eeeny Posted April 17, 2014 at 05:32 PM Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 05:32 PM (edited) Well, I got the "Is vehicle Plugged in Y/N?" message again this morning after the dealer had applied TSB11-07-13 a couple of weeks ago.I noticed this time that the MFM comes up with a message that it could not start charging due to "External Fault". But I think this is just because it thinks the charger is alwas plaugged in, so every time I shut the car off itthinks it should start to charge but there is no power source. It must be a firmware bug. I hope that FORD gets a fix for this soon, it is getting annoying. I just hope that after the car stiing in work parking lot all day, the 12v battery will still be good. I called Ford and the just wanted me to take it to a dealer, but the dealers are all fully booked up until next week. Either the car will be dead tonight and I'll have to call roadside assistance, or it'll be ok and then there is no rush to take it in.The problem went away by itself last time, before the TSB was applied, but I seem to rememeber that it required me to plug and unplug the charger about 20 times, which I cannot do at work since there is no charger. If I do take it in to the dealer, I have very little confidence that they will know how to fix it. Edit:I just l looked at MFM again and is says that the car is waiting to charge. Two things are funny about that: 1), it is not plugged in and 2) I don't have it set up for a value charge on the default location (work is a default, or it was but now that it thinks the car is running on an infinite teather, it may think my whole commute route is a new charging location ;-) ) Notifications04/17/2014 10:42:50 amIans Car: Value Charge Profiles have been synced04/17/2014 10:42:21 amIans Car: Value Charge Profiles have been synced04/17/2014 10:36:48 amIans Car: Scheduled charge did not begin - external fault04/17/2014 10:30:22 amIans Car: Scheduled charge did not begin - external fault04/17/2014 10:23:56 amIans Car: Scheduled charge did not begin - external fault04/17/2014 10:16:16 amIans Car: Scheduled charge did not begin - external fault04/17/2014 9:30:14 amIans Car: Scheduled charge did not begin - external fault04/16/2014 1:06:29 amIans Car: Charge complete Edited April 17, 2014 at 05:44 PM by eeeny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_h Posted April 17, 2014 at 06:42 PM Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 06:42 PM The only time I got the 'external fault' was last week when our neighborhood had a power outage when charging was halfway done (a true 'external fault'). Is this occurring on a L2 charger at home? I wonder if it would also happen on the dealer's charger, to try and help isolate things? May be worth a drive by the dealer and plugging in if possible, unless the car does it with any charger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 17, 2014 at 07:08 PM Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 07:08 PM (edited) Yes it's on an L2 charger (Bosche) at home. I can try plugging it into the supplied L1 charger to see if it corrects the problem. The car charged up fine on the L2 charger, it just didn't like being disconnected.It completed charging at 1am and it was not until 9:30 am that it reported the external fault, which was when I stropped the car after driving about 10 miles. FYI, the charger is in the car, the L2 charger box is just a a relay, a GFCI and some simple communications to safely connect the power to the charging connector via the relay once the car and box have exchanged some simple information.The "charger box" tells the car how much current it can supply and the car "promises" not to exceed that. (though the charger has no regulation over it).They should be sub $100 since there is very little in them. Edited April 17, 2014 at 07:12 PM by eeeny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryh Posted April 17, 2014 at 08:54 PM Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 08:54 PM (edited) I get those messages all the time: Scheduled Charge did not begin - external fault. I simply ignore them. The car is complaining because I did not plug it in or I had the charger turned off. Sometimes it displays the following instead: Your vehicle is scheduled to begin charging soon and needs to be plugged in. It is very persistent if I don't plug it in or turn the charger on. I had over 100 messages waiting in the queue. If you have scheduled GO times and don't plug the car in soon enough before the GO times, it will complain. Edited April 17, 2014 at 09:02 PM by larryh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:30 PM Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:30 PM Ok, good to know. It's is not too much of a poblem to press a few extra buttons to get the car started, as long as does indeed run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:34 PM Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:34 PM The manual refers to the warning message on page 102 of the manual, but it doesn't exlpain why the message has occurred. Is Vehicle Plugged-In? Your vehicle needs confirmation it is unplugged beforeallowing a start. You must make sure your vehicle is unpluggedand you respond to the message prompt before starting yourvehicle. Why doesn't the car know that there is no charger plugged in? It should be able to sense the lack of signalling from the "charger box", it must be a software bug somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:44 PM Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:44 PM When you press the button on the plug wait 2 to 3 seconds before the plug is removed. Pressing the button initiates the disconnect signaling. See if that has any effect on the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:56 PM Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:56 PM Ah, that's worth a try, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryh Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:57 PM Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 