Mobile Charger starts normal, gets slower

[rcechinel]

I've always used the mobile charger in more than 2 years of ownership. Several months ago I noticed that after a while, the amber light on the Charger went on and the current pulled dropped to 15 amps, instead of the 32 that is capable of. Nothing was hot. The charging went slower all the way to the specified limit.

I finally took the car for service witg the charger and asked the tech to look into it. He said he re-programmed several modules. I haven't tested yet, but does that even make sense? I could swear it's the charger, not the car.

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[Flint302]

Mine did that too; however, mine did get hot so I believe it was due to overheating. My money is on the charger too.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Yeah it's the charger, it's a piece of crap that stops working after a couple years.

 

[rcechinel]

Yeah it's the charger, it's a piece of crap that stops working after a couple years.

Yeah, confirmed. Same thing happened. Went back to 3.5 kw after less than an hour.

Who is responsible for replacing it, the dealer or Ford directly?

 

[MoonRiver]

Mine Less three years old was like that. Started at 7l kwh, 15 minutes later amber light turned on, charging rate dropped down to 3.5. No matter what the ambient temperature was, the hottest spot on the charger was 110F, it only happened at 240v 110 had no problem but charged slowly. Used it exclusively. Had a dealer looked at. Their test concluded the charged gone bad. Ordered a new one for me. So far so good.

 

[Maquis]

The dealer should replace under the 3 year warranty.
Are you getting amber lights when it slows down? There are different combinations depending where it thinks the problem is.

 

[rcechinel]

The dealer should replace under the 3 year warranty.
Are you getting amber lights when it slows down? There are different combinations depending where it thinks the problem is.

Yes, amber light is on.

 

[Maquis]

Yes, amber light is on.

Solid amber indicates internal overheating.

 

[MellowJohnny]

I’m not the only one here that will suggest you replace it with a EVSE from a reputable brand. Mine started to give me the amber light after 6 months - save yourself the trouble and replace it.

 

[rcechinel]

I’m not the only one here that will suggest you replace it with a EVSE from a reputable brand. Mine started to give me the amber light after 6 months - save yourself the trouble and replace it.

I will do that. Likely an emporia. But regardless, I want the mobile charger operational, as it will still be used in road trips.

 

[Tampamike]

I will do that. Likely an emporia. But regardless, I want the mobile charger operational, as it will still be used in road trips.

They should replace it under warranty. However, getting them to do that can be a little tricky. In my experience, they “tested” it and it worked fine. What I discovered later was that they tested it on the 110v plug, which I didn’t notice until I looked at the charger in the trunk and saw that they swapped out my adaptor plug from the 220 to the 110. Some dealers don’t have a 220v NEMA 14-50 plug to test it on. I went back and argued the case and they finally gave in and gave me a new one.
For reference though, I used mine for quite a while with the amber light cycling on and off. It still charged the car over-night. When the second charger started exhibiting the same behavior, I broke down and bought a hard-wired 220v ChargePoint for the garage.

 

[MellowJohnny]

I will do that. Likely an emporia. But regardless, I want the mobile charger operational, as it will still be used in road trips.

For sure - if it's still under warranty then of course I'd ask for a replacement. At the time my dealership was unable to test it, so I just gave up trying.

 

[MellowJohnny]

They should replace it under warranty. However, getting them to do that can be a little tricky. In my experience, they “tested” it and it worked fine. What I discovered later was that they tested it on the 110v plug, which I didn’t notice until I looked at the charger in the trunk and saw that they swapped out my adaptor plug from the 220 to the 110. Some dealers don’t have a 220v NEMA 14-50 plug to test it on. I went back and argued the case and they finally gave in and gave me a new one.
For reference though, I used mine for quite a while with the amber light cycling on and off. It still charged the car over-night. When the second charger started exhibiting the same behavior, I broke down and bought a hard-wired 220v ChargePoint for the garage.

Exactly my experience. Mine still works, even with the derated amber light on, but I also went with a ChargePoint EVSE, mostly for the cold weather cord performance.

 

[MoonRiver]

They should replace it under warranty. However, getting them to do that can be a little tricky. In my experience, they “tested” it and it worked fine. What I discovered later was that they tested it on the 110v plug, which I didn’t notice until I looked at the charger in the trunk and saw that they swapped out my adaptor plug from the 220 to the 110. Some dealers don’t have a 220v NEMA 14-50 plug to test it on. I went back and argued the case and they finally gave in and gave me a new one.
For reference though, I used mine for quite a while with the amber light cycling on and off. It still charged the car over-night. When the second charger started exhibiting the same behavior, I broke down and bought a hard-wired 220v ChargePoint for the garage.

I went to them asking for a new one but they insisted on having it tested first. Not until they installed a 240v was it tested, by then they ordered a replacement.

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