Software Bug - Value Charge Time sometimes displays current time

[Fat Fusion]

Anyone else have that "problem?"  I have my value charge set to 11PM but about half the time when I look at the screen to verify I'm on VALUE vs CHARGE NOW, it'll show the current time even though it's set on VALUE CHARGE.  It doesn't charge until 11PM but it's a bug in the software to display the current time.

[larryh]

Are you referring to the Electric Vehicle Information Settings on the MFT screen which shows the charging status, including the start and end times, and duration?   How do you know that it does not start charging until 11 PM?  When you plug the charger in and while value charge is waiting to begin charging, the light on the charger will indicate that the car is drawing power.  It is drawing about 60 watts of power while waiting for charging to begin at the value charge time.  Do you request updates from MyFord Mobile or look at the Electric Vehicle Information Settings MFT screen to verify that the SOC of the HVB is not increasing until 11 PM?  My value charge time begins at 9:00 pm.  That is the time that is shown on the MFT screen.  Setting up value charge profiles can be tricky. 

 

I use a timer to control charging.  I don't want the car drawing 60 watts of power while waiting to charge.  During peak hours, that wipes out much of my savings from the EV rate from the electric company. I would be better off not having the special EV rate if I had to use value charge profiles to control charging.  Value charge is basically useless to me.  I only use value charge profiles as a backup if the timer is not set properly. 

Edited December 28, 2013 at 12:50 AM by larryh

[Fat Fusion]

Wow lots of questions there Larry!

 

I have plugged it in and checked it hours later and it hasn't gained any charge.  Yes, I was looking at the screen that shows how long it'll take to charge at 240 and also 120.  I wasn't aware that it draws 60 watts.  What is it doing with the power?

[larryh]

The 60 watts are used to charge the 12 V battery and to power the on-board electronics used to charge the HVB.  In addition, if the HVB is fully depleted, it may decide to ignore the value charge settings and charge the battery to 5% or 10% immediately after you plug in the car.  I don't know why they decided to run the HVB electronics and charge the 12 V battery while waiting for value charging to begin.  For preconditioning, the car simply wakes up at the appropriate time to begin preconditioning.  It doesn't waste electricity waiting for preconditioning to begin. 

Edited December 28, 2013 at 01:19 AM by larryh

[Fat Fusion]

Good info, thanks Larry!

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

MY charging ALWAYS starts when I plug in the Vehicle no matter what Value Charging is active or Charging Profile is active...

 

UPDATE - SUCCESS!

 

I was able to find my problem late last night, but first of all I would like to thank everyone who tried to help solve my problem with their suggestions on the MyFordMobile Discussions Forum.

 

MyFordMobile CLEARLY states under THE GO TIMES SETUP PAGE This isn’t a charge schedule; this is your schedule. While you don’t need GO Times, they will help your vehicle prepare itself for you. Want a warm car on that cold morning?  I found that IS NOT ACCURATE, in fact, it is JUST PLAIN WRONG ! ! !

 

After setting up a GO TIME on MyFordMobile, and after SYNCING with my vehicle, the vehicle immediately displayed the “CHARGE START TIME” as the HOME PROFILE – VALUE CHARGE time rather than the current time and day. The charging started at the VALUE CHARGE time (midnight) and ended about an hour later.

 

It seems that the MyFordMobile Website was SO HAPPY with this, it issued 4 DUPLICATE Text Message Notifications and 4 DUPLICATE E-mail notifications for the “Charge Complete” notification all at the same exact time. But, maybe MyFordMobile was just making up for all the MISSED notifications that I had NOT received the past week or so, I’m sure on that.

 

I suppose I’ve learned my lesson about MyFordMobile, DO NOT READ any documentation before you begin to use the WEBSITE, just randomly pick and choose as you go through it.

 

What has me perplexed, when I called the Ford 800 392-3673 number and reported my problem to them nobody even mentioned GO TIMES. After they created a case number for me I followed up about an hour later with an E-mail to them explaining in detail that I WAS NOT USING GO-TIMES and attached a dozen pictures of my vehicles MyTouch display and the MyFordMobile website pages BOTH indicating GO-TIMES were NOT used. They even called me back 2 days later to ask me if I was charging with 120 Volts or 240 Volts ! ! ! GO figure…..

