Puddle Lights - Should I give up?

[r.damasceno]

Hi There,

I have been trying to get the puddle lights to work for two weeks now. I tried every piece of advice that I found here, including toggling on the welcoming lighting, mirror folding, keeping the movement sensor on, etc. Nothing worked—by the way, it stopped working two weeks ago, and I did not recall making any changes to the configuration. Lastly, I did the reset factor reset and reset everything. Same thing. This is so frustrating! Am I missing something?

Mach-e 2022 X, Premium.
Thanks!

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[Clockwork]

If your fob or phone is in constant contact with your Mach-E, it will stop working. I had this issue at home with PAAK. Apparently everywhere in my 2200 sq ft house is still close enough to communicate. I noticed this one time whe I was heading into my garage and the puddle lights were already turning off, indicating I had activated them way before entering.

Does it work outside of the home? For example if you go somewhere at night (like the store) and then walk out to it in the parking lot?

 

[AKgrampy]

Or have you recently had an update? I had not had an update in 13 months and now I have received 4 in the last couple weeks. I have noticed my puddle lamps and walk away locking being somewhat intermittent for the past couple of days since I received two OTA’s in one day.

 

[r.damasceno]

If your fob or phone is in constant contact with your Mach-E, it will stop working. I had this issue at home with PAAK. Apparently everywhere in my 2200 sq ft house is still close enough to communicate. I noticed this one time whe I was heading into my garage and the puddle lights were already turning off, indicating I had activated them way before entering.

Does it work outside of the home? For example, if you go somewhere at night (like the store) and then walk out to it in the parking lot?

It is not working anywhere. I loved to be greeted by the lights when I parked at work. So, basically, it is not the key inside the house because it used to work, and the keys are sitting in the same spot, inside a bag in the basement.
The last software update was on September 21st, 2024 =>"Vehicle Comms, ECG-24.2.5.61" - I'm not sure, but I think the bug happened after this update.

 

[OH2AZ2OH]

PaaK or fob? I have much, much better luck with welcome lighting with the fob.

 

[r.damasceno]

PaaK or fob? I have much, much better luck with welcome lighting with the fob.

I have tried both, and I have had no luck. I use PAAK daily, but I have also tried the FOB.

 

[the23rdelf]

I’m sure you already tried this but what made it work for me was turning off PAAK and resetting everything one at a time.

So going outside when it’s dark. Keep windows up the entire time. Turn the folding mirrors off. Turn the auto locking while walking away off. Walk away quite a bit and lot the car with the fob. Then walk back to the car and reset the mirrors - fold and unfold them a few times. Turn on mirror auto fold. Turn off the car and walk away and lock with fob. Go back and turn on auto lock. Turn off and walk away. *Should work*

Once you get that working, try a few times but wait a bit. Like walk far away, wait a few minutes, then walk back. see how far away you need to be for them to turn on. If you do this too quickly the lights won’t do the pony thing. When you know the distance, remember that’s in 3D space. So if you park in a garage under the house then walk upstairs and stand over the car on the next floor with the fob, you might be at that distance but overhead and it won’t work. Lots of trial and error but it worked for me. Doesn’t matter if it’s dark or light out it works ( in a little shade you can put your hand under the mirror and see a tiny pony).
Hope this or another suggestion here works for you. I’m still struggling with the garage lock LOL

 

[Maquis]

I’m sure you already tried this but what made it work for me was turning off PAAK and resetting everything one at a time.

So going outside when it’s dark. Keep windows up the entire time. Turn the folding mirrors off. Turn the auto locking while walking away off. Walk away quite a bit and lot the car with the fob. Then walk back to the car and reset the mirrors - fold and unfold them a few times. Turn on mirror auto fold. Turn off the car and walk away and lock with fob. Go back and turn on auto lock. Turn off and walk away. *Should work*

Once you get that working, try a few times but wait a bit. Like walk far away, wait a few minutes, then walk back. see how far away you need to be for them to turn on. If you do this too quickly the lights won’t do the pony thing. When you know the distance, remember that’s in 3D space. So if you park in a garage under the house then walk upstairs and stand over the car on the next floor with the fob, you might be at that distance but overhead and it won’t work. Lots of trial and error but it worked for me. Doesn’t matter if it’s dark or light out it works ( in a little shade you can put your hand under the mirror and see a tiny pony).
Hope this or another suggestion here works for you. I’m still struggling with the garage lock LOL

You forgot “Wave a dead chicken!” ?

 

[the23rdelf]

I’d have thought that was obvious!
If you have animal cruelty or other issues, a rubber chicken can be substituted, so long as you squeeze it at random intervals.

 

[Balsam Bob]

Is it possible you need a new battery in your FOB? A few months ago I started the car (2022 model year) and got an alert that basically said the FOB battery needed to be replaced. I picked up a couple new batteries and waited to get the alert again - but it never alerted anymore. However, when leaving my garage with the car, on occasion, the screen would say "No key". I also have PAAK so I assume I was operating off of the PAAK in those cases. So I finally replaced the battery and no more alerts. I'm not sure if the puddle lights were responding properly when I had the dead battery but I've found the FOB is better at triggering them vs. PAAK.

 

[r.damasceno]

Hi Guys, this is just to provide an update. I have tried the recommendation, step by step, four times. The last one was to replace the key fob battery, but unfortunately, that didn't work either. It looks like I have to take the car to the dealership. I hope this will be solved after the next software update. I am pretty sure the puddle light stopped working after the previous update.

 

[Phantom E]

I like the puddle lamp, I think it's really cool. I think we should be able to project it on the front wall of our garage as we're driving in for as much as we paid for this car. I think there should be an app, which modifies the flashlight on our phone, allowing us to project the pony anywhere we want. Having said that, I see these types of threads and I can't help but be puzzled at how much time, energy, and brain power some have put into trying to get what amounts to a gimmick to work. Yes, it should work. But damn, there are so many other things in life that are more important .

 

[Delsk]

might be time to try replacing the puddle pony lamp on one of your mirrors. They can’t be that expensive, can they?

 

[grein002]

might be time to try replacing the puddle pony lamp on one of your mirrors. They can’t be that expensive, can they?

 

[r.damasceno]

I would like to bring up an update on this. The puddle lights are finally alive again.
There was a physical problem that I will quote what the technician wrote on the SO: "checked wiring schematic for passive entry and found had left and right hand passive entry antennas. performed repair to circuit. reassembled removed parts. rechecked passive entry and found ok. as well puddle lamps worked as intended. [harness 14290 / conn. c1796 / circuit rpk01 / color /gy/ye.].
I believe this happened after the last recall, but I am unsure.
I am glad to see the puddle lights working again!

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