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Motor on for system performance?


Guest drfeltersnatch
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Guest drfeltersnatch

so the last couple weeks, the ICE has been coming on all the time no matter how many miles i have left. if i give the car any amount of pedal it turns the ice on for performance. im not getting a battery temp error, im getting the system performance error. something i should be concerned about? 

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so the last couple weeks, the ICE has been coming on all the time no matter how many miles i have left. if i give the car any amount of pedal it turns the ice on for performance. im not getting a battery temp error, im getting the system performance error. something i should be concerned about? 

No, I don't think there is anything to worry about here, yet. Try hitting the recirculated air button, especially when the A/C is running. I did that about a week ago and the ICE has not come on since then, when in EV Now. Let us know if it helps or not.

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so the last couple weeks, the ICE has been coming on all the time no matter how many miles i have left. if i give the car any amount of pedal it turns the ice on for performance. im not getting a battery temp error, im getting the system performance error. something i should be concerned about? 

 

By any amount of pedal, what do you mean? If you try and accelerate fast the ICE will always kick in.

 

If you are barely pressing the pedal and it turns it on, then I would talk to the service department about that.

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From the manual:

 

The vehicle may automatically enter Engine Enabled mode if system conditions require it. A message Engine Enabled for System Performance will display if this occurs. This is normal function, and your vehicle will return to EV Now when possible.

 

It could be for emissions control or something--some sensor is telling the control modules that the ICE needs to run.  You could try running the ICE on purpose for a longer trip and see if it then goes away.  Otherwise, something else must be wrong.

 

If you look in the hybrid display in MFT, it should give a reason that the engine is on.
 

Edited by larryh
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The only ways I know of making the motor come on for system performance is to either floor the car  or go up a steep hill (power demand exceeds what the electric motor can provide), or if you're driving in low on a completely full battery and let off the gas pedal (regen has nowhere to go if the battery is full and the motor will kick on).  Oh yeah, if you're running defrost which turns on both the heater AND A/C, that puts a huge load on the battery and the motor will come on for that as well.  I have not yet seen oil maintenance mode or fuel freshness mode... the car will tell you if it's in one of those modes via the left screen within the instrument cluster.

 

If you don't think you're meeting any of those conditions and your motor is still coming on, I'd roll it in for service.  Considering you're in Cali, I wouldn't expect your car to kick in the motor for battery temperature.  So far, that seems to have been limited to AZ and TX.

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Here is another reason the engine stays on from the manual:

 

Why does it take a long time before the

engine shuts down?

 

There are several reasons the engine stays

on for an extended amount of time when

it is first started. One common reason is to

ensure that the emissions components are

warm enough to minimize tailpipe emissions.

As the climate gets cooler, this

engine-on time is extended.

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Guest drfeltersnatch

still doing it. it's gets so bad that with 11 or more miles left on battery, if you give it ANY pedal the gas engine will turn on for "engine performance" or whatever. i'll have to take it into ford when im not busy, which seems to be never.

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still doing it. it's gets so bad that with 11 or more miles left on battery, if you give it ANY pedal the gas engine will turn on for "engine performance" or whatever. i'll have to take it into ford when im not busy, which seems to be never.

Where in CA are you? Any hills? What gauge, on your left, are you viewing...Engage, Empower, etc? What you are experiencing is not normal.

 

I also assume you have tried running the A/C in the recirculation mode, not outside air. That has made all the difference in the world in keeping my ICE from running on hot days.

 

It really does look like you are going to need to take the car in for a checkup.

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Throwing this one out there:  do you use the electronic parking brake?  I wonder if that's stuck (with no warning lamp) and causing a ton of drag?  Does the motor come on when you're in reverse too?  What does your display say about energy draw?  I think Engage gives the electric to gas threshold... are you going over that?

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The Empower screen shows the engine on/off threshold.  When things are working normally, the threshold should be 40 kW, i.e. the blue outline includes the first four marks.  If the battery is overheated, low, or something else is wrong, the threshold would be reduced.  Only the electric motor provides reverse. 

Edited by larryh
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The Electronic Parking Brake releases automatically when you start driving - either if you reverse or drive forward; you do not have to disengage the Parking Brake.  Neat feature.  But if it is stuck I think you would be able to feel the drag as you start rolling.  I can definitely feel the Parking Brake disengage when I start driving.  A system error performance might require diagnostics by the dealer.

 

My car seems to "remember" my driving because driving in town I am in EV all the time since my trips are short.  Only if I get on the highway and need to get up to 65 does the ICE kick in.  

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Guest drfeltersnatch

nah no drag. driving score seems to be in the 80s. averaging 150mpge when it's working correctly. when things slow down ill try to get the car in. My wife is using it to go out of town the next two weekends and my new car isn't here yet, so its not easy to drop it off at the dealer. ill update when i find out more.