 

SO, it looks like my vehicle, when computing all the variables to determine the START CHARGING TIME (Battery state of charge, Temperature, Value Charge Profile, Value Charge Time, Estimated Length of Charge time depending on 120 V charging or 240 V charging), if the GO TIME is missing charging will ALWAYS start IMMEDIATELY. Who KNEW that my vehicles math works this way. I read through my vehicles owner’s manual thoroughly in this section and it never mentions that GO TIMES MUST BE USED.

[Fat Fusion]

Go Times don't have to be used if everything is working correctly.  I don't have Go Times set on mine, and mine works perfectly- charging every morning at 3am.

 

Glad you got yours working though!

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

Go Times don't have to be used if everything is working correctly.  I don't have Go Times set on mine, and mine works perfectly- charging every morning at 3am.

 

Glad you got yours working though!

Fat Fusion:

 

Thanks for your input, I also had another user tell me the same thing - He had been using Value Charging and it has worked fine for him the past 8 months WITHOUT having ANY GO TIMES setup.

 

I see you have a 2014 Fusion Titanium Energi - I have a 2013 Fusion Energi. Looks like the EXTRA money they charged for the Titanium provided you with ALL the software necessary for the Value Charging option, mine must not have ALL the software.

 

Bill

[larryh]

Go Times are useful if you want to guarantee the car is charged by a certain time.   If you do not set Go times and use Value Charging, it will simply charge the car when the electric rates are the lowest.  Usually this means that is waits until night to charge the car.  You need Go Times to override the time when the car charges.  For example, if you plug the car in at 5:00 pm after work and want to leave at 8:00 pm, the car will not be charged unless you set a Go Time for 8:00 pm or you use Charge Now. 

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

Go Times are useful if you want to guarantee the car is charged by a certain time.   If you do not set Go times and use Value Charging, it will simply charge the car when the electric rates are the lowest.  Usually this means that is waits until night to charge the car.  You need Go Times to override the time when the car charges.  For example, if you plug the car in at 5:00 pm after work and want to leave at 8:00 pm, the car will not be charged unless you set a Go Time for 8:00 pm or you use Charge Now. 

Larryh:

 

That is the way I understood it to work also, but MY vehicle apparently thought otherwise. My GO TIMES have always been completely blank and my Value Charge time for my HOME profile was always set for 12 AM to 6 AM. The vehicle ALWAYS (since I bought it in April 2013) has shown the START CHARGING time to be the current time and date no matter what Value Charge Profile was ACTIVE - UNTIL just for the heck of it, I decided to setup a GO TIME (just happened to use 7 AM). That is when, for the first time, I EVER saw the START CHARGING time change to 12 AM....

 

Bill

[larryh]

If you go to the MyFord Mobile web site Charge Settings, or via EV Information Settings screen on MyFord Touch, you can control the charging mode to either Value Charge or Charge Now.   If it does not start charging until midnight, then it is probably set to Value Charge (when you set the GO Time) and using the default value charge profile, which begins charging at midnight. 

Edited March 6, 2014 at 01:15 AM by larryh

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

If you go to the MyFord Mobile web site Charge Settings, or via EV Information Settings screen on MyFord Touch, you can control the charging mode to either Value Charge or Charge Now.   If it does not start charging until midnight, then it is probably set to Value Charge (when you set the GO Time) and using the default value charge profile, which begins charging at midnight. 

Before I set the GO TIME for 7 AM, MyFordMobile AND MY vehicle's MyTouch screen BOTH had the VALUE CHARGE indicators for ALL profiles showing that VALUE CHARGE was active BUT the vehicle started charging IMMEDIATELY until I set the GO TIME to 7 AM - nothing else was changed AND the VALUE CHARGE indicators still were showing their previous ACTIVE conditions on MyFordMobile and the vehicles MyTouch screen ! ! !

 

I know that Value Charging and GO TIMES should NOT work that way, but in fact, that IS the way it worked in my vehicle....

Several other users have told me the same, their vehicles were NOT working the way mine was ! ! !

Edited March 6, 2014 at 02:20 AM by Bills_Fusion_Energi

[larryh]

MyFord Touch (and the rest of the software in the car) has plenty of bugs that need to be worked out.  We have to work around them.  Is the car charging the way that you want currently?

