My "Stop Safely Now" Saga

[mkhuffman]

Everyone who has not had this problem just needs to take a chill pill from the chill pill bag. The chance of failure is similar to the chance of getting rear ended. Neither one is good, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. I think if this were a common problem, Ford would already have a solution and it would be rolling out via FDRS. Or OTA. Hah.

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[EV_Pilot]

the 9th day now. It hasn't even made it inside the service area yet. The service agent left a VM on May 19th saying they were still trying to figure out how to get the car inside to a service bay so they can find out what is wrong with it.

Sorry to hear you joined the club. But really worried about this group of techs. More than a week and they haven’t figured out a hundred bucks and a trip to Harbor Freight will get a set of wheel dollies. Other folks have stories of Ford engineers arriving by plane in a day or two, Something seems amiss.

 

[scoopman]

This thread is really emphasizing that this issue is a complete sh*t show.

I know that there are some Ford engineers and management that read this forum.... Can any of you please say something of substance? Create a burner account and say something... jeezus.

I love my car, but there's only a limited amount of time I am going to keep around a car I spent $70,000 on and I have to leave in my garage because I am worried it will stop working at speed with my family in it while I drive it on a highway.

 

[scoopman]

Everyone who has not had this problem just needs to take a chill pill from the chill pill bag. The chance of failure is similar to the chance of getting rear ended. Neither one is good, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. I think if this were a common problem, Ford would already have a solution and it would be rolling out via FDRS. Or OTA. Hah.

Easy for you to say -- I hope you never have this happen to your MME.

 

[mkhuffman]

Easy for you to say -- I hope you never have this happen to your MME.

I know it is really bad when it happens. My mini rant was also to myself, because I find myself worrying about it also. I guess I also worry about getting rear ended, but for some reason I worry about Stop Safely Now more. So far it appears most people have not had the problem, yet the Forum makes me feel like the problem is much bigger.

Anyway, sorry for being insensitive to your plight and the others who have experienced the problem. Now I know I am doomed and it will happen to me. I need a chill pill ?

 

[MadManMoon]

The foam pads on top are a seperate part. Tell your dealer to order part # LJ9Z-58044E84-B (FOAM PAD - ENERGY ABSORBING). The technician needs to install them in the outlined areas, that's why they are marked on the top case. They will also need a new vent patch, which is part # LJ9Z-10A815-A (GASKET - H/V BATTERY VENT COVER).

Not sure why there's so much confusion, the workshop manual says these items need to be installed on the new cover and it only takes a couple minutes to look up the part numbers.

The pads arrived today but apparently they're only the right side. Is there a separate/different part number for the left side?

 

[Tedro7]

I am the one in the post you quote and I must say at least in my case Ford really seems to be taking this seriously and coming up with a solution. In my case Ford engineering contacted my dealer even before they had the car in the shop (which I am sure surprised even the dealer), they sent out a field engineer to the dealer to perform this new procedure coming out in the TSB, and the dealer had the car back to me in 10 days. I have a feeling if the OP wasn't running into the problems with the battery case that keeps coming in damaged he too would have had his car back a lot sooner. I have a feeling any future failures should have a lot faster turn around once the TSB comes out. I really feel sorry for the OP here and the others who have had the frustration of this failure.

Time will tell on the repair, but so far I have taken it out in the country like I normally do for over two hours at a time and have not had any problems. Like I said in my original post this forum has helped out tremendously with all of the information that has been posted from so many members and Ford who's rep reached out immediately once I posted of my own failure and got the ball rolling for repairs.

Gled to hear your issue was resolved by a TSB. I just got word this morning from the service department they want to install a new HVBJB on my GTPE . The service department I am dealing with is clueless and/or incompetent. I ask about installing a TSB and they said they consulted the Ford hotline and received the instruction to install a new HVBJB.

Any suggestions would appreciated. Thanks!

 

[dtbaker61]

I am the one in the post you quote and I must say at least in my case Ford really seems to be taking this seriously and coming up with a solution. In my case Ford engineering contacted my dealer even before they had the car in the shop (which I am sure surprised even the dealer), they sent out a field engineer to the dealer to perform this new procedure coming out in the TSB, and the dealer had the car back to me in 10 days. I have a feeling if the OP wasn't running into the problems with the battery case that keeps coming in damaged he too would have had his car back a lot sooner. I have a feeling any future failures should have a lot faster turn around once the TSB comes out. I really feel sorry for the OP here and the others who have had the frustration of this failure.

Time will tell on the repair, but so far I have taken it out in the country like I normally do for over two hours at a time and have not had any problems. Like I said in my original post this forum has helped out tremendously with all of the information that has been posted from so many members and Ford who's rep reached out immediately once I posted of my own failure and got the ball rolling for repairs.

so.... does the TSB not include HVBJB remove/replace?

Do you have a specific TSB number, or a copy of the work order they did on your vehicle to repair? I am dying to know if this is a specific run with bad parts, or a design problem, or assembly issue.

 

[scoopman]

Gled to hear your issue was resolved by a TSB. I just got word this morning from the service department they want to install a new HVBJB on my GTPE . The service department I am dealing with is clueless and/or incompetent. I ask about installing a TSB and they said they consulted the Ford hotline and received the instruction to install a new HVBJB.

Any suggestions would appreciated. Thanks!

From what I understand, there is either a design flaw in the physical components, or in the software regulating the electrical flow from HVB to the rest of the car, that's causing too much voltage to flow somehow through the HVBJB. This is causing the "contactors" in the HVBJB that actually make the connection happen to arc and literally fuse themselves together stuck.

Once this occurs, you have to replace the parts with a new HVBJB.

I think your dealer is correct that you need a new junction box because your current one has crapped itself out.