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The dealer should give you a free rental, so you won't be without a car, but I do understand the annoyance of trying to GET it to the dealership.  See if your particular one offers online service appointments.  At least then you can just roll it over there, get your rental, and head back home.

 

I'm really curious to see what they find.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Empower screen shows the engine on/off threshold.  When things are working normally, the threshold should be 40 kW, i.e. the blue outline includes the first four marks.  If the battery is overheated, low, or something else is wrong, the threshold would be reduced.

 

Mine has given me the message "Engine Enabled for System Performance" the last 2 morning commutes while going steady speed on the hwy in EV Now and with 6-8 miles EV left, 80 deg F outside, AC off/vent blowing, HVB charging on L1 had completed 5 hours earlier. It's like the HVB suddenly lost power. The Empower screen blue outline dropped to 2 bars from the normal 4 and any pedal exceeding that, even to maintain 60 MPH, caused the ICE to kick in just to keep a steady rate. I think the outline dropped to only 1 bar for a time after that and I was stuck in ICE most of the time until arriving at my destination. Also noticed on the Empower display that the Blue "EV" inside a box next to the gas pump icon on the lower right turns yellow when this happens.

 

I hope this is not an overheating issue on a 7am morning commute, the coolest time of the day!!! Previously the ICE never kicked in during EV Now. If it does this again next week I'll have to have it checked out.

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Did you look at the EV Info Screen on MyFord Touch?  It should have given a reason for the ICE coming on.  But it sounds like the battery temperature is too warm.  The more power you use from the battery, the faster it warms up.   Charging contributes to warming it up.  It takes a long time to cool down once it gets warm.  I don't know if using more AC would help cool it down, if thats the problem.

 

Have you tried driving with EV auto to see if you get the same results?

 

You could try using the AC during the commute.  Someone mentioned elsewhere there are two different fans for the battery.  One that uses outside air and one that uses inside cabin air.  They claim it uses the inside cabin air fan when the AC is on.  I don't know if this is true or would make a difference.

 

If you really wanted to determine if the battery is truly too hot, you would have to set the AC to a very low temperature and turn the car on for a while.  Use Max AC to speed up the process. You could leave it plugged in while it is running so it does not drain the HVB and further warm up the battery.  I can't guarantee that the ICE won't turn on, so leave the garage door open and watch the car. 

Edited by larryh
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Thanks larryh for the tips. I did not have the EV Info screen on, but will next time, and when I switched to EV Auto the same results happened except I don't recall seeing the "Engine Enabled for System Performance" message pop-over. It looked very similar to the video Earthdog posted in the thread about engine coming on due to battery temp.

 

From all indications my situation could be the battery temp reaching the 113-115 threshold so it goes into battery protection mode but am disappointed I'm hitting that during my morning drive at the coolest time of the day. I'll check my air intakes are clear and try using the AC on recirculate even though that will eat into my EV range. Hopefully that will do the trick for the next month of hot weather and then I'll go back to my previous normal.

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Did you notice if the threshold gradually fell from 4 marks to 2 marks or it did it jump from 4 to 2 marks in the Empower screen?

 

If you start (or remote start) the engine and turn on the AC with the car plugged in, it will use energy from the wall outlet to initially cool down the cabin.  From then on, the AC generally uses less than 0.5 kW of power,  That would reduce your EV range by less than a mile (depending on the length of the commute).  It might even increase EV range since the battery is more efficient at 78 degrees.  So I wouldn't be afraid to use AC.

 

You might want to set the temperature to 72 F for the AC.  The cabin temperature is generally much warmer than what you set the temperature to.  Make sure the vents at the back of the console are open and directed toward the rear deck.  If you don't notice any air entering the intake on the rear deck, then something strange is going on.  If the battery was warm and you had the AC on, it should be taking in air from the passenger cabin. 

Edited by larryh
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  • 9 months later...

I am getting the same issue today. This morning battery fully charged. I turn key and EV NOW turn yellow and a message pops up and says "Engine Enabled for System Performace". The empower screen blue is only 2 marks.

 

Some thoughts - last few drives in EV Now mode I have had a heavy foot. Acceleration coach bar staying in yellow. I am going to dial back my aggressive driving and see if that helps.

 

Oh and all accessories are off

Edited by dnorris78
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It sounds like your HVB is too hot.  How warm has it been?    The harder you drive the car, the faster the HVB heats up, and it takes a while to cool down. The maximum operating temperature for the HVB is 113 F.  If the HVB exceeds this temperature, the ICE will start. 

Edited by larryh
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