Edited March 6, 2014 at 02:04 AM by larryh

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

MyFord Touch (and the rest of the software in the car) has plenty of bugs that need to be worked out.  We have to work around them.  Is the car charging the way that you want currently?

larryh:

 

Thanks for your interest with my problem.

 

Yes, my vehicle is FINALLY charging the way I want and expect it to charge.

 

Bill

Edited March 6, 2014 at 02:27 AM by Bills_Fusion_Energi

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

To clarify the above conversations I added 4 pictures:

 

AFTER GO TIMES were created NEXT CHARGE SHOWS 12:00 AM.

 

BEFORE GO TIMES were Created NEXT CHARGE SHOWS CURRENT DAY AND TIME.

 

Edited March 6, 2014 at 10:22 PM by Bills_Fusion_Energi

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

Now that MY vehicle is following the Value Charging Profile times and NOT charging immediately when plugged in AFTER setting GO TIMES, I have noticed that when MY vehicle is plugged in the 120V charger is charging at 50 to 60 watts CONTINOUUSLY until the Value Charging Start and Stop times are reached.

 

Yesterday the vehicle was plugged in at 12:30 PM – The Value Charging Start Time indicated the next morning, 12:00 AM until 12:50 AM.

 

The 120V charger showed it charged at 60 watts for the first hour, then dropped to 50 thereafter and never shut off until 12:50 AM until the Value Charging was completed at 12:50 AM.

 

I happened to check the 12V battery voltage BEFORE the 120V charger was plugged in, it showed 12.4V. I checked the 12V battery after the 120V charger was plugged in, it showed 14.4V. After the first hour the 12V battery showed 13.3V AND for the next 11.5 hours. This morning with the 120V charger indicating NO charging the 12V battery voltage is 12.6V at 6AM. And 12.5V at noon without the vehicle being used since yesterday.

 

Other users have seen their chargers provide 50 to 60 watts of charging while waiting for Value Charging to Start, but the maximum time they indicate is only 1 to 2 hours. Most users agree that this LOW 50 to 60 watts indicates that the 12V battery is being charged.

 

Are there any other users seeing this CONTINUOUS charging on their vehicles, while waiting for Value Charging to start ? ? ?

 

Bill

Edited March 7, 2014 at 08:01 PM by Bills_Fusion_Energi

[Bills_Fusion_Energi]

Decided over the weekend to remove ALL the GO TIMES using MyFordMobile to see if it changed my Value Charge Profile Start Time.

 

After an immediate Sync with my vehicle, the MyTouch display on the vehicle NEXT CHARGE Start Time immediately changed to the CURRENT TIME and DAY,  with the Value Charge remaining ACTIVE.

 

I then added ONE of the twelve possible GO TIME’s and after syncing with the vehicle, MyTouch showed the NEXT CHARGE Start Time to be 12:00 AM, the time set in the Value Charge Profiles.

 

So, MY vehicle definitely needs at least ONE GO TIME to be set to enable the Value Charge Profile Next Charge time.

 

Numerous users indicate that their vehicles DO NOT need a GO TIME to be set to use the Value Charge Profile Next Charge Time. NOT SURE why MY vehicle DOES.

[FordIVTteam]

Decided over the weekend to remove ALL the GO TIMES using MyFordMobile to see if it changed my Value Charge Profile Start Time.

 

After an immediate Sync with my vehicle, the MyTouch display on the vehicle NEXT CHARGE Start Time immediately changed to the CURRENT TIME and DAY,  with the Value Charge remaining ACTIVE.

 

I then added ONE of the twelve possible GO TIME’s and after syncing with the vehicle, MyTouch showed the NEXT CHARGE Start Time to be 12:00 AM, the time set in the Value Charge Profiles.

 

So, MY vehicle definitely needs at least ONE GO TIME to be set to enable the Value Charge Profile Next Charge time.

 

Numerous users indicate that their vehicles DO NOT need a GO TIME to be set to use the Value Charge Profile Next Charge Time. NOT SURE why MY vehicle DOES.

 

I received this information in a PM and have responded. Thank you. 

 

Kim

[vett93]

 

I use a timer to control charging.  I don't want the car drawing 60 watts of power while waiting to charge.  During peak hours, that wipes out much of my savings from the EV rate from the electric company. I would be better off not having the special EV rate if I had to use value charge profiles to control charging.  Value charge is basically useless to me.  I only use value charge profiles as a backup if the timer is not set properly. 