at 09:57 PM If never experience any accidental unplug messages. It just gets impatient if I don't plug it in. I have lots of GO times set, so it keeps complaining it can't charge the car prior to my GO times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:13 PM Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:13 PM (edited) So I tried pluggin and unplugging with 2 seconds button wait with the ford L1 and the bosche L2 charger with no luck, still flashing.However, the problem had resolved itself during the overnight charge. Still makes me nervous that the car will be sitting in the parking lot at work all day at work with the charging ring flashing away, it must be drawing some current from the 12v battery.I see a lot of people reorting that their 12v battery dies for some unexplained reason which is very inconvenient, plus discharging a wet cell lead acid battey is not good for it. I'm sure Ford will get to the bottom of it, but they need to be made aware of the problem (Ashley?). Edited April 18, 2014 at 05:15 PM by eeeny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:26 PM Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:26 PM Looks like c-mas energi owners are experiencing the same issue, with associated dead 12v battery: http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com/topic/1925-is-car-plugged-in-question/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:29 PM Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:29 PM There is an option in the center screen to turn the ring off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryh Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:33 PM Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 at 05:33 PM (edited) The charge port ring should not be flashing more than a minute or two after turning off the car. If it continues to flash, something is not shutting down properly for some reason. It flashes when it is charging. Edited April 18, 2014 at 05:35 PM by larryh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 18, 2014 at 09:06 PM Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 at 09:06 PM (edited) That is the problem, the car thinks it is plugged in when it is not, so it keeps trying to charge, but then says "external fault" and flashes the charger ring light. Edited April 18, 2014 at 09:07 PM by eeeny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted April 22, 2014 at 02:12 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 at 02:12 PM That is the problem, the car thinks it is plugged in when it is not, so it keeps trying to charge, but then says "external fault" and flashes the charger ring light. eeeny, Let me see how I can help. PM me your name, phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealer info. I'll take a look. Ashley cheger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeeny Posted April 22, 2014 at 10:15 PM Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 at 10:15 PM Ashley, PM sent, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartyof83 Posted July 30, 2014 at 08:24 PM Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 at 08:24 PM I have the same issue! Currently at the dealer here in Livonia, Michigan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheger Posted March 1, 2015 at 01:54 AM Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 at 01:54 AM Had this happen today with 2014 Fusion 5k miles;flashing ring and plugged in message unable to place in gear;awaiting dealer advice Monday or sooner here??Believe I updated SYNC software 2 weeks ago via SD card;Related?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russael Posted March 1, 2015 at 02:15 AM Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 at 02:15 AM Sync would not cause this behavior. Unfortunately, it's something more complex than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted March 2, 2015 at 05:20 PM Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 at 05:20 PM Had this happen today with 2014 Fusion 5k miles;flashing ring and plugged in message unable to place in gear;awaiting dealer advice Monday or sooner here?? Believe I updated SYNC software 2 weeks ago via SD card;Related?? Did you manage to make it to your dealer today, cheger? Keep me in the loop with what they determined. Meagan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantidote Posted July 16, 2015 at 10:45 PM Report Share Posted July 16, 2015 at 10:45 PM Got this message after charging at work. After about 15 times stopping and starting the car, it let me drive. I made the mistake of going shopping after, and I was stranded at Lowes for a while. But again, after 15 or so ignition cycles, I could leave. Obviously, I chose 'no' but it wouldn't let me drive away. amdial 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonzo71 Posted July 17, 2015 at 12:51 PM Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 at 12:51 PM umm, that fuel tank is pretty close to E...Never could do that where I live... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedebi Posted July 17, 2015 at 03:58 PM Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 at 03:58 PM Got this message after charging at work. After about 15 times stopping and starting the car, it let me drive. I made the mistake of going shopping after, and I was stranded at Lowes for a while. But again, after 15 or so ignition cycles, I could leave. Obviously, I chose 'no' but it wouldn't let me drive away.Get it to a Ford Dealer. There is something wrong with the charging system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinasCereza Posted August 13, 2018 at 07:43 AM Report Share Posted August 13, 2018 at 07:43 AM Hey guys, how did you solved this charging message error fault, and flashing ring? Have the same problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan B Posted February 9, 2020 at 02:16 AM Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 at 02:16 AM Did anyone solve this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.