The open question here is how to prevent this edge condition from happening? It certainly will be much cheaper and easier for Ford (and us!) if there were some software changes they could make in the modules that control the electronics to prevent too much juice from flowing under whatever conditions they missed when they were developing the car.

But it's unclear that software is The Way here, and when and if there's a fix to prevent this from happening again.

In the meanwhile, if your HVBJB is welded stuck, you gotta replace that thing, and hope that Ford fixes this issue before the fault happens again to your car.

 

[scoopman]

so.... does the TSB not include HVBJB remove/replace?

Do you have a specific TSB number, or a copy of the work order they did on your vehicle to repair? I am dying to know if this is a specific run with bad parts, or a design problem, or assembly issue.

There is no TSB, but we're speculating here based upon what some dealer told someone. Take such things with a grain of salt.

I would guarantee if your HVBJB is welded shut, a software update isn't going to fix the fried components. So I would speculate that everyone who is lucky enough not to have this happen to their battery pack will have a TSB / software update for the applicable module if there's a way to stop this from occurring via software.

And those who are unlucky enough to have a fried HVBJB will have it physically replaced (as they do now) but also the new software flashed at the same time.

This is all speculation, however, because we really don't know.

There are some new powertrain-related module updates released today in FDRS, but they appear to be only for Job 2 cars, so unclear if they might be the magic solution we all are seeking.

 

[heisnuts]

Gled to hear your issue was resolved by a TSB. I just got word this morning from the service department they want to install a new HVBJB on my GTPE . The service department I am dealing with is clueless and/or incompetent. I ask about installing a TSB and they said they consulted the Ford hotline and received the instruction to install a new HVBJB.

Any suggestions would appreciated. Thanks!

I did not get a lot of detailed info on the repair since the TSB does not officially exist right now. However, it sounds like besides the replacement of the HVBJB there was a software update that was done, which I would suspect is the fix so it does not happen again. If your dealer called engineering I would bet they updated software as well. I suspect that there will be an OTA coming soon to the rest of the cars that can benefit from this update.

 

[dtbaker61]

There is no TSB, but we're speculating here based upon what some dealer told someone. Take such things with a grain of salt.

I would guarantee if your HVBJB is welded shut, a software update isn't going to fix the fried components. So I would speculate that everyone who is lucky enough not to have this happen to their battery pack will have a TSB / software update for the applicable module if there's a way to stop this from occurring via software.

And those who are unlucky enough to have a fried HVBJB will have it physically replaced (as they do now) but also the new software flashed at the same time.

This is all speculation, however, because we really don't know.

There are some new powertrain-related module updates released today in FDRS, but they appear to be only for Job 2 cars, so unclear if they might be the magic solution we all are seeking.

hhhhmmmmmm.....

well, my current hypothesis is that the contactor failure(s) most likely occur when starting, or stopping a charging session.

Unknown at this point whether it is more likely to be a scheduled charge initiated at a particular time, or a partial charge terminating at some set percentage less than 100%, or starting/stopping a DCFC session 'too fast', or using a public charger with worn connectors that arc.....

Since I have NOT had any problems, I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing:

- manual L2 charging, charging either to 100% or waiting a few seconds after depressing thumb latch before disconnecting if I'm just doing a partial charge.

- not using DCFC

 

[heisnuts]

so.... does the TSB not include HVBJB remove/replace?

Do you have a specific TSB number, or a copy of the work order they did on your vehicle to repair? I am dying to know if this is a specific run with bad parts, or a design problem, or assembly issue.

My invoice does not give a TSB number since if one does exist I do not think it has been released as of now. It just says the tech worked with the field engineer on replacement of the HVBJB and updated software after replacement. I think the software update is the key here, but only time will tell if it solves the problem from happening again. I am the perfect test case because I do drive it a lot under all types of conditions (I am over 7,000 miles now in just over 3 months), I charge at home on level 2 using the Ford charger and I also DC fast charge on occasion at EA.

 

[scoopman]

hhhhmmmmmm.....

well, my current hypothesis is that the contactor failure(s) most likely occur when starting, or stopping a charging session.

Unknown at this point whether it is more likely to be a scheduled charge initiated at a particular time, or a partial charge terminating at some set percentage less than 100%, or starting/stopping a DCFC session 'too fast', or using a public charger with worn connectors that arc.....

Since I have NOT had any problems, I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing:

- manual L2 charging, charging either to 100% or waiting a few seconds after depressing thumb latch before disconnecting if I'm just doing a partial charge.

- not using DCFC

No idea -- I think there's also the speculation that stress on the system through excessive current could weaken the part which later fails.

My invoice does not give a TSB number since if one does exist I do not think it has been released as of now. It just says the tech worked with the field engineer on replacement of the HVBJB and updated software after replacement. I think the software update is the key here, but only time will tell if it solves the problem from happening again. I am the perfect test case because I do drive it a lot under all types of conditions (I am over 7,000 miles now in just over 3 months), I charge at home on level 2 using the Ford charger and I also DC fast charge on occasion at EA.

Interesting -- think it might be time for me to fire up FDRS this weekend, as there do appear to be powertrain and battery related module updates there now.

 

[MadManMoon]

The foam pads on top are a seperate part. Tell your dealer to order part # LJ9Z-58044E84-B (FOAM PAD - ENERGY ABSORBING). The technician needs to install them in the outlined areas, that's why they are marked on the top case. They will also need a new vent patch, which is part # LJ9Z-10A815-A (GASKET - H/V BATTERY VENT COVER).

Not sure why there's so much confusion, the workshop manual says these items need to be installed on the new cover and it only takes a couple minutes to look up the part numbers.

Got the answer from my dealer: the left-side pads are part number LJ9Z-58044E84-C. Not sure if the last-letter difference is just a revision, or if they're truly separate parts, but both -B and -C comprise the full set.

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