 

Can you recommend a heavy duty timer? It seems that digital timers can retain their clocks better due to internal battery backup. But mechanical timers seem to have better current rating. What would be a good choice?

[larryh]

I have an Intermatic T104 mechanical timer for my 240 volt charger that is rated for 40 amps.  I don't have a timer for the 120 volt charger.  I have not had any power outages since I installed it.  It is simpler to set the time and the start/stop times on a mechanical timer than on a digital timer.   It does not have to be precise--it does not matter whether it charges at 12:10 am or 12:20 am.  The only annoyance is overriding the start/stop times when the triggers are in the process of turning the timer on or off.  It would also have been nice to have a 7 week timer rather than a 24 hour timer, so I don't need to override the start/stop times on the weekend. 

[vett93]

Thanks. I am thinking to get an appliance plug-in timer like Intermatic HB113.

 

http://www.intermatic.com/Products/Timers/PlugInTimers/ApplianceTimers/HB110_Series/HB113.aspx

 

It is rated at 2500 watts. So I think it should do the trick. I understand that the 120V charger only draws about 11.5A. But I am pro lots of safety margins. Comments?

[roland227]

About once per month, my value charge does not work correctly and starts immediately. The start time shows the current time, but complete time show time if it were to start at the correct time. Blue ring shows charging started (that is how I know there is a problem). If I go into car and turn key and shut off, false value charge stopped.

 

[Rexracer]

MY charging ALWAYS starts when I plug in the Vehicle no matter what Value Charging is active or Charging Profile is active...

 

UPDATE - SUCCESS!

 

I was able to find my problem late last night, but first of all I would like to thank everyone who tried to help solve my problem with their suggestions on the MyFordMobile Discussions Forum.

 

MyFordMobile CLEARLY states under THE GO TIMES SETUP PAGE This isn’t a charge schedule; this is your schedule. While you don’t need GO Times, they will help your vehicle prepare itself for you. Want a warm car on that cold morning?  I found that IS NOT ACCURATE, in fact, it is JUST PLAIN WRONG ! ! !

 

After setting up a GO TIME on MyFordMobile, and after SYNCING with my vehicle, the vehicle immediately displayed the “CHARGE START TIME” as the HOME PROFILE – VALUE CHARGE time rather than the current time and day. The charging started at the VALUE CHARGE time (midnight) and ended about an hour later.

 

It seems that the MyFordMobile Website was SO HAPPY with this, it issued 4 DUPLICATE Text Message Notifications and 4 DUPLICATE E-mail notifications for the “Charge Complete” notification all at the same exact time. But, maybe MyFordMobile was just making up for all the MISSED notifications that I had NOT received the past week or so, I’m sure on that.

 

I suppose I’ve learned my lesson about MyFordMobile, DO NOT READ any documentation before you begin to use the WEBSITE, just randomly pick and choose as you go through it.

 

What has me perplexed, when I called the Ford 800 392-3673 number and reported my problem to them nobody even mentioned GO TIMES. After they created a case number for me I followed up about an hour later with an E-mail to them explaining in detail that I WAS NOT USING GO-TIMES and attached a dozen pictures of my vehicles MyTouch display and the MyFordMobile website pages BOTH indicating GO-TIMES were NOT used. They even called me back 2 days later to ask me if I was charging with 120 Volts or 240 Volts ! ! ! GO figure…..

 

SO, it looks like my vehicle, when computing all the variables to determine the START CHARGING TIME (Battery state of charge, Temperature, Value Charge Profile, Value Charge Time, Estimated Length of Charge time depending on 120 V charging or 240 V charging), if the GO TIME is missing charging will ALWAYS start IMMEDIATELY. Who KNEW that my vehicles math works this way. I read through my vehicles owner’s manual thoroughly in this section and it never mentions that GO TIMES MUST BE USED.

 

This makes sense with what I am experiencing (in another post). when I plug in my car it starts charging even though its not set to start till 10pm. This change in behavior does correlate with when i deleted all my GO TIME settings. So nothing is currently set, and now this problem.

 

This is obviously a bug, did it get fixed with an update?

[Rexracer]

So after reading this I added 1 go time to 1 day, and sure enough it instantly fixed my "value charge" settings.

 

Is there an update to be applied to fix this?