Marlin's Dead Low Voltage Battery (LVB) -- Followed by Stuck in Park

[agoldman]

We have one dealer source saying software and another hardware part. Maybe two different root problems?

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[machefan]

I would inform them about the forum and Mark's information. Not that your FE is doing anything wrong but best to make sure they are aware of each other and not trying to independently reinvent the lightbulb

The FE would know about the pending updates, I didn't have a 12V issue, I have a different one, I am just posting here so not to create another thread. My car tosses out charging errors but still charges.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Well that's different. I would ask them why that is different diagnosis than what Mark and Epony got.

I don’t know if it is a different diagnosis. They may have already replaced this on Marlin but also needed to update software.

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

The FE would know about the pending updates, I didn't have a 12V issue, I have a different one, I am just posting here so not to create another thread. My car tosses out charging errors but still charges.

Oops, I lost track of who was having which issue.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Concerning "eliminates this problem": What exactly is the root cause of the problem, and what is the implemented software solution?

Thanks,
SCPony

They didn’t tell me.

 

[machefan]

We have one dealer source saying software and another hardware part. Maybe two different root problems?

Correct, another owner had the same problem as mine, his dealer most likely ordered the same part as mine. Will see.

 

[CHeil402]

The last time I had a phone depleting its battery charge due to poor signal was back in the late 1990s, a job site I visited regularly had me work in the basement. After the first couple of visits I learned my lesson and simply turned off my phone. Back then a typical phone battery had a capacity of 1Ah or less though.

Also "Ah" and "mAh" are not measurements of energy, because voltage is not included. It is used colloquially to compare battery capacity with the assumption that the batteries being compared offer the same voltage.

You must be fortunate to live where there is universally good reception then, not everyone does. I am aware of the difference between Ah and Wh (and VAh), and to be fair you are correct in Ah not measuring power, but was just making a general statement not to underestimate the potential power draw of something deemed small such as a cell modem being able to kill a car battery... even if we extrapolate to units of power, although especially in lead-acid batteries, their voltage is not consistent across states of charge:

• 12 V car battery * 35 Ah = 420 Wh
• 3.85 V phone battery * 3.9 Ah = 15 Wh

Assuming absolutely no other loads on the car battery, it could still die in 140 hours (5.8 days).

And based on what we're seeing, especially with LVB's dying while the vehicle is driving, if the DC-DC converter has an issue performing optimally, that is a notable draw.

 

[Darken]

Good news: I spoke with a member of the Ford engineering team. They believe that the software package in the newer cars eliminates this problem and mine will be getting this upgrade. They are working toward having this available as an OTA update for those cars potentially affected. Since they don't have it ready as an OTA yet, they are loading it on Marlin by wire. They are also installing some enhanced data collection to monitor it. Ford hopes to have Marlin ready for me to pick up this afternoon. ?

All of you with later-built vehicles (sorry I couldn't wrangle the exact date out of him) should already be fine. Marlin was built 22 December.

I'm glad they seem to have found the issue, here is hoping this resolves it for good. ? So this makes me think of the cars going to speedway. You posted yours was whisked right through whereas mine was there nearly a week....so do you think they dropped the ball on actually checking yours and updating the software or is this unrelated? ? If it's not related ford is going to have to OTA update a lot of vehicles quickly less they become potential bricks. I don't mind saying i'm very concerned with a build date the same as yours.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Correct, another owner had the same problem as mine, his dealer most likely ordered the same part as mine. Will see.

They might have replaced this in mine too. We’ll see.

 

[agoldman]

I'd like to say thanks to all who are in the process of taking one for the team, so to speak. And the response so far, seems respectable!

 

[GoosePond08]

I'm glad they seem to have found the issue, here is hoping this resolves it for good. ? So this makes me think of the cars going to speedway. You posted yours was whisked right through whereas mine was there nearly a week....so do you think they dropped the ball on actually checking yours and updating the software or is this unrelated? ? If it's not related ford is going to have to OTA update a lot of vehicles quickly less they become potential bricks. I don't mind saying i'm very concerned with a build date the same as yours.

My thoughts exactly...if it was software related and newer models have been updated, that would entail they caught something previous and updated the software. Which also one would assume they knew there was an issue with the battery and didn't instruct dealers to update the software? Which also leads to...wouldn't that be the first thing they checked on day one?

Sorry...now my head is reeling with questions if it is in fact, an outdate software problem. That is probably the EASIEST thing to check in any scenario. I would imagine it would be Step 1 on the the checklist.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I'm glad they seem to have found the issue, here is hoping this resolves it for good. ? So this makes me think of the cars going to speedway. You posted yours was whisked right through whereas mine was there nearly a week....so do you think they dropped the ball on actually checking yours and updating the software or is this unrelated? ? If it's not related ford is going to have to OTA update a lot of vehicles quickly less they become potential bricks. I don't mind saying i'm very concerned with a build date the same as yours.

Or mine passed a test and didn’t get new software that yours did? So many options. However, I was told that my fix is something different from the QC campaign (Speedway test). The battery drain also is believed to not be weather-related.

 

[agoldman]

New car prep should always include software update to latest check. maybe a dealer oversight. volvo for instance does a total software upgrade every single time a car is in for scheduled service. With OTA, this is less necessary, but they need to get OTA going of course for that to work in a timely manner. In any case, all deleivered vehicles should be updated to the latest software as soon as reasonable possible, OTA or otherwise.

 

[machefan]

Or mine passed a test and didn’t get new software that yours did? So many options. However, I was told that my fix is something different from the QC campaign (Speedway test). The battery drain also is believed to not be weather-related.

For reference maybe, not sure if this is just confined to the center video unit.

Battery Volt test, before and after start.

 

[JellyBelly]

My news, I just got a call as well from the dealer, onsite field engineer says they have to replace a part. "communication issues with the main unit". part number - LJ9Z-14G490-A

Getting more details, but they don't want me to drive it so it's not coming home today.

Glad they found something - whether are not your issue is same or different from chasing coral we will not really know. Like you say - have to trust the FE at this point. Now if your issues dont resolve after the part replacement then thats a different topic.

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