey bars went away for a couple of days. Coincidentally those days were warmer. It got colder, and then they came back.

It’s not a “coincidence,” the issue is the cold.

 

[Thor2j]

I have same problem if car sits out for a day or 2 in cold. (0-20 degrees). Usually it's in my garage which gets down to 38 degrees at night and plugged in. Then I never have more then 2 bars. It definitely does some conditioning of the battery just plugged in.

 

[Kevin P]

That will warm the cabin, but not the battery. I use that feature and just wish it preconditioned the battery too.

Remote starting my GT and letting it warm itself for 5-10 minutes makes my gray bars at startup go away. It does not have to be plugged in.

The behavior of my car WRT to the gray bars did not change with the updates that I made in late December.

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